Nursery staff sacked after watching child pornography
Katy Morton
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Two members of staff from a North London nursery, part of a nationwide franchise of settings, have been fired after looking at child pornography while at work.
The Monkey Puzzle Day Nursery in Islington, North London, dismissed the members of staff after they were caught watching a video with indecent images of children. The nursery says it was not connected to any of the children in their care.
Following the incident, the setting was closed for two days while Ofsted investigated. The nursery has since re-opened.
Ofsted is now helping specialist police unit - the Child Abuse Investigation Team (CAIT) - examine the evidence.
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said, ‘Police are investigating after two members of staff at an Islington nursery were found to have viewed an indecent video of children while at work. This was reported to police on 20 February.
‘There is nothing to suggest the video showed children in the nursery’s care.
‘Officers from the Child Abuse Investigation Team are now investigating. There have been no arrests.'
An Ofsted spokesperson said, 'The protection of children is our first priority and parents should be assured that when we were made aware of the concerns at the Monkey Puzzle Nursery in London we made an unannounced visit to check the appropriate safeguarding provisions for the children were in place.'
The nursery, rated good by Ofsted, is one of 28 settings operating under the Monkey Puzzle Day Nurseries franchise, which launched in 2005. Another two nurseries are expected to open in the next 12 months.
Rebecca Crosby, operations manager for the Monkey Puzzle group, said, ‘The safety of our children is our main priority and at all times we adhered to our safeguarding procedures, immediately suspended the members of staff concerned and at no time was the safety of the children compromised.
‘When we reported the incident, the police already knew of the clip’s contents and informed us that it had originated outside the UK and that a large investigation is already underway.’
An Islington council spokesman said, ‘Although as a private nursery, Islington does not place children at Monkey Puzzle, we are always concerned that local children are properly protected and offer support to all nurseries in the borough to help them maintain high standards.
‘We were notified by Ofsted of their concerns at Monkey Puzzle and await the outcome of their investigation.’
