TWO nursery children “crossed the A7” after leaving a Borders school site unattended, this newspaper has been told.
A “full investigation” is underway following the incident at Stow Primary’s early learning and childcare setting, according to the council.
A source – who will remain anonymous – told us that the children, under the age of five, walked out of the nursery unit before crossing the A road.
They added that the pupils were “not located for some considerable period of time”.
Responding to the reports, Lesley Munro – director of education and lifelong learning at Scottish Borders Council – said: “An incident occurred at the early learning and childcare setting at Stow Primary on Wednesday, January 26 where two young children left the site unattended.
“Staff responded to the situation with urgency and the children were located safe and well shortly afterwards.
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“We take the safety and wellbeing of all our young people extremely seriously and a full investigation has been undertaken and a range of measures put in place to prevent a repeat of this incident. The Care Inspectorate has also been informed as required.”
Ms Munro revealed that all schools in the region will be instructed to review their safety measures following the incident.
“As an additional safeguard, we have instructed all our schools to review their systems, procedures and risk assessments to ensure they are keeping children safe focusing specifically on how, and why, a child could leave a childcare setting without a responsible adult” she said.
“We have made clear that it is vital that all staff are alert to all potential risks and that they understand the mitigations, systems and procedures in place. They are also being required to attend additional training.
“We are also taking part in the Care Inspectorate’s own Look, Think Act campaign which they are running nationally to raise awareness and highlight the actions that all staff working with young people are responsible for undertaking in terms of safeguarding, protecting and supporting children’s wellbeing.”
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