A BUNGLING nursery let a dozy granddad take home the wrong child.
The mistake was only discovered when the boy’s mother arrived later on to find her son missing.
First Steps LearningThe mix-up happened on Monday[/caption]
First Steps LearningThe watchdog has launched a probe into the bungle[/caption]
First Steps LearningAn employee claimed that the nursery has never experience a similar incident[/caption]
The granddad who went home with the wrong tot by staff at First Steps Learning Academy in Sydney, Australia, was “devastated” when he realised his error.
His wife said: “He raced [the] child back so fast. I am just so glad the little boy was OK.”
The mix-up happened on Monday, when the man arrived to collect his grandchild from the suburban kindergarten.
Staff reportedly handed over a different toddler, who was asleep at the time.
The boy’s mother – who arrived at the centre to find her tot missing – told the Sydney Morning Herald: “I can’t explain the feeling.”
She added of Australia‘s worst granddad: “We don’t blame him. We are not angry with him.
“We are not upset at him. We blame the daycare.”
The watchdog has launched a probe into the bungle, while an “educator” has reportedly been “stood down”.
First Steps Learning Academy’s Trisha Hastie told news.com.au: “We sincerely apologise to the families directly involved in this deeply upsetting and isolated incident, and to the broader First Steps community for the distress it has caused.
“The safety and wellbeing of every child in our care is our highest priority.
“While we have always maintained strict protocols for drop-off and pick-up, in this case those processes were not followed correctly.
“The educator involved has been stood down.
“We have acted immediately to strengthen our procedures and ensure this never happens again.”
Hastie claimed that the nursery has never experience a similar incident.
She added that the venue has amended procedures to “ensure it never happens again”.
An anonymous former employee told the Herald that First Steps relies a lot on casual and agency staff and has high staff turnover.
They said: “I’ve never worked at more of a chaotic, disastrous, and emotionally draining service.
“I was constantly working with casual staff, and no one knew the children as I was new to the business.”