While our child's first day at nursery or pre-school is a milestone moment in their life, it's fair to say it's just as significant for us mums.

With that in mind, it's perhaps unsurprising to learn that a quick snap showing our little one enjoying their experience will often do much to ease the mind of a concerned mother.

However, it looks like the owner of one nursery school in Kent may regret her decision to keep her pupils' parents in the loop by sending photographs to worried mums and dads on their little one's first day at school.

Cindy Fox, who owns Cherubs nursery in Linton, has been reprimanded by education watchdog Ofsted for jeopardising the safety of her pupils by sending the images - a decision which has since lost her nursery its 'outstanding' rating.

Having been reduced to an 'adequate' rating, Cindy was then dealt a further blow when she learned that her school may face closure on account of the fact she would be no longer eligible to receive funding from the local authorities.
 


Slamming developments, Cindy stood by her decision, explaining: "All the parents had given their consent for this. Surely it would have been enough for Ofsted just to tell us to stop taking the photos rather than ruining our reputation and jeopardising our future."

Wholly supportive of Cindy, 37-year-old mum, Chantelle Bourne, whose daughters attend Cherubs poured scorn on Ofsted's stance saying: "Both girls suffered separation anxiety, so you get that heart-wrenching feeling – is she going to be OK or not? 
 

"So what’s lovely is that by the time I get home I have a shot of my daughter smiling, showing she is happy and settled. These pictures are going directly to a parent’s phone, so at what point is a child not safe? It’s outrageous."

According to the Daily Mail, Ms. Bourne is not alone in her opinion and numerous other parents have shown their support for Cindy by signing a petition to reverse Ofsted's ruling ,with another mum asserting:
‘People around here think it’s absolutely crazy."
 


Commenting on the controversy, a spokeswoman for Ofsted said their ruling was in accordance with government guidelines which state that 'early years providers’ safeguarding policy and procedures must cover use of mobile phones and cameras'.

Outlining the education watchdog's stance on the matter, she continued: "As set out in our published inspection report, we judged this pre-school to be inadequate last year because children were not safeguarded effectively."

"Inspectors found the provider was not monitoring the use of the personal mobile phones of staff effectively and lacked understanding of the risks this presented to children, " she said.

What are your thoughts on the matter?

112 Shares

Latest

Trending