A mother has spoken of her horror after an incident where part of her toddler’s ear was “torn off” at an “inadequate” Birmingham nursery.
Daniyaal Abubaker suffered the injury to his right lobe while on his second day at Mucky Pups Day Nursery in Garretts Green Lane, Garretts Green.
Police are investigating after the toddler, who is two on Sunday, needed 10 stitches for the wound and spent two nights in hospital.
Angry mum Afsha, 26, claims the family was given different versions of the incident by nursery staff – including that he had been bitten by another child.
And she says she was told the torn piece of ear, which has never been found, may have been “eaten” by the other child.
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Mrs Abubaker, a carer, said: “We still don’t know what happened to our son to this day, but to see your son in terrible pain with part of his ear missing was just horrific. I couldn’t stop crying. Daniyaal has been left traumatised.
‘‘Sometimes when I move close to his face to kiss him he gets upset, he doesn’t like anyone to go close to his ear. He has been scarred mentally, not just physically.”
Ofsted inspection
Just days after the alleged incident on September 25, Ofsted inspectors visited the nursery and rated it ‘inadequate’.
They also claimed risk assessments were not “rigorous enough” and stated the nursery did not “address all safety issues”.
The nursery is privately owned and last night owner Paula Tidmus told the Birmingham Mail: ‘‘I am making no comment as this is in the hands of my solicitors and insurers.”
Mrs Abubaker said she received a call at around 11.30am on September 25 from Mrs Tidmus to say her son had injured his ear in a fall and that he “might require stitches”.
She claims her sister-in-law Madiha Hamid phoned the nursery shortly afterwards, only to be told Daniyaal had been punched.
Mrs Abubaker claims another sister-in-law, Arooj Arooj, picked injured Daniyaal up from the nursery, where Mrs Tidmus told her that he had been “bitten” by another child there.
Daniyaal was taken to Birmingham Children’s Hospital where he had an operation on his ear the following day, spending a total of two nights in hospital
Mrs Abubaker, married to husband Muhammad, 25, said: ‘‘I contacted police as I have heard different versions of events and don’t know exactly what happened to my son that day.
‘‘When I spoke to Paula again, and asked her what had happened to the piece of ear, she said the child must have swallowed it.’’
A spokesman for West Midlands Police said: ‘‘Specialist officers from West Midlands Police Public Protection Unit are reviewing an incident, in which a young child suffered an injury to his ear.
‘‘Officers are in the process of contacting the family and relevant agencies, including Children’s Social Care, as part of the ongoing inquiry.’’
Ofsted inspectors visited the nursery on October 2 and gave it a rating of 4 – ‘inadequate’ and flagged up health and safety issues as an area of concern.
The report said: “Risks assessments are not rigorous enough as they do not address all safety issues in the nursery and staff do not help children learn how to be safe during activities.”
The report said that if the nursery didn’t make the necessary improvements, enforcement action would be taken. It will be inspected again within 12 months of the date of this inspection.
