Toddler ‘should be expelled’ for nursery attack
A toddler’s parents have demanded that a two-year-old girl is expelled from her nursery, for allegedly beating their daughter black and blue.
Katie Ann Guttridge, who is three years old, suffered a damaged eye socket, three bite marks on her face and scratches while at her pre-school nursery in Leicester.
Her mother Clara Mackow, 28, said: “I couldn’t believe it when I saw her. I just cried. She had gashes to her lips and a terrible black eye. Katie looked like she had been in a fight with a dog that had mauled her.”
“We had to take her to hospital because the doctor thought she had fractured her eye scoket. She was almost blinded in the attack which was totally unprovoked. I know kids get into scrapes but my daughter was really hurt in this attack.”
History of attacks
Katie and the girl who allegedly attacked her started at the nursery in September. An official nursery incident report card shows that during Katie’s first term at the school she was attacked four times.
Reporting the incidents, the card details another child grabbing Katie’s hair and face, sucking her cheek “causing a mark”, and on another occasion hitting her on the head with a “plastic yellow drummer”.
The final entry, dated 13 December, reads: “Another child told me Katie was crying. I picked her up and noticed three bite marks to her face, her left eye, left jaw and left lip”.
Ms Mackow called the police but was told to contact her local authority as the child in question was too young to be held responsible.
Ms Mackow told newspapers: “The little girl who attacked her has a history of beating up other children. She’s out of control.
“I know 10 other children have been assaulted by the girl since September. The staff at the nursery don’t seem able to cope with the difficult children.”
Katie’s father, Lewis Guttridge, 32, said: “I was horrified that my daughter has been exposed to such violence in a place which should be safe. I understand the police can’t do anything because of the girls age but the nursery should expel her.”
‘Below the age of criminal responsibility’
A spokeswoman for Leicestershire Police said: “The parents came into the police station on 13 December and said their three-year-old daughter had been injured at a nursery by a two-year-old child. But as the girl is below the age of criminal responsibility there is nothing further the police can do.
“We suggested the parents make a complaint to the nursery and to their local authority.”
The education watchdog has now launched an investigation to ensure Ratby Pre-School Nursery is meeting its legal duties surrounding the case.
Jill Bottrill, the manager of the nursery, said: “We are working closely with the local authority and parents and pre-school.”
Meanwhile, Leicestershire County Council said it had offered support to both the school and the parents following reports of an incident involving two children.
A spokesman for Ofsted said: “Ofsted is aware of the case and is conducting its own investigation to see whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements of registration.
“Ratby pre-school will remain open while we conduct our investigation.”