A toddler was left “traumatised” after nursery staff locked up and went home, leaving her on her own.
Stephanie Martinez, says that she arrived at KinderCare Learning Centre in Plantation, Florida around 6.30pm on Wednesday, only to find the doors locked and her two-year-old daughter alone inside.
“She was able to push a chair up to the door and call for my name, and that was the only reason I was able to see her," she told local news station NBC6.
“She’s super traumatised. It’s not fair," she added, as she now prepares to file a lawsuit against the centre.
After failing to contact nursery managers, the distraught mother called the emergency services.
“This poor kid… I’m coming, OK?” she could be heard saying to the 911 operator as she recorded a mobile phone video of her child sobbing in the darkened nursery.
Firefighters managed to get the door open and the little one was returned to her mother unharmed.
Police later learned that the member of staff responsible for signing all the children out had left the nursery and locked the doors at around 6.20pm.
The case is being investigated by the local child protection agency, police say. There are no current plans for criminal charges.
A spokesperson for KinderCare said in a statement that while the company was “thankful the child was quickly found and was safe, this incident should not have happened".
They added that there will be a full investigation into the incident.
“We take all concerns about children’s safety seriously and follow a specific protocol anytime an issue is raised,” an official KinderCare statement read.
“Part of that protocol includes notifying our agency partners, like state licensing and Child Protective Services, as we did in this case.
"We also placed the staff members involved on administrative leave while we, and our agency partners, look into the concern further.”
The company added that the nursery’s teachers and staff will be given additional training to ensure “this kind of thing doesn’t happen again".
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