Inspectors from the Lower Silesian board of education have looked at one of the kindergartens in Jelenia Góra. It concerns an incident involving a five-year-old who was left in the facility without supervision while the rest of the group went on a trip. Decisions have not been made yet, but there is already a protocol from the inspection and recommendations.
The Wrocław education authority has just finished a two-day inspection of the “Radosne Tuptusie” kindergarten in Jelenia Góra. It was carried out as a result of information provided by the mother of a 5-year-old who attends the facility.
The kindergarten became famous last week when there were reports of one of the children being left unattended. It happened on August 9, the day when the entire group of preschoolers went on a pontoon trip on the Bóbr River. All the children were supposed to take part in the trip, but it turned out that a 5-year-old girl was left at the facility without supervision.
The inspection report was sent to the curator
It is already known that the auditors' findings confirmed these initial reports. In addition, the audit activities showed, among other things, that the card for the trip with the participation of the kindergarten pupils was prepared incorrectly – the required formalities were not completed. As Mirosława Bożek from the education authority told TVN24, it is worth noting that the chaperones of the aforementioned trip did not have pedagogical qualifications. The chaperones of the trip were people employed as “teacher's assistants”. Meanwhile, the teachers were on leave at that time.
The child was locked up in a kindergarten in Jelenia GóraTVN24
As the education authority adds, when the mother of a girl left in the nursery wrote to the teachers asking for special attention to the child because she was afraid of water, after a few dozen minutes she received a reassuring reply that the girl would be looked after and there was no reason to worry. It was only at 4 p.m. that the carers realised that the child was not with them and then they called the nursery to ask someone to go look after her.
– The tour manager called the nursery employee, who is located in the same building, to check if the child was in the kindergarten. She then confirmed that the child was in the kindergarten. This means that from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. the five-year-old child was alone – explains the education authority. For the next hour, the girl was under the care of the nursery employee. Only at 5 p.m., when the children returned from the trip, was the mother able to pick up the five-year-old
The inspection report was submitted to the Lower Silesian Education Superintendent. As Mirosława Bożek reported, the initial recommendation will probably be a request to close the facility.
The family notified the police
After notifying the girl's parents, the police are also handling the case. – Officers from the City Police Headquarters in Jelenia Góra are conducting activities aimed at exposing the life and health of a 5-year-old girl to the risk of losing her life and health. Initial findings indicate that the girl was left unattended in the kindergarten. Monitoring is being secured and witnesses are being questioned – said Beata Sosulska-Baran from the City Police Headquarters in Jelenia Góra right after the incident.
The District Prosecutor’s Office in Jelenia Góra was also notified.
– The person who was supposed to take care of the child will be held accountable under Article 160 paragraph 2 of the Penal Code – if the perpetrator is obliged to take care of a person exposed to danger, he or she shall be subject to a penalty of imprisonment from 3 months to 5 years – the police reported.
Main image source: TVN24