The prosecutor’s office, which is investigating the death of a four-year-old on a playground in Zabierzów (Lesser Poland Voivodeship), has requested that the case be transferred to another unit. In the application, he explains that he wants to avoid the accusation of “lack of impartiality due to the injured party in the case.” The Małopolska Education Superintendent said that the children on the playground where the tragedy occurred were not provided with appropriate care.
The investigation into the tragic accident that occurred on September 28 on the playground at the kindergarten in Zabierzów was initiated and conducted by the Kraków-Prądnik Biały District Prosecutor’s Office. It is ongoing, among others: towards unintentionally causing the death of a four-year-old.
On Friday, the District Prosecutor’s Office in Kraków informed PAP that the district prosecutor sent a request to the district prosecutor’s office “to transfer the case to another organizational unit of the prosecutor’s office for further investigation, excluding the rules governing local jurisdiction, in order to avoid a possible accusation of lack of impartiality due to the injured party in the case.” .
“A decision on this matter has not been made yet,” said prosecutor Leszek Brzegowy.
Read also: A four-year-old boy drowned near the kindergarten. Prosecutor’s office: the well was poorly secured
ZabierzówTVN24
Curator Nowak: the children were not provided with proper care
After the tragedy at the playground in Zabierzów, the Małopolska Education Board conducted its own inspection there. The inspection revealed “inconsistent information regarding the number of children attending kindergarten,” PAP reported. According to curator Barbara Nowak, on the day when the tragic accident occurred, the children were not provided with proper care in accordance with the law.
As the curator told PAP, the commune’s registration entry states that the facility accommodates 82 children, while 112 children attended it, i.e. 30 more. At the same time, the municipal subsidy covers the costs of 112 places. “If someone pays a subsidy, they should pay for the child, but also check whether it is for 112 or 82,” said the curator.
“The subsidy is paid in accordance with our act for the actual number of children, i.e. for the number declared by the owner,” Ewelina Szlachta, director of the Municipal Economic and Administrative Complex of Schools in Zabierzów, commented to PAP. The team registers and subsidizes facilities. “During the tender competition for the performance of a public task in the field of preschool education – at the beginning of this year – we received an offer from the Radosne Nutki kindergarten. The owner declared the number of places that he could make available to the commune, submitting declarations and commitments. This number was 112 places. “The number 82 refers to the initial declaration submitted in 2015,” she said.
According to the information provided by the curator, during the tragedy that occurred on September 28 at the playground in Zabierzów, only one working lady was a teacher – she had the appropriate qualifications to care for children. “There were 59 children on the playground under the care of this teacher, so the children were not provided with proper care in accordance with the law,” curator Barbara Nowak told PAP, noting that “in accordance with the regulation of the Ministry of Education and Science, a kindergarten is required to care for 25 children one teacher.
They deny the allegations: each of the ladies acted properly.
“In our opinion, there is clear evidence that each of the educators involved in this incident acted properly, with full care for the children. Everything was secured – there were 59 children and 5 guardians on the playground, so it is required by law number of caregivers,” Jerzy Śliwa, who heads the crisis team established by the company running the kindergarten, commented on Wednesday to PAP.
“A lot of irregularities.” Probation officer Nowak will notify the prosecutor’s office
After the inspection, the probation officer, Barbara Nowak, announced that she would submit a report to the prosecutor’s office about irregularities that created dangerous conditions for children. It will include, among others: about four poorly secured wells, uneven terrain, and uncertified elements of small architecture.
The school board’s inspection showed that the playground is incorrectly located – directly next to the road and in the area of the pond, which is not protected against children. The area of the square is uneven, tree roots protrude from the ground, and toys and fragments of small architecture do not have certificates. The well in which the boy drowned is located between small architectural elements, covered with a shred slab, which became soaked with moisture and collapsed under the weight of the child. Moreover, the inspection showed that there were a total of four incorrectly secured wells in the kindergarten area.
“Under the law, for me it is not a playground. The inspection revealed a lot of irregularities. If it was a local government, public kindergarten, it would not have received permission from the school board to operate,” said Barbara Nowak.
ZabierzówTVN24
A four-year-old boy fell into a well and did not survive
A tragic accident occurred on Thursday a week ago at a playground in Zabierzów near Krakow. The report received by the police showed that the child had gone missing while playing in the kindergarten at ul. Leśna. Hubert Ciepły, spokesman for the Małopolska State Fire Service, said that the well, about five meters deep, was half filled with water. A firefighter pulled the child out from under the water.
On Friday, the prosecutor’s office investigating the case reported that the well into which the four-year-old fell was improperly secured. The playground area was closed by the District Construction Supervision Inspectorate in Krakow.
ZabierzówTVN24
Main photo source: TVN24