I was blamed for bruises my 13-month-old suffered at nursery

Parents have told how they were investigated by social services after being blamed for bruises he suffered at a nursery.

Adrianna Czachor, 28, and husband Matt Kolacinski, 29, spotted bruises on their 13-month-old son Jonatan's hips after collecting him.

When they showed doctors the GP alerted social services and the parents were sent straight to hospital and could not be left alone with their son while police looked into what happened.

According to a local authority report, CCTV showed he was strapped in a high chair at Cheshire Day Nursery, in Warrington for stints equalling between 74 minutes and 'approximately two hours' which could have caused his injuries.

The chair straps were 'tight enough to cause bruising' and staff did not notice 'as they had not changed your nappy for some time', the report said.

It suggested that the bruises may have been caused by 'excessive amount of time spent in a chair'.

Finally, 28 hours after their ordeal began, the family were allowed to return home unsupervised, and eventually the case was closed, with no wrongdoing found against the parents.

Adrianna was so traumatised she suffered from a trauma response called psychogenic amnesia - where she forgot what happened - and is still off work, she says.

Read More

Parents fury as 'ridiculous' council orders nursery to tear down 6ft privacy fence around playground 'keeping babies safe' because it is 'out of keeping' with the area

The admin worker said: 'This was truly awful for us, and it was absolutely terrifying.

'It was so traumatic that when I woke up the next day I had blanked all memories of it.

'They came flooding back when I talked to Matt but I went to the doctor because I thought I had had a stroke, but I was told this was a trauma response.

'When we weren't allowed to be alone with him I was begging and pleading with them not to separate us. I thought I would die of my sadness.

'It was like someone reached into my chest and pulled at my heart. I just can't believe something like this has happened to us.

'One moment I'm thinking about him needing a snack and having his vaccinations, then I see the bruises and I ask for help and I'm treated like a criminal.

'And they've found the nursery to be at fault but no action has been taken. I just can't get my head around that.

'When they asked us to sign to open the investigation they didn't explain any of the process to us first. I'm worried this could happen to someone else.'

Adrianna, and software-engineer Matt, moved Jonatan to Cheshire Day Nursery on August 12.

He had vaccinations scheduled at a GP surgery across the road, after his fourth day at the nursery, on August 15.

When they collected him they found him wearing a dirty nappy and were changing it at the doctors surgery ahead of the appointment when they saw bruises on his hips.

They were kept in the surgery until 6pm, they said, when social services called and said someone would meet them at the hospital.

Matt's mother had to have a police check before she was allowed to supervise the family in the hospital overnight, and a social worker sat with them all through the next day.

Jonatan had 25 x-rays to check for broken bones, they said.

Police and social services investigated the nursery on August 16, she says, and were told a high chair was likely to blame for the marks.

Read More

Boy, three, is savaged by panther after his father convinces his friends at local circus to let it out of its cage to take a photo

A report said he was left in the chair for '74 minutes to approximately two hours over the course of the day'.

The couple were allowed home unsupervised with their son around 10pm on August 16.

Adrianna woke up the next day and could not remember what had happened.

Someone from the nursery called to ask where her son was on the Monday, and days after she was sent an invoice, she said.

The couple were eventually told their £1,600 deposit will be returned, and all fees were eventually refunded on October 8, she added.

Adrianna said she's so traumatised by the experience that she's still off work looking after Jonatan.

She said: 'I get such bad anxiety now if I think about sending him to another nursery.

'You have to be able to put your trust in childcare providers and this has really damaged our ability to do that.

'This has had a massive impact on our family, and the nursery just seem to be carrying on regardless.'

A spokesperson for The Cheshire Day Nursery said: 'We were very sorry to hear that the child suffered bruising and appreciate this has been a distressing time for his family.

'The Local Authority report concluded that the straps on the chair could possibly have caused a bruise but was not conclusive.

'As is common practice, the child was put into the highchair on four separate occasions for short periods across the day, including when he was eating his breakfast, morning snack and lunch.

'On the day, he showed no signs of distress, and our team did not notice any bruising. Police have reviewed CCTV and have confirmed they will not be investigating any further, while the Local Authority said there was no evidence of malicious intent to harm the child.

'We have been using these highchairs for many years without incident. We have been advised by the Local Authority to be completely sure that the straps on the chairs are keeping children safe, but do not restrict them. The safety of the children in our care is always our number one priority.

'As a gesture of goodwill, we have refunded the family all of their fees.'