CHIGWELL: Schools watchdog apologises for handling of Rhiya Malin case

2:50pm Thursday 26th May 2011

By Clare Hardy

AN education watchdog has apologised for its handling of the death of a toddler at a nursery.

Two-year-old Rhiya Malin suffered a fatal heart attack at Eton Manor nursery in Chigwell, after becoming stuck in a playhouse while she was unsupervised in 2007.

Regulators Ofsted were criticised at the toddler's inquest in December, where a jury returned a narrative verdict stating that Rhiya had suffered a cardiac arrest due to compression of the neck.

Her mother, Shatl Malin, 31, said at the time of the hearing that it was wrong that parents could not see a 2006 Ofsted report raising concerns about staffing levels at the nursery because the company that ran it, Casterbridge Care and Education, had transferred it to another of its companies, Casterbridge Nurseries.

She added: “It is outrageous that Casterbridge re-registered just prior to the inspection (of 2008).

“Parents and other nurseries need to be made aware of these failings so no more children are lost.”

Ofsted's director of education and care, Patrick Leeson, told the BBC during the recording of its Radio 4 programme You & Yours that the regulator was planning to change its website so links to nurseries that had been re-registered could be found at the bottom of inspection reports.

“We do believe that parents should have access to the previous history of previous providers when a re-registration has occurred,” he told the programme.

He also apologised for the watchdog taking two years to sit down and speak to Rhiya's parents.

“It was certainly the case that for a considerable amount of time after the tragic death of their daughter, it took some time for Ofsted to have a face to face meeting with the Malins, which is what they needed and I have since met them several times and apologised for that,” he added.

A spokeswoman for Casterbridge Nurseries said: "Between 2007 and 2008 the group sought to consolidate the various Companies.

"The decision made to consolidate the companies was made in early 2007 and some of the re-organisation had already taken place before Rhiya’s tragic death.

"As part of the process the operation of the nurseries was shifted to Casterbridge Nurseries Limited, a company which was already in existence and operating a number of nurseries.

"The subsequent re-registration with Ofsted had absolutely nothing to do with Rhiya’s death or with any attempt to cover up any issue."