A four-year-old boy was left behind on a nursery trip to a wildlife park by staff for 40 minutes, his horrified mother has revealed.
Carson Morhulec was left crying by the toilets after staff at Dunmore Nursery forgot about him when they were leaving the Scottish Deer Centre, in Cupar, Scotland, on Friday afternoon.
His mother, Clare Hodge, who said there were three members of staff looking after just nine children on the trip, described the ordeal as ‘astounding’.
Ms Hodge said the children had been told to go to the toilet before leaving the wildlife park – and Carson was the last in line.
When he came out to find no one there, he thought his classmates were hiding from him. He was only returned to his mother after staff were alerted by the Scottish Deer Centre.
The nursery declined to comment and referred MailOnline to Fife Council who have said they are treating the incident ‘extremely seriously’.
Four-year-old Carson Morhulec (pictured) was left on his own for 40 minutes, his mother has revealed
Carson is pictured with his mother Clare Hodge who described the incident as ‘astounding’
The children had been taken on a trip to the Scottish Deer Centre in Cupar (pictured)
Furious Ms Hodge said on Facebook: ‘Carson said he stood crying when a man then found him and asked if he was ok and then took him to the deer centre office.
‘The deer centre then contacted the nursery to let them know that they had left without him.’
She said she has had an ‘unreal’ amount of scenarios running through her head as to what could have happened to her son.
Ms Hodge said: ‘The worst part of this whole experience for me has been the fact that there were only nine kids on this trip and three teachers.
‘A ratio of three kids to one adult and they still managed to lose one and be unaware.
‘Even more astounding was I was told that there was a robust risk assessment in place where a minimum of two headcounts should have been done prior to leaving the trip.
‘But this didn’t happen – instead they asked the wee ones on the bus ‘is everyone here’ and they shouted ‘yes’ so they left. They didn’t bother to count them.’
Fife Council confirmed that the Care Inspectorate has been notified.
Staff at Dunmore Nursery (pictured) forgot about four-year-old Carson when they were leaving
Clare Hodge told of her shock that her son was left behind seeing as there were three members of staff looking after just nine children
Shelagh McLean, the local authority’s head of service, told MailOnline: ‘First of all I’d like to apologise wholeheartedly to the child and their family for what happened on Friday.
‘We are treating this incident extremely seriously and an investigation is underway into how this happened.
‘As soon as the child was noted as missing immediate action was taken. The school was in contact with the child’s parents and the Care Inspectorate was notified immediately.
‘We do have robust guidance and procedures in place for schools and nurseries regarding school trips. As part of this investigation, we will review these policies and procedures to see where any improvements can be made.
‘As there are individuals involved who will be easily identifiable in the local community, even if not directly named, until the full details are clear and official proceedings are finalised, which would include any action taken by Care Inspectorate, we are not in a position to comment further on any specific action that will be taken. ‘
