Nursery workers forgot boy, 4, at animal park when bus left without him

'The what ifs that have ran round my head all weekend is unreal.'

A mum has spoken about how she felt after her young son was left behind on a nursery trip to a deer park.

Carson Hodge, four, was found crying by a stranger when he realised his friends and teachers from Dunmore Nursery had headed home without him.

He was using the toilet at the Scottish Deer Centre in Fife, Scotland when the nursery bus drove off – they thought he had been hiding from them.

The council-run school is now investigating how three teachers – in charge of 10 children – had managed to lose Carson.

His mum Clare said on Facebook that a park visitor found her son in tears, with workers phoning the nursery while looking after him.

Parents and guardians were told that the bus, due to arrive at 12.30pm, had been delayed. The nursery informed them half an hour later a student was ‘unaccounted’ for.

Clare said: ‘Whilst on their end-of-year trip to the Scottish Deer Centre all the children were asked to go to the toilet before getting on the bus to come home.

‘Carson was the last one to use the toilet and when he came out he couldn’t find anyone and thought they were hiding from him.

‘The reason he couldn’t find them was because they had left him.’

Carson told his mum ‘a man’ found him crying and brought him to the park office.

‘The what ifs that have ran round my head all weekend is unreal,’ she added.

Clare was told by the nursery that teachers failed to do a headcount before heading home.

‘Instead, they asked the wee ones on the bus if everyone was here and they shouted yes so they left,’ she said.

‘They didn’t bother to count them.’

The council which runs the nursery says the care service watchdog has been informed and that officials are investigating the ‘extremely serious’ incident.

Head of service Shelagh McLean told STV News: ‘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.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.