The recent BBC Whistleblower programme on Britain's childcare industry highlighted some serious problems within the ChildCare sector.
Imogen Willcocks,the BBC journalist who prented the problem, was alerted to a potential problem in the childcare so many working parents rely on, by an Ofsted Inspector. 'She told me that Ofsted inspection reports - the only thing parents have to go on when choosing a nursery - aren't worth the paper they're printed,' Willcocks said.
During the programme, Willcocks revealed a number of key failings at nurseries and holiday childcare. She was employed without anyone checking her references and more critically without getting the all clear from the Criminal Records Bureau. She, along with many other members of staff, was left alone with many more children than she ought to be left with, and at one point saw such poor attention to child safety that the nursery in question was closed within days.
The BBC journalist also got a job at Mark Warners before the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. Wondering whether the Maddie incident spurred the company to improve its childcare, the programme even had another undercover BBC reporter apply for a job. That reporter was also employed without having their references checked.
The holiday company issued a statement saying: ' It is company policy that all childcare staff employed by Mark Warner must supply two references and submit a form to check their criminal record. There were clearly two occasions where we failed to do this. That is completely unacceptable and we apologise. We have now reviewed and strengthened our procedures.'
March 2008
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