A nursery group at the centre of an E-Coli outbreak is facing an investigation after it withdrew places from two children with additional support needs (ASN), due to a lack of staff.
Bright Stars, which took over four nurseries in East Lothian in June this year, had its 1140 hours funding withdrawn by the local authority after concerns were raised over its policy towards ASN children.
Now the Care Inspectorate has confirmed it is investigating a complaint made by a parent about one of the nurseries.
READ MORE: East Lothian nursery funding withdrawn over 'approach to inclusion'
The group confirmed it had informed two parents at one of its nurseries that it was unable to continue with their places saying it was "incredibly sorry" to have to make the decision.
However, they said, they had been unable to recruit staff with the skills required to provide one-to-one services to the youngsters.
It came as East Lothian Council published dozens of documents setting out its dealings with the nursery group after it was inundated with Freedom of Information requests from parents who were left in the lurch by the withdrawal of the funding.
The local authority said it could not renew its 1140 hours contract with Bright Stars because the decision to exclude the ASN children breached National Standards.
The documents reveal that concern about the group's approach to children with additional support were first raised in July this year when a staff member allegedly told a council worker that they "would not be accepting children who require specific 1-1 additional support without financial assistance from the council".
It was then claimed the family of at least one youngster attending one of the nurseries received notice their child had been "expelled".
It is understood that family contacted the Care Inspectorate following the decision.
A spokesperson for the Care Inspectorate said: "A concern has been raised with us about this service. We are considering all information given to us carefully. If we uphold a complaint we will publish the outcome on our website."
They added: "Every child in Scotland has the right to good quality, safe care which meets their needs and respects their rights.
The row broke out as the group's three Pear Tree nurseries were forced to close after an E-Coli outbreak. Its fourth nursery the Pumpkin Patch, North Berwick, was not affected by the outbreak.
Documents released by the council detailed meetings and correspondence between it staff and Bright Stars as well as the Care Inspectorate and Scottish Government amid concern that the nursery group's actions went against National Standards by discriminating against children with disabilities.
At the start of August, the council's head of education emailed the company after she said they sent a message to parents via an App which caused "significant concern".
She said: "You have stated in your message that you ‘cannot continue to offer places for children with additional support needs’ at your nursery.
"I am deeply concerned by this statement. I am sure that you will be aware that this would put you in breach of any contract you may have with East Lothian Council.
"I am also extremely concerned that you have stated in your message that ‘the local authority has also withdrawn their funding for children with additional support needs’.
"This is not the case, and I ask that you now correct this statement immediately."
The company responded two days later by removing the post from the App, papers state, adding they said: "In relation to the wording: ‘cannot continue to offer places for children with additional support needs, the communication should have explained that this was limited only to the provision of places where 1:1 support and the nursery remains in a position where that cannot be accommodated."
Minutes of a meeting between council heads and Bright Stars on August 11 show concerns being raised about the company's decision to end a contract with families without discussions with the council and use of the word "expulsion" in the termination notice.
A representative of Bright Stars disputed the use of the word "expulsion" and said the company believed it had not breached equality legislation however was unable to say whether future children with additional support needs would be given places saying there were "many variables" which would need to considered in each case.
Bright Stars, which took over the East Lothian nurseries in June this year, said it had committed to funding the free hours for its children until the end of the year to avoid disruption.
A spokesperson said: "We understand how difficult it must be for any parent who is told that a nursery does not have staff with the specialist skills to care for a child with multiple additional needs and keep them safe.
"We are incredibly sorry and sad that we had to inform two parents at one of our nurseries that we were unable to continue their placement. Despite advertising for staff who would have been able to provide that support, we were unable to find anyone who could have provided the one to one care required.
“As a nursery group, we provide additional support to 134 children in total, of whom only eight receive additional council funding in other areas. This is not about funding, we cover the cost ourselves. This matter is purely about the safety of ALL of the children in our care.
“The fact that East Lothian Council has chosen to withdraw the 1140 hours contracts for children attending four of our nurseries citing the Equality Act as one of the reasons is something that is hugely disappointing, not only for our staff but for all of the parents concerned.
“We recently held a meeting with the council, which we felt was positive, and are still optimistic that at some point in the future they will reinstate that funding.
“Meanwhile, we have informed parents at those nurseries that we will cover the cost of the childcare that would have been provided by the council until the end of the year, and will contribute half of the cost from the New Year. Parents have been incredibly supportive as they recognise their children are well cared for and supported at our nurseries and we would like to thank them for their ongoing support.”
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