Mum's plea for nursery security boost after man picks up wrong child

A mother who was left "gripped by an unimaginable fear" after her daughter was taken from nursery by the grandfather of another child has set up a petition calling for enhanced security measures.

Toddler Rosie was picked up and driven away from Kids Planet in Crosby on Merseyside last week before the man apparently realised his mistake.

Rosie's mother, Jody, 37, said her trust had been "shattered" in a system meant to safeguard children.

Kids Planet previously apologised but said it was unable to comment further while internal and external investigations were ongoing.

Writing on the petition page, mum-of-three Jody said: "Our lives changed the day our two-year-old daughter was released from her nursery into the care of an unknown adult.

"Without prior approval, this man was permitted to bypass security, enter the children's area, disturb our daughter's nap, collect her belongings, and leave the facility with her.

"He drove away, leaving us gripped by an unimaginable fear that no parent should ever have to face.

"This alarming breach of security shattered our trust in a system meant to safeguard our children."

She said current protocols in nurseries and early years' settings clearly lacked the necessary measures to prevent such incidents.

"It's time for us to take action and ensure that our children, our most precious gifts, are protected at all cost," she added.

She said she was campaigning for all nurseries to have identity verification, password protection and controlled collection points.

Following the incident, Ofsted confirmed that inspectors had visited the nursery on Monday and a report would be published in due course.

Kids Planet, which was inspected in October 2021, has an overall Ofsted rating of "Good".

But in December 2025, inspectors visited the nursery after it had earlier reported a "significant event" to the watchdog.

In the inspection report - which did not detail what the incident was - Ofsted noted the nursery "was not meeting some of the requirements and had taken action to put this right".

This included revising the risk assessments and procedures in regard to carrying out head counts of children and implementing additional safeguards to ensure children remained within sight and hearing of staff.

Kids Planet previously confirmed a child had been mistakenly released to a grandparent who was known to staff, had passed all required security vetting and who was an approved collector for a different child, who was also on-site at the time.

"The child was returned safely to the nursery within minutes, and we are in direct continuous contact with the families involved to offer our sincere apologies and to provide ongoing support while a full investigation takes place," a spokesperson added.

In its latest statement, the nursery said: "We are working closely with all relevant authorities, including Ofsted and the local authority designated officer, to ensure these investigations are thorough and progressed without delay.

"We remain in direct, regular contact with the families involved and are sharing relevant updates from all enquiries as they progress."

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