“I didn’t know how this could have happened or how long he had been in there or how much salt he had ingested.”
13:40, 29 Jan 2026Updated 16:16, 29 Jan 2026
The incident occurred at the nursery at Maybury Primary School.(Image: Google)
An Edinburgh mum was left fearing her two-year-old son was dead after he was discovered limp inside a grit bin at his nursery. The toddler had sparked a frantic search after he was found to be missing.
The 36-year-old, who preferred not to be named, went to collect her son from the Early Learning and Childcare service at the capital’s Maybury Primary School on Friday, January 16. However, staff informed her after waiting for 15 minutes that he hadn’t been seen for nearly an hour, and they had contacted the police.
Despite the fact he was meant to be under supervision, he was reportedly left alone, and had last been accounted for at 11.10am.
After searching the premises, the youngster was found “cold, shivering and disorientated” inside the closed container in the playground. He was discovered before police attended.
The mum-of-five told Edinburgh Evening News: “When I opened the box I thought he was dead because he was curled up in the fetal position and wasn’t moving. He was cold, shivering, his skin was pale and his face, mouth and nostrils were covered in grit.
“When I picked him up he was disorientated and just slumped into my arms. And once we were inside he didn’t appear to be his usual self and he was shivering and gulping down water.
“I didn’t know how this could have happened or how long he had been in there or how much salt he had ingested. Staff told me he had last accounted for at 11.10am, and I arrived to collect him at 11.50am. So I don’t understand how nobody noticed that he wasn’t there anymore.”
Her child was taken to hospital, where he was found to have elevated salt levels in his blood. He was discharged later the same day following more tests.
Although he returned to the nursery on Turnhouse Road last week, the mum later decided to keep him at home, stating her trust had been broken.
She added: “They still haven’t told me what actually happened to my child on that day. They described it as an unfortunate incident but that is just completely not acknowledging how serious this situation actually was.
“After everything that’s happened I just I can’t send him back there. No one has actually admitted to what went wrong on that day.
I asked to see the CCTV on the day that it happened so I would have more information to give the doctors. They said they would check it but I didn’t hear anything back.
“The next week I was told the CCTV didn’t cover the area where the grit bin was and then a few days after that they told me that the CCTV hadn’t been working that day – it just doesn’t make sense.
An incident report stated her son had been playing with the grit bin earlier in the day, but was told not to by a staff member. He was last accounted for in the garden “seen going towards the door to go inside”.
However, the mum pointed out this failed to explain how he was unaccounted for for nearly an hour.
She said: “My son is very active and energetic and loves exploring. Last year it was identified that he lacks safety awareness and his keyworker described him as ‘determined and very quick’ – we actually had to take him out of nursery for a while because he was accessing the nursery toilets.”
Following a Child Meeting Plan in November, an agreement was put in place for ‘tag team supervision’ – a safety system meaning staff had to notify each other when her son had moved between nursery zones. But she was shocked to learn the measure had been discontinued without her consent.
She said: “When I brought this up with them they said ‘oh we didn’t think he needed it anymore so we stopped it’. And I just can’t understand how nobody noticed he was missing for so long and the incident report doesn’t reflect what actually happened.”
The incident was reported to both Edinburgh Council and the Care Inspectorate. It is understood CCTV is now in operation, extra staff are on duty outside, and the grit bin has been locked.
Council Leader Jane Meagher said: “I was shocked to hear about this awful incident and can only imagine how frightening it must have been for the child’s mother and family. I’m so sorry they had to go through this.
“It’s simply unacceptable that such a young child could be unaccounted for and put at risk, particularly in a place where they should be safe and cared for.
“I want to reassure the family that the Care Inspectorate were immediately informed, and urgent improvements have already been made at the nursery. I am insisting that these are independently reviewed to make sure all lessons have been properly learned and that this can never be allowed to happen again.”
A spokesperson for the Care Inspectorate said: “The Care Inspectorate has been appropriately notified of an incident involving a child at this nursery. A concern has also been raised with us about this service and we will consider all information given to us carefully.
“We will continue to liaise with the service and provider to ensure that the health, wellbeing and safety of children is paramount and will take any further action as required.
“If we uphold a complaint we publish the outcome on our website. Every child in Scotland has the right to good quality, safe care which meets their needs and respects their rights. Anyone with a concern about a service can contact us on 0345 600 9527.”