The mother of a two-year-old boy who was found on a busy main road in Epsom after wandering away from his nursery group in the woods lived “every parent’s worst nightmare”.

Thomas Hartley, 2, went missing from Appletree Day Nursery’s Forest School – an outdoor activities class run by the nursery in Horton Country Park – while a member of staff was on a three-minute “comfort break” on Friday, August 12.

Thomas was later found on nearby Horton Lane by a member of the public before being reunited with a volunteer with the nursery.

In a letter sent to parents on the day of Thomas’ disappearance, Dennis Hockey, Ofsted registered person for the nursery, said the toddler was “unhurt and in no distress”.

He added: “There will be no further Forest School sessions until we are confident that all necessary changes to procedures have been made.”

Surrey Comet:

Eight children, including Thomas, were having lunch with two members of staff and a volunteer before carrying on with their activities on Friday afternoon.

One member of staff then went for a three-minute “comfort break”, according to Mr Hockey’s letter. But when they returned, Thomas was missing.

While one member of staff guarded the remaining children, the other two adults frantically searched for Thomas.

Staff eventually found him with a member of the public safe and well.

Surrey Comet:

Thomas’s mother Susannah Hartley took to Facebook on Friday night to reassure friends that her son was safe.

On the SW19 Mums Network page, she wrote: “It makes me feel ill to think of what could have happened to him and I’m so grateful he is safe and well.

“On a normal day I would sing the praises of this nursery. My son loves going there.

“But it appears someone took their eye off the ball today and in childcare you can’t afford to do that.

“I do feel reassured that they are taking it really seriously by stopping Forest School outings for the time being while they investigate.”

She added: “The whole thing was so scary. It’s every parent’s worst nightmare and I am just so glad he’s OK.”

Surrey Comet:

Jo Young, Director of Quality and Nursing at Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust which runs the nursery said an internal investigation into the incident was being undertaken.

She added: “We are extremely thankful that the child was unharmed and not in any distress, and offer again our sincere apologies to the family.

“I would like to extend my gratitude to the member of the public who stayed with the child until the nursery staff located them soon after the child left the group attending the Forest School.

“We are mortified that we didn’t maintain our usual high standards on this occasion and need to assure ourselves and our families that lessons are learnt from this incident, and all necessary changes to procedures are made, before any Forest School sessions can continue.”

An Ofsted spokesperson said: “We can confirm we have been made aware of an incident at this setting, and are investigating the matter further.”

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