A 2-year-old boy missing from Maybury Primary Early Learning and Childcare Centre in Edinburgh was found curled up inside a locked grit bin on Jan. 16 and taken to hospital with elevated blood-salt levels; he was discharged the same evening. His mother initially feared he was dead when she found him limp and covered in grit. The incident — and the ending of a prior "tag team" supervision plan the mother says she was not told about — has been reported to City of Edinburgh Council and the Care Inspectorate. The nursery has since added CCTV, locked the bin and increased playground supervision.
Toddler Found Curled Up Inside Locked Grit Bin At Edinburgh Nursery — Mother Initially Feared He Was Dead
Maybury Primary Early Learning and ChildcareGoogle Maps
A 2-year-old boy who went missing from Maybury Primary Early Learning and Childcare Centre in Edinburgh on Jan. 16 was later discovered curled up and shivering inside a locked grit bin on the nursery playground. The child was taken to hospital and discharged the same evening; the incident has prompted an investigation by local authorities.
What Happened
The boy’s mother, a 36-year-old mother of five, arrived at the nursery at around noon to collect her son. After waiting about 15 minutes she learned he had been missing for nearly an hour and that police had been contacted. A frantic search followed until she opened the grit bin — a storage box that holds rock salt used for treating icy paths — and found her son lying inside.
“When I opened the box, I thought he was dead because he was curled up in the fetal position and wasn't moving,” the mother said. “He was cold, shivering, his skin was pale and his face, mouth and nostrils were covered in grit.”
Medical Condition
The child was taken to a nearby hospital, where tests identified elevated salt levels in his blood. He was treated and discharged later that same evening.
Jane MeagherSST / Alamy Stock Photo
Background And Safeguards
In November, the nursery and the family had agreed a "tag team supervision" arrangement requiring staff to alert one another when the child was moved between different areas. The mother told reporters she had not been informed that this arrangement had been discontinued without her consent and was alarmed her son could be unaccounted for so long.
Response And Next Steps
The incident has been reported to City of Edinburgh Council and the Care Inspectorate. City of Edinburgh Council leader Jane Meagher described the episode as an “awful incident” and said urgent improvements had been made and would be independently reviewed to ensure lessons are learned.
The nursery has since locked the grit bin, installed CCTV and increased staff supervision on the playground. The mother initially allowed her son to return to the centre but later chose to keep him at home, saying she could not trust the setting until responsibilities are clarified and accountability is provided.
Note: Maybury Primary did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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