Mums shock at local sports complex after child safeguarding issues are raised.
A mother was left shaking in work after a receiving a call to say her 5 year old son had been allowed to walk home alone from a Liverpool youth centre during rush hour as he was crying on Monday afternoon.
The mother who does not want to be named had left her son with his grandmother who took him to Sports Alive in Fazakerley where he was expected to be kept safe by staff.
The child who can not be named for legal reasons had become upset and wondered away from the sports complex and was seen playing alone in a near-by park by a friend of his mum who asked who he was with before taking him back to Sports Alive.
He then left the area again, also known as, Adlam Park Activity Centre, and headed back to his grandmother much earlier than the 4pm time she was due to collect him.
The child-attractive complex which features outdoor football pitches claim to be a charity organisation with the support & development of young people at its heart.
The issue raised huge child safeguarding concerns with both the parent and members of the public with most showing their disbelief at the potential danger the boy could of been in.
The summer holidays and prolonged heatwave mean kids are spending more time than usual out in public and the dangers they face are amplified with the risk of being snatched by paedophiles being distressing worry for any parent.
Rising temperatures require extra care to be paid to children who will dehydrate faster whilst playing and will need plenty of water, and possibly sun cream as well adequate clothing to suit conditions.
The nature in which the child was allowed to leave twice whilst being upset show a severe lack of concentration from management and staff at the under fire establishment who are registered on the charity commission under charity number 1179409.
Child Safeguarding at work policies seem to have been breached in a serious way and it is understood the incident is being investigated by local authorities.
A spokesman from Sports Alive spoke to Enchanted LifePath to confirm they are also investigating the incident and will be reviewing procedures and staff training but wanted to make parents aware that they are an open access establishment and are not registered in child care.
It is understood that Sports Alive had asked the child’s grandmother for her up to date contact details in-case they needed to contact her which suggests that although they are an open access organisation, they still at some point of this incident recognised the need to look out for the well-being of young children on site which leaves the question of how did this happen?
Management at the centre admitted to the incident as they issued an apology during a text conversation with the aggrieved mother who recognised the failures of the centre and raised the issue on a post on her Facebook page.
The mum of one said she felt sick as she heard the disturbing news from her mother who called her at work in shock at how the boy had just arrived at the house without being cared for by a responsible adult.
He was due to be picked up by his grandmother but instead he had to make his own way back to safety in an area with heavy traffic.
The child who was visibly shaken after his ordeal had told his mum that he said he “wanted her”.
The mum who is not happy with the situation, hopes that raising the subject will alert other parents of children who attend the centre to the lacklustre attempts made to protect her child and that Sports Alive will adopt a better attitude towards child safeguarding policies in future.
She added she would not be allowing her child to return to Sports Alive and accused them of “playing Russian Roulette with his life”.