On the record

Another 'nanny from hell' story had us all biting our fingernails until the end of a crown court trial earlier this month (what would we do if there was a 'nanny from heaven' story?). Australian nanny Michelle Brittain was finally cleared of charges of cruelty and causing grievous bodily harm after being accused of deliberately feeding peanut butter to a toddler with a known nut allergy, who had to be taken to hospital unconscious before recovering; and of holding another baby's hand against a hot oven until it burned. This case raises again the issues of employment records and nanny registration. The Professional Association of Nursery Nurses told Professional Nanny, 'We believe that, while a national register of all childcarers would not prevent such incidents occurring, it would put a mechanism in place whereby, after investigation, should the nanny be found responsible or negligent in any way, either she would be prevented from ever working with children again, or a comment would be recorded on her registration details which a future employer would be made aware of.' PANN professional officer Tricia Pritchard said, 'Even when a nanny has been found not guilty of an offence against a child, we believe the fact that an inquiry has taken place should be recorded and the information made available to possible future employers. Registration and full regulation of the whole childcare workforce in this country is a child protection issue.'