Busy Bees pleaded guilty to two food safety and hygiene offences that were discovered by environmental health at the nursery last year.
The hearing took place at Thames Magistrates Court on 16 May. The council said the fine was 'significant' and reflected the 'serious nature of the offences'.
The court heard the Environmental Health Officer found ‘extensive evidence’ of fresh mouse droppings throughout the kitchen, under units, by the sink, storeroom, and in the children’s playrooms during the inspection on 12 January 2022. As a result, the premises were closed by Waltham Forest Council on the same day using Hygiene Emergency Prohibition powers.
In addition to the active mice infestation, other issues relating to cleanliness, hygiene and the management of safety were also discovered. These included a lack of hot water due to a broken boiler, no soap in the toilets, inadequate levels of cleaning in various areas of the premises and poorly documented management control.
Photographs taken by the environmental health team showed mouse droppings on the floor.
The nursery group was charged with contravening the regulations for 'failure to keep the premises clean and in good repair and condition' and with 'failure to put in place adequate procedures to control pests'.
The nursery’s most recent Ofsted inspection was in December 2017 when it was graded as Good. The setting provides 100 childcare places.
Councillor Khevyn Limbajee, Waltham Forest’s cabinet member for community safety, said the findings were shocking.
He said, ‘When parents entrust their children to attend a nursery, they do so in the belief that they will be left in a safe and clean environment.
‘Young children are particularly vulnerable to the diseases due to their developing immune systems. The intervention from our Food & Safety Team was crucial in preventing children from being exposed to hazardous conditions that could have impacted their health.
‘The Judge has rightly recognised the serious nature of the offences in this case through the imposition of such a significant penalty against Busy Bees Nurseries Limited.’
As well as the fine the nursery operator was ordered to pay costs £15,092 plus a victim surcharge of £190.
Matt Labaki, operations director for Busy Bees, said, ‘The health and safety of our children and colleagues is of paramount importance and we can only be satisfied if our standards meet the required levels.
‘Once the issues had been identified we immediately brought in external contractors to address both issues that had been found and they conducted a complete review of our health and hygiene processes. Both issues were rectified within days.
‘The independent specialists reviewed the site and implemented a plan to deal with the issues and ensure we meet the required standards. Our actions included a thorough deep clean of the entire premises, including all equipment used within the nursery. We have made significant investment in the centre and in retraining staff to ensure all are fully up to speed with current hygiene best practice.’
'At the hearing, the judge acknowledged that this was a localised failing and only related to this particular nursery. It was acknowledged in court that Busy Bees has an excellent record with consistently high gradings in hygiene across our nurseries and that industry recognised systems and checks are in place.’
Whipps Cross Hospital is part of Barts health NHS trust, which has also been contacted for a comment.
