Nursery manager bit child then lied to parents saying he did it to himself

A nursery manager who bit a young child’s arm and then tried to cover it up has been spared jail.

Amanda Byrne, 57, sunk her teeth into the boy’s arm at the now-closed Little Stars Nursery in Erith, southeast London, on November 24 last year.

When his parents picked him up at the end of the day, they were told their son had bit himself in frustration.

But the next day, they got a call from the nursery’s safeguarding lead to say a member of staff had reported the manager for causing the marks.

Byrne, of Erith, pleaded guilty to assault at Bromley Magistrates’ Court last month.

She was given a six-month prison sentence, suspended for a year, and ordered to pay £500 in compensation.

The boy’s parents, who can’t be identified for legal reasons, said the ordeal ‘put them through hell’.

His dad said: ‘We were absolutely mortified, just in a state of shock that somebody with that responsibility would do that.’

The boy’s mum added: ‘We put our trust in her.

‘She was somebody we had quite a lot of respect for, so when we found out it was Mandy we were just gobsmacked.’

The incident was reported to police and regulator Ofsted, which suspended the nursery from operating on November 26, two days after the incident.

The nursery never re-opened after the provider resigned its registration.

The boy’s dad said: ‘We both feel that justice hasn’t been served.

‘It’s put us through hell.

‘This is one of the most difficult patches we’ve had in our lives, dealing with this.’

Despite it all, they said they’re very thankful for the other members of staff who were whistle-blowers.

He added: ‘If it wasn’t for them, we would never have known, and she would still be looking after kids.’

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