Five year old Lauren McConnell, who suffered stress and psychological abuse in a creche which figured in an RTÉ exposé, has been awarded €17,500 compensation in the Circuit Civil Court.
During the case the court was told the story of how Lauren had gone from a happy child to a cranky one after she was moved to a different room at the Giraffe Childcare facility in Stepaside in Dublin.
Barrister Michael Connellan said Lauren had first attended the creche when she was 11 months old. Her behaviour had changed when she was moved to the “big room” seven months later. The court heard she attended the creche on a daily basis and her parents claimed she had suffered “severe emotional upset, stress and terror” during the eight weeks she spent in that room, from June to September 2012.
The judge was told Lauren had been reluctant to get into her parents’ car before being dropped at the creche, crying uncontrollably and refusing to be separated from them, and how she was upset and tearful in the evenings when collected. Her sleep and diet had been disturbed.
Disturbingly, Lauren’s parents claimed they on several occasions had raised their concern on their daughter’s behavior with the relevant minder at the creche and with management staff, but that their concerns were not being taken seriously, and were only told that this was all just a "natural reaction to change."
In September 2012 Lauren's parents requested she be moved to a different room in the creche, and noticed her behavior start to improve shortly after.
A psychologist’s report later carried out established Lauren had suffered an acute reaction to stress following her transfer to the “big room”, which was a harsh and abusive environment.
Following the airing of the RTÉ Prime Time Investigates programme, which exposed the treatment of children in a number of creches, Lauren's parents removed her from the creche, and Lauren, through her mother Amanda McConnell, sued Giraffe Childcare. Her parents have also sued the creche in separate proceedings.
Yesterday, Giraffe Childcare made Lauren, who is now five, a €17,500 offer, although did so without any admission of liability.
