Death threats for owner of Palmerston North daycare Little Monkeys, as second incident revealed

Ava-Rose pictured a few hours after her mum Sarah Jacobson picked her up from Little Monkeys Preschool yesterday. Photo / Supplied

A second family has complained about a child being injured at the same Palmerston North childcare centre that was attended by a toddler who died after an apparent head injury last year.

Sarah Jacobson said on Facebook that she picked up her almost-one-year-old daughter Ava-Rose unconscious from Little Monkeys Preschool after the centre rang to say the girl had been hurt on her first day at the centre yesterday.

"She had blood on her nose and a bump on her head and she was fast 'asleep'," she said.

Ava-Rose pictured a few hours after her mum Sarah Jacobson picked her up from Little Monkeys Preschool yesterday. Photo / Supplied

"I rushed her into the doctor's and said she won't wake up, so they called the ambulance and doctors and nurses rushed in. I have never been so scared in my life!

"Thankfully soon after that she woke up and doctors kept checking her and we went home a few hours later and she was in the safe zone."

But centre owner Jenny Hall said Ava-Rose was hurt on a slide in what she described as "a common accident that happens in every daycare".

She said Ava-Rose "had gone down a slide and then was starting to climb back up and was knocked into by another child".

"She received a bump to the head and small cut lip at 11.14am. She wasn't knocked unconscious," she said.

"She was calmed down with cuddles and cold cloth and at the time of ringing mum she had stopped crying and mum was told she was fine. We try to keep parents calm as they are normally driving to pick up their child."

Hall said she encouraged Jacobson to take Ava-Rose to the doctor.

"This is a common accident that happens in every daycare. We rung mum straight away and notified and advised her to take her to the doctor as we are not medical professionals," she said.

However Jacobson said they did not tell her to take Ava-Rose to the doctor. "I asked for their opinion and the teachers exact words was, 'Honestly we wouldn't even call a parent on a accident like that, we only rung because it was her first day'."

Hall also issued a full statement detailing what happened to 20-month-old Lorenzo Miranda, whose parents spoke out yesterday about his death from a brain bleed last November after an apparent injury at Little Monkeys.

"It hasn't been easy at all, today I received a few death threats for my children so 'I could feel what its like'," she said.

Lorenzo Miranda died of a brain bleed in November 2017. Photo supplied

Hall said Little Monkeys staff had a close relationship with Lorenzo Miranda for a year before he died.

"He was a beautiful and loving soul with a cute scowl that made everyone laugh. We adored him and his family," she said.

"On his last day at Little Monkeys, his behaviour could best be described as normal.

"He came in and went straight to a teacher's birthday mat time. At no time during the day did we witness a fall, accident or injury.

"There was an occasion where he was a little bit upset but at that time there were three staff members within arms reach of him.

"He was on the ground near a chair. His cry was a normal, frustrated cry, not one of pain, which all parents and carers of children would recognise.

"He had only just left the small kai table and did not have the physical capability to climb on the chair he was next to by himself.

"Another child was leaning over him. He was checked thoroughly by two teachers for any injuries, including his head.

"There was no visible signs of any injury. He had a short cuddle and then ate his afternoon tea and was running around outside, excitedly visiting the rabbits.

"At no point was there any indication he had suffered a head injury, or, in fact, any injury."

She said Lorenzo was "eating, running around and, moments before he left for the day, was happily dancing along to Miss Bunny".

Lorenzo Miranda in the arms of his mother Beaudene Wi with his father Ricardo Miranda. Photo / Supplied

When his mum Beaudene Wi rang from hospital that night, Hall said she "rang around the staff I could get hold of and then called his mum back to say he had not been involved in any accidents".

"I did say there was a possibility he may have fallen off a chair but this was only because during the time he was grizzling, he was near a chair," she said.

"On the same day we were informed of his passing, we contacted the Ministry of Education and Worksafe NZ, and gave statements to police.

"They were all satisfied we had followed safety procedures. They agreed there was no evidence of an accident occurring, or any behaviours that may have caused us to think he had been injured."

She said an extended family member complained about the incident to the Education Ministry in March.

"As is their process, they put us on a probationary licence and a day later we had a full licensing inspection," she said.

"The ECE licensing criteria is 215 pages long and is very specific and thorough.

"We did have some small things that needed to be fixed, for example the rope in our garden path was too thin by a few millimetres.

"We remedied those few things and were returned back to a full licence.

"They also confirmed again that on Lorenzo's last day here we followed all safety policies and procedures, and there was no way we could have been aware of any injury.

"The investigation process and the corresponding negative media attention has been extremely hard on our team at Little Monkeys. We all care deeply about children and we always strive to provide them with the best care possible.

"Lorenzo's passing was a tragedy. We understand that people grieve in different ways and we have nothing but love and good thoughts for Beaudene and Ricardo.

"We are so sorry they had to go through this unimaginable horror but we will carry Lorenzo and his parents in our hearts always."