| Conclusion Summary |
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On June 29, 2026, the Office of Childhood (OOC) received an allegation that on June 23, 2026, Child A (6-years-old) reported being slammed on a bench by Inspire Early Education Ltd. staff Brendan Nichols, who allegedly picked Child A up underneath his armpits and slammed him down on a wooden picnic bench. Child A sustained a cut on the back of his leg. After conducting an investigation, Compliance Inspector (CI) Patrick O'Malley has found this allegation to be substantiated based on the following evidence:
5 CSR 25-500.182(1)(C)8., which states: "No discipline technique which is humiliating, threatening, or frightening to children shall be used. Children shall not be shamed, ridiculed, or spoken to harshly, abusively, or with profanity."
On June 30, 2026, CI O'Malley conducted an unannounced inspection of the facility and conducted interviews with lead staff Cady Davis, staff Brendan Nichols, Danica Jenkins, Child B (9-years-old), Child C (8-years-old), and Child D (7-years-old).
Staff Brendan Nichols affirmed that Child A was in his classroom. Child A exhibited a variety of negative behaviors towards the other children and staff, including hitting, kicking, biting, screaming, and throwing objects. On Tuesday, June 23, 2026, the school age class was outside on the playground. The class was supervised by himself and Danica. Child A had hit several children while outside and was threatening to hit more children. Brendan told Child A to drop the toy that Child A was holding and to sit on a bench. Child A screamed and ran away, swinging the toy at another child as Child A ran. Brendan scooped Child A up around Child A's waist and carried him to the bench. Brendan took away the toy and dropped Child A on the bench from about a foot in the air. Child A landed on his rear. Child A was still very upset; Child A yelled at him and kicked him. Brendan asked Danica to take Child A to the front desk and have the administration handle him. Danica took Child A by the hand and led him inside. Brendan did not learn about Child A's injury until later. Brendan was frustrated by the situation and felt that Child A needed to be separated from the other children.
Staff Danica Jenkins stated that on June 23, 2026, she was outside with the school age class. Child A was hitting and throwing toys at other children. Brendan got mad and picked up Child A under Child A's left arm and around Child A's waist. Brendan carried Child A to a wooden bench and set him down with some force. Danica thought Brendan was too rough with Child A. Child A was screaming and crying. Danica walked Child A inside to the administration desk. Child A said that the bench had scratched him. Child A had a trickle of blood coming from the back of his right knee. Staff were not trained to pick up and carry school-age children.
Lead staff Cady Davis stated that on June 23, 2026, at about 9:00 a.m., Child A was brought to the front desk by Danica. Danica reported that Child A had hit Brendan. Child A said that his leg was bleeding. Cady saw a small, bloody scratch on the back of Child A's right knee. Cady asked what happened; Child A said that Brendan had "slammed" him onto a bench. Cady cleaned the scratch with a paper towel and warm water and then applied a bandage. Brendan completed an incident report and Parent A (parent of Child A) was informed of the incident via the facility's parent info app. Brendan and Child A had been separated since the incident. The facility did not have outside cameras.
Child B (9-years-old) stated that Child A got into trouble a lot and had to sit at the front near Brendan. Child A hit other kids and screamed a lot. Child B remembered Brendan picking up Child A the previous week but did not recall Child A being hurt.
Child C (8-years-old) stated that Child A hit teachers and other kids. Child A had to sit at the front of the classroom. Child C did not remember Brendan picking up Child A or Child A being injured.
Child D (7-years-old) stated that Child A hit other kids and threw things. Brendan told Child A to stop and told him to sit on a bench. Child A said "No!" and Brendan carried Child A to the bench. Brendan dropped Child A on the bench.
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