Humza Yousaf complaint against Dundee nursery upheld

A nursery accused of rejecting an application for the daughter of the Scottish Health Secretary in favour of children with “white-sounding names” has had a complaint against it upheld.

Humza Yousaf and his wife Nadia El-Nakla made a formal complaint about Little Scholars Day Nursery in Broughty Ferry, Dundee, after their daughter Amal failed to get a place due to an alleged lack of space.

He claimed that two days later, a white friend of the couple was told there was space for her son on three afternoons every week.

Mr Yousaf contacted the Daily Record newspaper, which said it had submitted fake queries from a Muslim family and white family, with the same outcome.

Humza Yousaf has criticised the nursery.

Little Scholars claimed the allegations were “demonstrably false”, but an investigation by the Care Inspectorate found the nursery “did not promote fairness, equality and respect when offering placements”.

A spokeswoman for Little Scholars argued the Care Inspectorate statement was “extremely suspicious and highly misleading” and said the report did not include “findings of discrimination or any issues with a lack of equality”.

It has now been ordered to introduce measures so applications “are processed in a transparent and equitable manner” and to prove it is “being well led and managed” by December 12.

The nursery has also been told to show that “communication with prospective families is improved to demonstrate that applicants are treated in a courteous and respectful manner”, according to the ruling.

Mr Yousaf and Ms El-Nakla’s lawyer, Aamer Anwar, said the couple “feel vindicated” by the decision to uphold the complaint.

He added: “They are first and foremost loving parents who would do anything to protect their children.

“Humza and Nadia were left deeply upset when they believed their young daughter Amal was being discriminated against and that is why they took action.

“They are no different to any other parent in Scotland and simply wanted their daughter to be given equal and fair access to opportunity regardless of her race or religion.”

A spokeswoman for Little Scholars said the nursery would ask lawyers to seek answers about the “inaccurate statement”, but added: “As a small family business, we’re always looking at ways we can improve things.

“While the Care Inspectorate found our admission procedure could be improved, this had nothing to do with discrimination or equality and within a few days of becoming aware of Mr Yousaf and Ms El-Nakla’s complaint, we reviewed and updated our system for dealing with admissions.

“We never had the slightest doubt that the complaint against our manager’s character and integrity would be rejected.

“She is a long-standing and highly valued member of our team, and it’s been hugely upsetting to see her face such unfair and untrue allegations.

“I’m sure we could have quickly resolved this issue if we had been approached directly rather than using the national media, which has caused enormous and unnecessary stress to our team and our families.

“We are grateful for the overwhelming support of our parents and the local community.

“Although not mentioned in the final report, over 40 letters of support were sent to the Care Inspectorate by parents and families who know and value how we care for their children, as well as countless emails and phone calls.

“It’s been very humbling to see how much they wanted to show their support and we simply can’t thank them enough. We had hoped to draw a line under this whole episode and get back to doing what we love – looking after children.”

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