Vanessa George, who is understood to have worked at Little Ted's nursery in Plymouth for several years, has also been charged with making, possessing and distributing indecent images of children.
Police are sorting through hundreds of images to try to identify individual children, after seizing a mobile phone and computer equipment, following a search at the nursery and Ms George's home.
On Friday the Plymouth Safeguarding Children Board held an extraordinary general meeting and decided that 'due to the very serious nature of the allegations against Vanessa George' it will instigate a serious case review.
In a statement, the board said, 'We are committed to keeping children safe and are concerned that the charges laid in this case indicate that the standards of safety we require have been gravely compromised.'
All early years settings and schools in Plymouth were sent a letter on Thursday from the city council's department for services for children and young people. It said, 'We will aim to keep you as informed as possible about the measures being put in place to support families that may be affected by this very sensitive matter, as well as about how you can access any support you may need in helping manage the concern in your school community.'
All the families of children at the nursery are being visited by social workers and police liaison officers and a telephone support line has been set up, staffed by social workers, educational psychologists and health visitors. The telephone support line can be accessed via the police helpline on 08452 777 444.
Following a hearing at Plymouth magistrates court on Thursday, where crowds of angry and anxious parents gathered, Ms George was remanded in custody and is due to appear at Plymouth Crown Court on 21 September. Police confirmed there were currently no lines of inquiry linked to other members of the nursery's staff.
On Tuesday (16 June) Colin Blanchard, 38, whose arrest led to the arrest of Ms George, appeared at Manchester Magistrates Court charged with offences relating to distributing indecent images. He is due to appear at Minshull Street Crown Court on 23 June and it is expected that he will face joint charges with Ms George.
Acting detective chief superintendent Russ Middleton said, 'It's safe to say that we believe some of the images would have been taken within the nursery.'
The case has brought into question policies and procedures at nurseries to safeguard children, including the routine use of digital technology to record their progress.
Neil Leitch from the Pre-School Learning Alliance said, 'The allegation that some of the images were taken from within the nursery will be extremely distressing to the families of the children. Cases such as these are exceptionally rare but that is no consolation to those families that may have been affected by the incident.'
He said that as details of the case emerge, 'Nurseries should revisit specific policies and practices to ensure that any lessons that can be learned are put into place.
'In an age where the use of digital media is the norm and with the introduction of the EYFS, there has been a marked increase in the use of digital media to observe children's activities. Indeed, there are several organisations actively promoting the use of mobile phones and hand-held PDAs to record still images and video clips to assist in recording observational records. As such, early years settings should ensure their policies with respect to the use of photographic equipment are up-to-date and appropriate.'
The National Day Nurseries Association said news coverage of the case could mean that nurseries face questions from parents about their safeguarding policies and Criminal Records Bureau checks.
Chief executive Purnima Tanuku said, 'Choosing childcare ultimately means putting your trust in a nursery and the team, and it is important that settings work to reassure parents. Some may be concerned that safeguarding may only involve a CRB check, so highlight your other recruitment checks and how your ongoing safeguarding policy is an integral and vital part of nursery life. It is important to recognise that early years practitioners work in the sector because they are genuinely committed to delivering the best for children and families.'
THE EXPERTS' VIEW
Claude Knights, director of charity Kidscape, says, 'I imagine this case will send echoes around nurseries and people will be looking at policies and procedures. The new (vetting and barring) system with the Independent Safeguarding Authority will have procedures in place where, for example, if there had been any complaints or suspicious behaviour by a member of staff in a previous job, there will be a way of recording this.
'Cases like this are very rare but it shows - as the Soham case did - how easy it is for someone determined to have access to children to fall under the radar.
'What we do know is that present procedures don't show if there have been any complaints or suspicions about a staff member in past jobs. But under the new system, if parents are worried, if there has been a complaint, a note would still be there, like a red alert.
'Nursery owners or managers recruiting staff should have a recruitment panel including someone who has a high level of child protection training. The problem is where vigilance comes in. Talking about women as abusers is taboo, but you have to remember that stereotypes, such as the man in the dirty mac, are dangerous. You don't want nursery workers to feel under suspicion, but nurseries need to make sure that safeguarding is at the top of their agenda. It's about protecting children. If you're wrong, you're wrong.'
Catherine Rushforth, director of a training consultancy that runs workshops on safeguarding, says, 'Safeguarding touches everything in a nursery. If, when you recruit and induct staff, there is a professional code of conduct in your setting, you will already have rules about the use of mobile phones. The 2006 Government guidance Working Together to Safeguard Children talks specifically about allegations against staff. There should be clear, honest dialogue with parents, and practitioners should be confident about having open discussions with parents. There should be a whistleblowing policy (Ofsted recommends that all nurseries have a whistleblowing policy). Nurseries should reassure parents by having the door open, so that parents can spend time with their children.'