A Dundee nursery accused of rejecting an application for the daughter of Humza Yousaf in favour of children with “white-sounding names” has had a complaint against it upheld.
The health secretary and his wife Nadia El-Nakla, who works for Dundee MSP Shona Robison, made a formal complaint about Little Scholars Day Nursery in Broughty Ferry after their daughter Amal failed to get a place due to an alleged lack of space.
This prompted the couple to launch their own investigation into the nursery’s practices.
After enduring a “tirade” of vile abuse online when they went public with their concerns, the SNP MSP and his family feel vindicated for taking action.
However, with Little Scholars standing firm against accusations of discrimination and refusing to apologise, and with Mr Yousaf and Ms El-Nakla threatening legal action if they continue to do so, the issue could be far from over.
Here are the seven key questions at the heart of the story:
1 – What was the process Humza Yousaf and Nadia El-Nakla undertook in a bid to investigate their suspicions?
The pair made a complaint after setting up their own probe to test whether space was in fact available at the nursery.
According to a report in the Daily Record, the nursery responded to fake inquiries from other mothers with “non-ethnic” names saying spaces were available.
The couple first applied for two-year-old Amal in September 2020 and again this May but said “abrupt” responses prompted them to dig further.
Ms El-Nakla revealed a friend sent in similar applications and was told there was space at roughly the same time as she said she had been knocked back.
A third woman, a relative with the surname Ahmad, approached the nursery and was allegedly told there was no space.
Then Ms El-Nakla and the newspaper used fake ethnic names to test their concerns, getting mixed messages about availability.
Nursery manager Michelle Mill – who is still in the post – responded to an email last July from a journalist posing as a woman called Aqsa Akhtar looking for a space for her three-year-old daughter, saying there was no availability for someone that age.
However the next day she responded to the same journalist, this time using the name Susan Blake, forwarding a registration form for her three-year-old daughter with a vow to “let you know of availability and arrange a suitable time for a show round for you”.
Ms Mill emphatically denied any discrimination and said no applicant in the last year had been offered a place who had not been on a waiting list for at least six months.
The Care Inspectorate found no evidence the nursery has a waiting list.
2 – What did the nursery say about the claims when they were made public?
In August, a spokesperson said the nursery had “nothing to hide”.
A statement read: “Our nursery is extremely proud of being open and inclusive to all and any claim to the contrary is demonstrably false and an accusation that we would refute in the strongest possible terms.
“We also stand by the member of staff, named by the media, who has been with us since the nursery opened 14 years ago.
“She is professional, compassionate, incredibly hard working and a valued member of our team.
“In addition to our owners being of Asian heritage, across more than a decade we have regularly welcomed both children and staff from a range of different religious, cultural, ethnic and racial backgrounds including two Muslim families currently.
“We have also regularly made arrangements to accommodate different lifestyles by, for example, providing a halal menu for those children who come from Muslim families.”
They added: “We note Mr Yousaf’s call for a Care Inspectorate investigation and this is something we would absolutely welcome.
“We have nothing to hide and look forward to the opportunity to demonstrate the policies and procedures we have in place to ensure we are a nursery that is open and welcoming to all.”
And in an email sent to all parents, nursery bosses wrote: “We as a staff team are absolutely devastated with the way in which this has been handled.
“We feel if anybody felt that they had issues with the way in which we admit children to our nursery, that they would have the decency to approach us directly or to contact the Care Inspectorate.”
3 – Did the nursery answer specific questions about the reasons behind the different responses?
In a word, no.
No statement issued to the press by the nursery has provided a full explanation for the different responses to the applications.
Speaking three months ago, Mr Yousaf and Ms El-Nakla said: “Despite being given ample opportunity, Little Scholars Day Nursery in Broughty Ferry have failed to admit, explain or apologise for their discriminatory behaviour.”
When legal action was launched later that month, the couple’s lawyer, Aamer Anwar, said the response from the nursery rejected claims of discriminatory behaviour “but failed to provide a reasoned explanation”.
4 – What are the Care Inspectorate findings?
Little Scholars Day Nursery has been ordered to to introduce “consistent and robust” systems to manage admissions requests.
In its report, the Care Inspectorate found the nursery “did not promote fairness, equality and respect when offering placements”.
It added that communication with prospective families must be “improved to demonstrate that applicants are treated in a courteous and respectful manner”, adding: “People must receive the right information”.
A spokesperson for the regulator said: “We have upheld a complaint in relation to this matter. We found that the service did not promote fairness, equality and respect when offering placements.
“Every child in Scotland has the right to good quality care that meets their needs and respects their rights.
“We have identified areas for improvement and we will follow up on these to check on progress.
“We continue to monitor this service. If we are not satisfied that the improvements required have been met, we will not hesitate to take further action.”
5 – What have Humza Yousaf and Nadia El-Nakla said about the findings?
The couple have not spoken publicly about the Care Inspectorate findings but their lawyer, Aamer Anwar, says his clients feel vindicated.
“They are first and foremost loving parents who would do anything to protect their children,” he said.
“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 did.
“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.”
Mr Anwar said his clients had been “subjected to a tirade of abuse and accused of being liars” after taking action but the inspectorate has concluded in their favour.
He added it was “very disappointing” to see the nursery’s response to the findings.
In an interview with The Courier in August, Ms El-Nakla described the abuse she and her family had received as “sickening” and said it showed an “underbelly of racism” in Scotland.
6 – Has the nursery at the centre of the complaint responded?
Yes, the nursery has responded in a statement issued through PR company BIG Partnership.
They are also represented by Levy & McRae – a big-hitting legal firm who represented former First Minister Alex Salmond in his legal battle against the Scottish Government on sexual harassment claims
Levy & McRae are known for aggressive crisis management.
Little Scholars claimed the Care Inspectorate statement was “misleading” and that the media saw it before they did.
They said: “This is an extremely suspicious and highly misleading statement, issued to the media without any notice being given to us and with a particularly inaccurate and partisan spin.
“Contrary to the media statement issued by the Care Inspectorate, there were no findings of discrimination or any issues with a lack of equality upheld by the investigation or contained within its official report.”
The nursery has instructed lawyers to “demand answers” as to how the statement had been issued.
7 – What happens next?
It is understood Mr Yousaf and Ms El-Nakla intend to push on with legal action unless the nursery apologises.
They are also asking for compensation to be paid by the nursery to an anti-racism charity of their choice.
Mr Anwar revealed in August that if this does not happen, action will be raised at Dundee Sheriff Court.
At the time, the couple said: “As passionate believers in the fairness of Scotland’s justice system, we have now instructed our solicitor Aamer Anwar to initiate court proceedings and are determined to fight for justice for our daughter.”