SINGAPORE: An autistic girl drowned just hours after she was dropped off with a new childminder, it has been revealed.

Nyla May Bradshaw, seven, was found in the water at Owston Hall golf course in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, on Monday morning, less than three hours after being left in the care of a new childminder for the first time.

Hayley Beardsley and Kieran Bradshaw, her parents, said their non-verbal daughter was being looked after by a childminder they had recently sourced through Facebook after her usual carers were unavailable.

Charlotte Emma, a friend of Nyla’s mother, said: “Hayley posted in a Facebook group asking other mums if they had any recommendations for any local childminders in the area, and Hayley was given the details of a lady who was very highly recommended.

“During the school term, her daughter has an EHCP [education, health and care plan], which means that she gets funding from the government for one-to-one support in any school setting. Out of term time, care is not funded for and so this means Hayley has to reply to childminders.”

Mrs Beardsley had dropped her daughter off at the childminder, a specialist in special educational needs and disabilities (Send), for the first time at 7.45am.

By 9.50am she had been reported missing and her body was later pulled from a pond on the golf course.

Ms Emma said the childminder was warned weeks before having Nyla in her care that she was non-verbal and an extreme flight risk.

The childminder reassured Nyla’s mother that she would be “on reins” when out in public, she added.

A photograph taken by the childminder, whose identity has not been revealed, showed her smiling in the centre of a woodland path, without any reins.

“The childminder had decided within an hour of meeting her that she knew this child well enough to take her out in an outdoor setting through woods and to a park with a newborn baby and another non-verbal six-year-old Send child,” Ms Emma said.

Nyla’s parents had previously left her with family, a childminder who lived next door, or Little Rainbows, a children’s autism charity in Doncaster, but no one was available during the Easter holiday.

Little Rainbowsd has now launched a campaign demanding the Government address “systemic failures” in the care of disabled children.

The charity said in a statement on Facebook: “Nyla died in the care of a childminder. On her very first day. Less than three hours after being dropped off by her parents.”

They described “serious concerns about the adequacy, continuity and safety of care provision for disabled children outside of school settings”.

The statement said Nyla’s need for constant supervision had been clearly identified in her EHCP, but that such support was typically only funded during term time.

The children’s charity warned this created a “significant and dangerous gap” during evenings and school holidays, when families were left without adequate support.

Little Rainbows said the current system placed an “immense and unfair burden” on families, who were often forced to balance work with their child’s safety.

The statement said: “This must be recognised not as an isolated tragedy, but as a clear indication of systemic failure requiring urgent national attention.”

A South Yorkshire Police spokesman said: “First and foremost, this is a heartbreaking incident and the child’s family remain in our thoughts. We know the impact of this news has extended beyond the family and into local and wider communities.

“Our initial inquiries have determined that there are no suspicious circumstances surrounding the child’s death.

“We are now acting on behalf of the coroner and, in line with normal procedure, we will work with City of Doncaster council and Ofsted to ensure the correct processes are followed.”