The council wants to establish why the toddler’s nursery had taken two weeks to raise the alarm, and said it would review procedures for reporting absences.

However, the situation is complicated by the fact that, unlike their primary years, there is no statutory requirement for a child to attend nursery school.

Most councils lack any kind of central policy for checking up on absence. It is generally left to nursery staff.

A spokesman for Dundee City Council’s education department said today, “We ask parents to phone up on the first day of absence.

“If a child has been absent for a few days, the nursery staff would endeavour to contact the home.”

The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities said there was no national policy or guidelines on nursery school absence, and no plans to review the situation.

Councils across the country have revealed that they have no set policies, but would generally expect nursery staff to contact family members after anything from two to “several” days unexplained absence.

Others revealed that the child’s individual circumstances would be taken into consideration, with quicker checks for “at risk” kids.

Michael McGarrity was found “looking like a skeleton” at his home in Leith on Saturday night, having survived on crisps, fruit, cheese, yoghurts and cartons of Ribena and apple juice.

The boy could not alert anyone to his situation as he was unable to reach the handle of the front door and did not know how to use the telephone.

The horrific ordeal — which has left the three-year-old in hospital — has prompted politicians to call for a full investigation and new measures to be implemented.