A heartbroken couple whose toddler daughter was killed at a nursery after being put to sleep face down strapped to a bean bag are urgently calling for new measures to make childcare safer.
John and Katie Meehan, whose nine-month-old daughter Genevieve, known as Gigi, died in May 2022, are concerned there is ‘story after story now, where children are being either physically abused, mentally abused’.
The couple say they have three main goals – compulsory CCTV in nurseries, better guidance on safer sleep and a more robust inspection process through Ofsted.
Kate Roughley, the nursery worker whose ill-treatment resulted in Genevieve’s tragic death at the Tiny Toes nursery in Cheadle, Stockport, was jailed for 14 years after being found guilty of her manslaughter at a trial in 2024.
The Meehans have travelled from their home in Greater Manchester to meet with Olivia Bailey, minister for early education, at the Department for Education in London.
Mrs Meehan, a solicitor, said: ‘A child can’t die in a nursery. It’s unthinkable’.
But, speaking to Sky News, she added: ‘It’s story after story now, where children are being either physically abused, mentally abused, and it’s in all different parts of the country… and it really is frightening.
‘The loss of Genevieve, it’s absolutely destroyed our lives. This beautiful little girl is gone. We are going to make sure it doesn’t happen again.’
Mrs Meehan said: ‘For people to listen… that goes a long way in helping us to feel as though we have some sort of justice for her.’
Mr Meehan, a barrister, added: ‘The core goals are firstly an improvement of safe sleep, secondly around mandatory use of CCTV, then in respect of Ofsted. What we’re looking for broadly is an improvement in the inspection process.’
Recent cases of horrific abuse included that of Vincent Chan, 45, who was branded ‘utterly wicked, perverse and depraved’ by a judge after filming himself sexually abusing young children in his care over seven years.
Last month, Chan was jailed for 18 years after admitting 56 charges including sexual assault by penetration, possession of indecent images and voyeurism.
He filmed himself abusing young children between 2017 and 2024 at the Bright Horizons nursery in West Hampstead, north London.
Earlier this month, paedophile Nathan Bennett, 30, was jailed for 30 years for sexually abusing children in his care at a nursery in Bristol.
In a crime spree described in court as ‘every parent’s nightmare’, Bennett was convicted of two counts of rape and 13 other sexual offences against boys aged two and three.
Last week, a nursery admitted corporate manslaughter and a health and safety offence over the death of Noah Sibanda, aged 14 months.
The toddler died at the now-closed Fairytales Day Nursery, Dudley, in December 2022 after being restrained while put to sleep – in a chilling echo of Genevieve’s death.
The pleas entered by the nursery at Wolverhampton Crown Court come after nursery nurse Kimberley Cookson, 23, pleaded guilty to gross negligence manslaughter last year.
The court heard Cookson tried to make Noah sleep by placing him face-down on a soft cushion, restraining him with her leg.
Owner Deborah Latewood, 55, pleaded guilty to a health and safety offence.
During her meeting with the Meehans, Ms Bailey praised the ‘strength and courage’ they have shown in campaigning after ‘such an unimaginable tragedy’.
She said: ‘What they are looking for is what we’re delivering.’
Ms Bailey said the Government is reviewing how CCTV operates in nurseries, is ‘making changes’ to Ofsted and revising policy on sleeping practices.
She added: ‘There’s nothing more important than knowing that your child is safe. I don’t want parents to feel afraid. I want them to know that this Government is doing everything it can to make sure your children are safe when they go through that door.’
But Sky News reported concerns of one whistleblower who said staff shortages mean malpractice is still being ‘swept under the carpet’.
The nursery worker, named only as Ellie, said: ‘Managers are scared of losing staff so they’d rather sweep things under the carpet.’
She added: ‘They’re willing to let things slide, or they’re willing to hire certain employees that they wouldn’t normally hire, or let things go over their head that aren’t deemed acceptable in childcare.
‘Even when it comes to whistleblowing, people are just too scared to lose their job, or that they won’t be believed, so they stay silent.’
Meanwhile, the National Day Nurseries Association said compulsory CCTV is not a ‘magic answer’ – pointing out building ownership may be an issue, and that some areas such as changing rooms and toilets will not be covered by cameras.
Ofsted said inspections of nurseries are moving from every six years to every four, new nurseries inspected after 18 months instead of 30 months, and that around a quarter of all visits will be unannounced.
Announcing the changes last week, Yvette Stanley, Ofsted’s National Director for Regulation and Social Care said: ‘It is essential that parents and carers have up-to-date information about the quality of early years providers so they can make informed decisions about their child’s education and care.’
Genevieve Meehan died after being left for over 90 minutes before being found ‘unresponsive and blue’.
When her killer Kate Roughley was jailed, Manchester Crown Court heard CCTV even showed her ignoring the youngster’s crying and desperate last movements as she struggled to survive while tightly strapped to the bean bag, swaddled in a blanket.
Roughley, 39, who had 17 years’ experience as a nursery worker but no children of her own, then ‘lied’ to cover up what she’d done, claiming she constantly checked on babies in her care.
Genevieve was found to have died from asphyxiation brought on by a combination of pathophysiological stresses created by a ‘very unsafe sleeping environment’.
