Vincent Chan: Parents demand prosecution of Bright Horizons nursery after paedophile teacher abuse
Parents who trusted the kindergarten chain where pedophile teacher Vincent Chan sexually abused children have called for criminal prosecution against the company.
Chan abused three-year-old girls while working as a room leader at Bright Horizons nursery in Finchley Road, West Hampstead, London.
The 45-year-old man was sentenced to 18 years in prison on Thursday after admitting 56 offences. These included sexually assaulting kindergarten children while filming the abuse, downloading tens of thousands of sexually explicit images of teenagers, lifting girls’ skirts at the primary school where he worked, and recording women using hidden cameras in toilets and bathrooms.
Chan first came to police attention in 2024 when he was accused of bullying a child in kindergarten; He had filmed the teenager falling asleep while eating and then yelling loudly to wake him up.
Officers called to investigate allegations of cruelty to children searched Chan’s electronic devices and uncovered evidence that he was a pedophile.
The parents of the boy in the bullying video say they were “shocked” and “in disbelief” when they learned of the sexual abuse accusations.
They said they were faced with two weeks of near silence from Bright Horizons after video emerged showing their son being bullied by Chan, and said the nursery’s initial response was “inept” and “incompetent”.
After 18 months of seeking answers, they want the nursery to be the focus of a separate criminal investigation and are calling for a nationwide review into nurseries and child safety.
“The protection systems really failed,” the mother said.
“There were concerns raised internally by parents and these were ignored.
“And then we felt like these situations weren’t being taken seriously enough or acted on.”
The father suggested Chan was publicly painted as a “lone wolf”, but parents of children attending the nursery believe staff and administrators may also be to blame.
He said another employee could be seen doing his job in the video taken by Chan’s son.
“If they felt comfortable recording that behavior and the staff in the room witnessed it and didn’t feel like they needed to come forward and say something, that tells me something about the culture and safeguarding practices that we believe aren’t really there,” he said.
“He was able to publicly bully children when other people were in the room and sexually abuse children in a room full of other children.
“She felt comfortable recording this behavior on her nursery iPad.”
The father said the sexual abuse of some of the girls Chan was supposed to care for occurred in a central room of the nursery, where mattresses were laid out for nap time and there was a window and a glass-paned door on two sides of the room.
“There were so many failures that someone had to be held accountable,” he added.
A group of parents who sent their children to Bright Horizons hired an attorney from Leigh Day to file a lawsuit for damages against the daycare.
The child whose parents spoke to a reporter is not one of the victims of Chan’s sexual abuse.
Chan spent seven years at Bright Horizons, starting as an art teacher before becoming room leader.
Parents who spoke described Chan as an “introvert” and said he wasn’t the type of nursery worker who would chat with parents or say hello as he walked by.
“Some of the children are very close to some of the staff, they run up and hug them and are very affectionate,” the mother said.
“I think with him (Chan) he was always a little more reserved about it.
“Even though we saw him almost every day for five years, we honestly don’t know much about him.”
The father added: “He’s not the type to look you in the eye.”
They said they chose Bright Horizons because it offers excellent amenities, including an app that updates their child’s progress with pictures.
They said it was “a brand we can trust” and added that the website detailing security measures and CCTV was also part of the appeal.
“It’s always in the back of your mind that things are going wrong and you occasionally hear stories like that, but they’re usually not well-known chains, it’s the local babysitter or a smaller establishment,” the father said.
“So you hope you pick a place like Bright Horizons, where there are strict safeguards, effective reporting, and training where staff are told what to do if they see something going wrong.”
Parents say they received only an apology from Bright Horizons for their children being bullied by Chan, rather than an acknowledgment of broader failings.
They are now coping with the lasting effects on their son.
“We noticed a really big change in his behavior,” the mother said.
“She started screaming and crying outside the nursery and asked anxiously, ‘Is the nursery open today?’ he asked. If we later say that it is, we will be sad.
“When we entered the room, he would cling to our legs, really not wanting to let go, and we would have to undress him and then hand him over to a staff member, sometimes Chan.”
They said their son went from a “very smart, social, confident boy” to an “introverted” child and even had physical health problems.
“We’re starting to see that confidence grow a little bit more, but he’s really struggling,” he added.
Child cruelty charges were not brought against Chan after the sexual offense came to light.
The decision was appealed by parents and this week they were told the Metropolitan Police would send a file of evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service to decide whether further charges could be brought.
Following Chan’s sentencing on Thursday, Leigh Day called on Camden Council to investigate whether Bright Horizons was responsible for health and safety failings, adding: “We believe their failure to safeguard has created the perfect hunting ground for a predator.”
Bright Horizons released a statement saying: “This is a sad time for the families and everyone affected by Vincent Chan’s horrific crimes, and our thoughts are with them above all else.
“Keeping children safe is our most important responsibility. Vincent Chan broke that trust. His actions were immoral, deceptive, and contrary to the kindness and care that our dedicated professionals provide children every day.
“Chan’s actions came to light after a member of staff raised concerns and followed our internal reporting procedures. We subsequently approached the local authority and Ofsted externally and worked with the police throughout the investigation. “We are raising awareness of how staff can raise their concerns so they can do so quickly and confidentially.
“We have extensive safeguarding practices and training requirements designed to keep children safe. All our staff must undergo stringent recruitment screening and reference checks, as well as regular training.
“We have introduced a range of internal safeguarding audits and refresher training to ensure staff are fully aware of their obligations. We have also commissioned an external expert to conduct a full review of our practices to ensure we meet the most robust safeguarding standards.
“We are determined to understand what happened so that we can learn from this terrible incident. We support the Child Safeguarding Practice Review (CSPR) and hope it will be beneficial for families, for us as providers and for the early years sector as a whole.”
