‘How is the death of a child not enough? Cameras in nurseries is only way to prevent this from happening again’
The morning of May 9, 2022 began as usual for Katie Wheeler, by dropping off her nine-month-old daughter Genevieve at daycare and telling her, “I love you, honey.”
Genevieve, known to her loved ones as Gigi, would be found unresponsive hours later, even though she thought she would be in a protected environment. Nursery worker Kate Roughley swaddled Gigi so tightly that she could not move and placed her face on a bean bag, leaving her to suffocate for more than 90 minutes at Tiny Toes in Cheadle Hulme, Stockport.
Disturbing audio footage was later played in court; It showed Roughley telling Gigi to “stop crying” and pulling the blanket over her head, and at one point telling a colleague: “If you keep yourself busy, you won’t be able to hear her cry.”
After Roughley was convicted of manslaughter, he was sentenced to 14 years in prison and the nursery was closed. For Gigi’s mother, Mrs. Wheeler, and father, John Meehan, the pain of losing their giggly and mischievous daughter would quickly turn to horror as they realized how few regulations were in place for nurseries, many of which operated without CCTV and without any guidance on safe sleeping practices.
Figures obtained by the BBC last year showed that nearly 20,000 serious childcare incidents were reported in nurseries in England between 2019 and 2024.
It’s not just Gigi’s death that has brought the issue of early years conservation to the headlines. Nathan Bennett was found guilty on Monday of sexually abusing five boys aged between two and three at a Bristol nursery.
Prolific sex offender Vincent Chan will also be jailed on Thursday for abusing three- and four-year-old girls while working at Bright Horizons nursery in West Hampstead, with 46 families affected by his abuse. This included abusing children at bedtime, downloading thousands of indecent images of children and filming young children in distress.
Ms. Wheeler told Independent: “You assume this is a heavily regulated industry with all safety measures in place. I was worried about drownings, but I never thought Gigi was at risk of harm. You’re underestimating this. You think your child will be safe.”
“John and I had a conversation when it started, and I said, ‘What if they don’t treat him well?’ I said. and he said, ‘Of course they will treat him well.’ You think you’re being ridiculous. “To find out that everything we did during the trial was incredibly horrifying and shocking.”
Although Gigi’s nursery had CCTV, there had been incidents where 16 children had been placed in the care of a member of staff and their parents were unaware of recent complaints about the nursery. To talk IndependentMs Wheeler said they were “shocked” to discover the conditions inside Tiny Toes and that Ofsted reports only occur every few years.
They are now calling for mandatory CCTV, unannounced inspections by Ofsted and compulsory training and statutory safe sleeping guidance for all nursery staff.
“We didn’t know Gigi was fighting for her life and it took 90 minutes for her to die. You can’t understand that,” Ms Wheeler said. “I will never understand how something like this could happen in this country. Why wasn’t any action taken when this happened to Gigi? How can the death of a child not be enough?”
Following Chan’s guilty plea, a review of local child protection practice was launched in December by education minister Bridget Phillipson to “learn every lesson”; And education minister Olivia Bailey told the House of Commons that the government was “considering the mandatory use of CCTV in early years settings”.
During Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, Liberal Democrat MP Munira Wilson joined calls for CCTV and childcare registration, with Sir Keir Starmer saying: “These are distressing situations for everyone in the country. Children’s safety is of course paramount and we are acting to keep them safe. We are implementing all the proposals consulted to strengthen protection as part of our first-year founding framework.”
He added that they are considering making CCTV mandatory in this context.
Ms. Wheeler said she would continue her fight to ensure no other child experiences what she experienced.
he said Independent: “I can’t tell you how proud I am to be Gigi’s mother. I know she is a very kind little girl, and if she had the chance to grow up and be in this world, she would want to protect others. I never wanted her to be my child, but I would never want her to be anyone else’s child either.
“I’ve felt so much positivity since I started this campaign. I feel like I’m doing something for her and telling her story. It means more to me than I can put into words.”
Tulip Siddiq, Labor MP for Hampstead and Highgate, said CCTV was an important step in easing the “safety crisis in our nurseries”.
He said: “In the five years to March 2024, there were almost 20,000 reports of serious childcare incidents in British nurseries, a 40 per cent increase on the previous five years. “Meanwhile, the number of legal claims for injuries to children in nurseries has also increased tenfold in the last decade.
“I am not naïve about the scale of these challenges and do not think CCTV is a magic solution that will solve all violence and attacks against children, but it is an important step towards protecting the most vulnerable people in our society and one that I believe a government with Labor values should prioritize.”
