A nursery worker has been jailed for three years after admitting ill-treatment of four young children in her care at a Stockport nursery. Rebecca Gregory, 25, pleaded guilty to four counts of wilfully assaulting, ill-treating, neglecting, abandoning or exposing a child, Greater Manchester Police said.
CCTV footage from Tiny Toes nursery in Cheadle Hulme showed Gregory verbally abusing and mishandling children, including pushing a child's head down, roughly placing a child on the floor and threatening to kick a child in the head. On one occasion, she swaddled a child so tightly that he couldn't move, and forced his head down despite his distress. On another, she told a child to "fucking go home" while swaddling him tightly.
The offences came to light during an investigation into another nursery worker, Kate Roughley, who was jailed for 14 years for the manslaughter of nine-month-old Genevieve Meehan. The baby died in May 2022 after being swaddled and strapped face down to a beanbag at the same nursery.
Sentencing at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court, the judge heard that Gregory claimed the nursery was understaffed when she was interviewed. Detective Constable Natalie Pettit said the investigation had uncovered "a culture of not challenging inappropriate behaviour" and that Gregory's actions were "callous" and "careless".
Karen Tongue, a Crown Prosecution Service specialist prosecutor, said Gregory had worked at the nursery for seven years and had been entrusted with the care of the youngest children. "The way she spoke to them was truly appalling," she said. "I have been shocked and saddened by the wilful ill-treatment of the children."
