The parents of nine-month-old Genevieve Meehan, who died of suffocation at a nursery in Cheadle Hulme, Stockport, have called for mandatory CCTV in all nurseries, saying their daughter's killer would not have been convicted without footage.
Genevieve, known as Gigi, was strapped face down to a beanbag for one hour and 37 minutes at Tiny Toes nursery, with her cries ignored. Deputy manager Kate Roughley was jailed for 14 years for manslaughter last year. CCTV footage disproved her claim that she checked on the baby every few minutes and led to a colleague's conviction for neglect.
Father John Meehan said: 'But for the CCTV, we would have had absolutely no way of knowing about the way Genevieve was placed on a beanbag, about the infrequency of the checks, or about the general conduct towards Genevieve on the day.' Mother Katie Wheeler added that the system 'definitely fails parents' and called for more frequent Ofsted inspections, including unannounced visits.
Figures obtained by the BBC show nearly 20,000 serious childcare incidents in English nurseries in the five years to March 2024, up 40% on the previous period. Ofsted currently inspects nurseries only once every six years, compared with every four years for schools.
