From unregulated maternity nurses to dangerous practices being carried out at nursery, children and parents are being failed by the very services that are meant to keep them safe
10:01, 06 Apr 2026Updated 10:19, 06 Apr 2026
The parents of a nine-month-old who died in nursery care are piling pressure on ministers to take action(Image: Supplied)
The harrowing image of a nine-month-old baby struggling to breathe while strapped face-down on a beanbag is a devastating reality no parent should ever have to witness.
Yet, for Katie Wheeler and John Meehan, the CCTV footage of their daughter Genevieve’s final moments was the only way they secured justice.
As the government prepares to tighten safety rules in nurseries an investigation into the UK’s childcare and maternity industry has exposed a frightening lack of regulation that is leaving infants in peril.
CCTV showed their tiny baby struggling to breathe after being tightly swaddled and strapped face down on a beanbag for more than an hour and a half.
Her death at Stockport nursery Tiny Toes in 2022 led to a 14-year manslaughter sentence for deputy manager Kate Roughley. However, the trial revealed a systemic failure in how staff are trained and monitored.
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John and Katie Meehan’s daughter Genevieve, known as ‘Gigi’ died at nursery(Image: Tim Anderson)
The trial revealed that Roughley “clicked her way through” one training module in just a minute, treating life-saving guidance as a box-ticking exercise.
While the nursery appeared compliant during inspections, staff-to-child ratios weren’t maintained when the doors were closed.
On the day Genevieve died, Roughley had been handling 10 babies alone after another staff member went home sick, and on another day she’d been responsible for 16 children.
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Kate Roughley was sentenced to 14 years for manslaughter(Image: PA)
Earlier in the day she had complained about the number of children the nursery manager had accepted, telling a colleague: “They just think about money, they don’t give a s*** about us.”
CCTV showed her handling Genevieve harshly, just three days earlier, after the tot returned to nursery following a chest infection which she’d been hospitalised for.
The 35-year-old was heard telling the nine-month-old “stop your whingeing” and “change the record. “Genevieve, if we had any chance of being friends, you just blew it,” she fumed, before adding: “You are driving me bananas.”
After she only slept for 20 minutes on the day she died, Roughley labelled her “vile.”
Watching the footage was horrendous for the couple, with solicitor Katie telling the Mirror: “When someone’s trying to resuscitate your child, that absolutely destroys you as a person.”
Genevieve died from asphyxiation (Image: Men Media)
She was just nine months old when she died(Image: Men Media)
In court, a heartbreaking victim impact statement from Genevieve’s six-year-old sister was read out on her behalf by Justice Naomi Ellenbogen.
The child, who was not named, said: ‘”Every day, I get punched with sadness. What this lady has done is terrible and something nobody should experience. My younger sister should have the experience of having two older sisters and I should have a younger sister. This has changed my life forever.”
It was only because of the footage that they secured justice. Harrowingly it also revealed a toxic culture of abuse at the nursery, with fellow Tiny Tots worker Rebecca Gregory jailed for three years for “deplorable” ill-treatment of babies in her care, after being caught on camera verbally abusing and threatening to kick the babies.
Little Genevieve is by no means the only victim of unsafe sleeping practices. Noah Sibanda was 14 months old in December 2022 when he suffocated after staff pinned him face down on a cushion to try to make him sleep.
CCTV showed nursery worker Kimberley Cookson, 23, using her leg to restrain him before he died. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said CCTV showed Noah was “tightly wrapped in a sleeping bag, had a blanket placed over his head, and was laid face down to sleep by [Kimberley] Cookson”.
Noah Sibanda tragically died at Fairytales Nursery(Image: West Midlands Police / SWNS)
She tried to “make him sleep when he did not want to” by placing him face-down on a soft cushion, at Fairytales Day Nursery in Dudley, Birmingham.
Only after a “considerable duration” of time, did she realise that he was not breathing, and the emergency services were called, before the tot was pronounced dead at hospital.
Owner Deborah Latewood, 55, admitted a Health and Safety at Work Act offence on the basis that she did not know children were being put down to sleep in this dangerous way, though should have known.
Kimberley Cookson, meanwhile, pleaded guilty to gross negligence manslaughter. Alex Johnson, from the CPS, said: “This case has been deeply distressing and represents every parent’s worst nightmare whenever they leave their young child at a nursery.
“Noah Sibanda should have been safe in the care of professionals entrusted with his wellbeing. He lost his life as a result of reckless and dangerous sleeping practices which posed an obvious and serious risk of harm.”
The defendants will both be sentenced at Wolverhampton Crown Court on 16 April.
Debbie Latewood pleaded guilty at court(Image: Iconic Media Group / SWNS)
But why is it that these needless and tragic deaths are still happening? Guidance on safe sleep for babies hasn’t changed in decades, and the information is out there and readily available thanks to organisations like the Lullaby Trust and the NHS. “Nobody is going to say, you shouldn’t put a child in a cot on their back, with a flat mattress and no loose blankets,” Genevieve’s mum Katie notes. “No one’s ever gonna say that.”
The alarming truth is there is currently no regulation when it comes to safe sleep practices in nurseries and daycare. Anyone can call themselves a sleep nurse or a maternity nanny without any requirement for qualification, accredited training, safeguarding checks or professional oversight.
Ofsted – the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills – is tasked with independently inspecting and regulating services that providing educate, training, and care for children and learners in England.
From April 2026, Ofsted will visit nurseries every four years – an improvement from the previous six. But the system is still flawed. As Katie points out: “Most people are smart enough that they’re not going to abuse a child in front of the Ofsted inspector.”
Furthermore, nurseries always get 24 hours notice of an Ofsted visit, unless it has received a specific concern, which would trigger a surprise inspection. As such, they are given time to prepare and make changes if necessary, including instances when additional staff have been shipped in to cover child/staff ratios.
“When they looked at the CCTV on the day Genevieve died, there were two members of staff with 10 children. The week before there were 16 children with one member of staff,” Katie reveals. “You know, they’re not going to do that during the inspection, are they? When you raise these points with the government and Ofsted, you’re met with such feeble excuses. Things aren’t addressed at all and you just think parents aren’t stupid. They’re not gonna put up with this…because it just is frightening how at-risk children are.”
Katie warns the new regulations don’t go far enough(Image: Jason Roberts /Manchester Evening News)
Harrowingly, it was later found that multiple complaints had actually been raised about Genevieve’s nursery prior to her death, including issues of shouting at children and unsafe practices. Ofsted did eventually pay a visit but said everything was fine at Tiny Toes. Then Genevieve died, and they closed it down instantly. It begs the question what do these Ofsted visits really achieve when they are open to such manipulation?
There is also the issue of staff training. As it stands, the designated safeguarding lead has to be trained – but the onus is then on the nursery to train the rest of their staff. In the case of Genevieve’s nursery, ‘completing’ training meant ticking boxes on a screen. At her trial it was revealed that deputy manager Roughley just clicked her way through; she was on one training course for just one single minute. The reason she gave? They had to do the training in their own time.
It’s a frightening situation, and so, as painful as it is for them, Genevieve’s parents continue to speak up on the issue. Katie is acutely aware that it’s an uncomfortable conversation – but if sharing her pain is what it takes to reach other people and make them listen, then that’s what she will do.
Katie Wheeler, John Meehan, Lullaby Trust CEO Jenny Ward and MP Tom Morrison at Downing Street last year(Image: Manchester Evening News)
John and Katie launched the Campaign for Gigi, which calls for clear statutory safer sleep requirements, stronger Ofsted inspections and mandatory CCTV in nursery(Image: Supplied)
“Sometimes you’ve got to just be very blunt with people and they have to understand the impact of the death of a child,” she told us. “You know, it’s uncomfortable for people, but the fact is, it’s absolutely catastrophically devastating. It destroys everything you thought about life, everything you’d hoped for.”
Following Genevieve’s death in 2022, Katie and John, a barrister, established Gigi’s Trust. In partnership with The Lullaby Trust, the campaign advocates for mandatory CCTV in nurseries, stricter Ofsted inspections, and required safe-sleep training to improve safeguarding in early years settings.
Their calls were backed by Liberal Democrats education spokeswoman Munira Wilson, who highlighted how CCTV could have unmasked paedophile nursery worker Vincent Chan earlier.
Chan, 45, spent almost two decades sexually assaulting and taking covert pictures of children before a suspicious colleague raised alarm.
For Katie and John, it’s become something of a mission to help save other children, while also honouring their little girl. “One of the main things really is that you have all this love and time, it’s like you’ve set it aside in your life when your child comes along and for all the things you want to do with them ,” Katie said, “and so because Genevieve’s gone, all of that is still there.
“So the campaign really is often a way that we feel that we can dedicate time to Genevieve so that she gets what she deserves. I know that might sound silly, but it helps us to feel she has something. I hate that other people have had those experiences.”
She is referring to the family of four-month-old Madison Bruce-Smith, the grandson of football manager Steve Bruce. The tragic tot died after his loved ones were wrongly advised to let him sleep on his front. Madison’s parents had employed maternity nurse Eva Clements via Ruthie Maternity Services in the belief that she was skilled, trained and vetted, and that the firm was well established. An inquest was told that Madison’s parents would “never have dreamed” of putting their son down to sleep in the prone position had it not been for the advice of the so-called nurse.
However, it later emerged that Ruth Asare, head of Ruthie Maternity Services, had no medical qualifications and had only a first aid certificate and a Level 2 diploma in post-natal care gained from a three-day course and a six-month coursework project. The agency itself was operating without any regulatory oversight.
Steve Bruce is pictured from left to right with son Alex, daughter-in-law Lucy, his wife Janet and daughter Amy, along with Alex’s two daughters Ava and Betsy
Clements, meanwhile, held no formal qualifications for the role. She said she had a degree in early years education but admitted she had no medical qualifications.
In a statement read to the court, Madison’s heartbroken parents Matt and Amy described him as their “precious, perfect little boy”. They said: “Losing Madison has been utterly excruciating. It has totally shattered our entire family. We will never forgive ourselves for agreeing to tummy sleeping. We relied and trusted on Eva Clements’ experience. We trusted her because she was recommended to us.
“The sleep nanny and maternity practitioner industry is entirely unregulated. Anyone can call themselves a sleep nurse or a maternity nanny without any requirement for qualification, accredited training, safeguarding checks or professional oversight. There is no regulatory framework, no compulsory standard, and no mechanism to ensure competence or prevent unsafe individuals from working with newborn babies. Parents are easily misled by language that implies professionalism.
“Without regulation this will happen again,” they added. “Other parents, just as we did, will place trust in individuals who should never be responsible for the care of infants.”
Clements was arrested on suspicion of neglect following Madison’s death. Det Ch Insp Matthew Dixon, of Greater Manchester Police, said the Crown Prosecution Service was approached for directions and guidance – but it was established that the criminal threshold had not been met, largely because of a lack of regulation within such maternity services. Worryingly, an absence of industry standards means that there is currently no requirement for those marketing themselves as maternity nurses to demonstrate competence or training.
Change could be finally coming though. Madison’s death prompted senior coroner for south Manchester Alison Mutch to issue a prevention of future deaths report to the Secretary of State for Health, calling for regulation. And in response Heath Secretary Wes Streeting has vowed to spearhead a change in the law.
Genevieve’s parents have been campaigning for change(Image: Supplied)
He said: “Madison’s death is a tragedy that should never have happened, and my heart goes out to the Smith and Bruce families. No parent should ever believe someone is a trained professional, only to discover they have no formal qualifications.
“That is why we are changing the law – so only those who are properly registered, or are part of a small group of other specified professions, will be able to call themselves a nurse. Anyone who falsely uses the title will be committing a criminal offence.
“It simply goes without saying that when someone calls themselves a nurse, they genuinely are one and Madison’s legacy will ensure no other parents endure the avoidable suffering his have.”
It’s news welcomed by Jenny Ward, CEO of the Lullaby Trust, who has long believed that urgent action needs to be taken. The charity is an invaluable service that offers trusted baby safety advice, backed by research. They fund life-saving research to empower families with expert baby safety advice, and also work with bereaved families to help support them through their darkest days.
The website also provides very clear and concise information about how to safely put babies down to sleep, as well as access to extra resources to help all parents.
“The safer sleep messages that we have today have been developed through research over decades and have been in place in this country since the early 1990s,” she told the Mirror. “As a result, we estimate that has saved over 31,000 babies’ lives.”
She believes that families in general have a really good understanding of safer sleep messages, and the work of The Lullaby Trust is to support families to be able to follow those guidelines, and any challenges they might face.
“What I think has happened with each of these cases is these are non parental carers, and there needs to be some strengthened processes and regulations in place to make sure the safe sleep messages are adhered to by whoever is looking after a young baby.”
Nursery worker Kate Roughley was caught on CCTV (Image: PA)
She reiterates that regulation is crucial. “If somebody is selling their services to look after a baby or to give advice about a baby, they have to follow proven safety advice,” Jenny says. “But that’s possibly going to take some time to do.”
She urges parents to seek proper advice and ask questions of whoever is caring for their babies. “Be really confident about challenging people who might question whether or not you need to do that, because as I said, it has saved a lot of lives in this country.”
It’s something that Karen Carter, a private qualified maternity nurse, also feels incredibly strongly about. She has had a vast and varied career in childcare since she qualified with the National Nursery Examination Board, with a Childcare and Education Nursery Nurse diploma over 30 years ago. She has experience supporting families in day nurseries, hospitals, private homes in the UK & internationally.
Karen is a member of the National Nursery Examination Board Old Collegians – a network for those who qualified as Nursery Nurses before it merged with CACHE in 1993 and eventually ceased. The NNEB was, and still is, considered the gold standard childcare qualification.
Training for NNEB’s, as they are known, prepared them to care for children from birth to 8 years of age and took place across a variety of settings, including hospitals, day nurseries, schools, family homes and was taught by both private and state colleges.
They had to complete an intensive two-year course, were interviewed before being accepted and required to pass entrance exams to gain a place. Throughout those two years, they were also continually assessed by professionals on their practical and theoretical ability to care for children from birth.
But, according to Karen, since the merger with CACHE, government and training providers have largely shifted their focus toward the day nursery sector, with significantly less attention given to the nanny and maternity nurse industry.
As a result, she says, we have seen the emergence of numerous unregulated CPD training companies, many of which are not subject to professional or regulatory oversight. These companies offer short courses that fall short of the standard needed to properly care for young babies, and then award certificates which may give the impression that their students are qualified maternity nurses ready to work with newborns in private homes.
Genevieve lit up the room before her tragic death(Image: Men Media)
“The central issue,” she tells us, “is that the private in-home maternity nurse sector currently has no regulatory oversight. The title “maternity nurse” is not protected, meaning there is no consistent way for parents to distinguish between those with recognised, professionally assessed qualifications and those without.
“As everyone working in the industry is working under the title of Maternity Nurse there is also not a clear distinction between someone with regulated qualifications and short unregulated courses. The CPD courses are not standardised and do not provide a reliable benchmark for safe practice.”
This can be achieved by setting straightforward measures “including a minimum recognised qualification level, proper accountability (such as enhanced DBS checks on the update service and verification of credentials), protection of the title only for those with government regulated qualifications who have been professionally assessed, and the introduction of a central register – with agencies also required to meet the same regulatory standards when vetting and placing individuals into private homes”.
Already we are seeing individuals rebranding under alternative titles such as practitioners, newborn care specialist or baby nanny. This is something that parents need to be aware of.
She also highlights the value of the NNEB OC website for parents looking for a maternity nurse, which provides basic and clear information, and helps link parents up with fully NNEB-trained collegians.
The message from the professionals seems clear – regulation is a must when it comes to caring for babies and young children. And they will continue to fight on until that legislation is passed.
Katie wants to stop other parents from having to go through the agony they have endured(Image: Jason Roberts /Manchester Evening News)
For Katie, it’s about ensuring no other families have to endure such a devastating loss, and honouring her second daughter. Both she and John talk about Genevieve “all day long” with her two sisters – their youngest child, who never had the chance to know Genevieve, and their eldest, who now only has precious memories of the sibling she “absolutely adored”.
The government has now confirmed rules surrounding sleep at nursery will be tightened. From September, all children under two must be placed to sleep on their backs, with their heads uncovered. Cots must be kept clear of any extra items including toys, pillows and blankets, to prevent overheating and suffocation.
In a letter, ministers have credited the relentless campaigning of Genevieve’s parents, writing: “Genevieve Meehan’s death in 2022 was a devastating tragedy that should never have happened. Our thoughts remain with Genevieve’s parents, family members and others that have been affected by this.
“Children’s safety is at the very heart of this government’s plan for change and, as Minister for Early Years, the safety of our children is my utmost priority.”
Little Genevieve – who “loved being with her family, dancing, spaghetti Bolognese and watching her little dog” – lost her life in such unimaginable circumstances. But those fighting for change will ensure that her legacy lives on.
For support after baby loss, please contact Sands’ national helpline on 0808 164 3332 or email helpline@sands.org.uk