‘Our youngster was killed at nursery – reforms should not be kicked into lengthy grass’
John and Katie Meehan, who lost their daughter Genevieve, known as “Gigi”, in 2022, will on Monday warn Keir Starmer nursery reforms must not be “kicked into the long grass”
Gigi’s parents John and Katie demand urgent nursery reforms
The parents of a nine-month-old who was killed in nursery care have warned there is “no cost on a child’s life” as they demanded urgent reforms to the sector.
John and Katie Meehan, who lost their daughter Genevieve, known as “Gigi”, in May 2022, will on Monday hand in a letter to Downing Street warning Keir Starmer the issue must not be “kicked into the long grass”. Gigi died in nursery care in Cheadle Hulme, Greater Manchester, after being strapped face-down, tightly swaddled and placed on a bean bag, where she suffocated. Nursery worker Kate Roughley was later jailed for 14 years for manslaughter.
Speaking to The Mirror, John said: “The experience of having your child alive when you drop them off at nursery and then to get a call in the afternoon and to go to the hospital and they’ve died, that is the most appalling thing for any parent… There’s a real anger because we’re very angry about what happened to Genevieve and we’re angry that the situation is allowed to continue, where there are these practices that are unsafe and they’re occurring.”
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John and Katie, who have two other daughters, aged two and 10, last year launched the “Campaign for Gigi”, which calls for clear statutory safer sleep requirements, unannounced and more frequent Ofsted inspections and mandatory CCTV in nurseries. “Many of the campaign goals don’t require any particular extensive funding or consultation. These are really simple, simple matters,” John said.
Mum Katie questioned whether a lack of action was due to funding pressures, warning: “There is no cost on a child’s life.” She described Gigi as the “happiest little soul” who has a smile “where the smile fills her whole face”, continuing: “Genevieve’s life has been taken from her. And for us, there has to be some meaning in that, not that it would ever make sense. It’s never going to make sense.
“But there has to be something that comes from it where you can say, because of Genevieve, other children are here, and other children are living their lives because she deserved that and we did everything we could to give her that… It’s giving her a legacy”
Katie cited the tragic case of Noah Sibanda, who died after an incident at a nursery in Dudley months after Gigi died. A trial is due to take place in April. And she also referenced the horrific case of paedophile Vincent Chan who pleaded guilty last year after sexually abusing kids at a nursery in Camden, London, and of Roksana Lecka, who was jailed last year after abusing 21 babies while working at a nursery in Twickenham, London.
Katie said: “One child dying is absolutely catastrophic and it’s far too many. But I mean, we’ve seen it with what happened to Genevieve, what happened to Noah. You had the cases in Twickenham. You had the other recent case [in Camden].
“I mean, these children’s lives, whilst they’re very young, are potentially damaged for them and their families. And it’s absolutely horrific. This shouldn’t happen to any child. It shouldn’t take the death of a child to make changes and the harm that has been inflicted on children, whether or not those children have survived or not, it shouldn’t happen. It’s not acceptable.”
In a powerful message to Keir Starmer, John added: “I think the message that we have is that he cannot allow this to happen to any other child and to any other family and he’s got to put the safety of children at the absolute forefront of what the government is doing. What we really want to press is the urgency of these [campaign goals] and that these aren’t just changes that can be kicked into the long grass and left there awaiting some future legislative day. These are changes that really need to come in now for children’s safety.”
Tom Morrison, the Liberal Democrat MP for Cheadle who has worked closely with the family, said he feels a mixture of “heartbreak and anger” that so little has been done since Gigi’s death to improve nursery safety.
“It’s just heartbreaking because John and Katie have lived through something that no parent should have to go through,” Mr Morrison said. “I’ve been really honoured to spend time with John and Katie and hear about Gigi and also hear about the person that Gigi could have grown up to be.
“But then what really gets me really angry is that they’ve been fighting for this and highlighting this to the government and ministers for so long and then another incident will happen. And you just think, if we could just get proper safety standards into our nurseries, if we could get CCTV into our nurseries, can we then stop these things from happening?
“I don’t know why the government is being so slow on it. I don’t see any reason for them to be so slow, because this has surely got to be a priority. If we can’t get our nurseries safe, then what are we doing here? So it’s a mixture of heartbreak and anger.”
Early Education minister Olivia Bailey said: “Gigi’s death was a devastating tragedy that should never have happened, and my thoughts are with her parents, John and Katie. The safety of our children comes first, which is why we are strengthening safeguarding across early years, including more frequent and higher-quality Ofsted inspections.
“We are moving forward with new guidance on CCTV and digital devices through an expert panel, working with The Lullaby Trust to make safer sleep requirements clearer, and have recently strengthened safeguarding requirements in the Early Years Foundation Stage while reviewing what further changes are needed, with every concern raised through the Campaign for Gigi carefully considered.”
