I am working with a local group of 200 affected parents, who are truly inspirational given everything they’ve been through.
The parents are calling on the Government to require nurseries to operate CCTV in nurseries, with secure local monitoring and restricted remote access for parents.
The removal of this system at the nursery in question removed an important safeguarding tool and deterrent. Last week in Parliament, I held a Westminster Hall debate on why this change is desperately needed.
Across the country, CCTV has been a vital tool in uncovering crimes and securing convictions in nurseries. The terrible case of Genevive Meehan from Tiny Toes nursery in Greater Manchester is a clear example.
When being placed down to sleep in the nursery, Genevive was tightly swaddled inside a blanket. She was strapped face down onto a bean bag without being checked by the nursery staff.
The nursery worker responsible, Kate Roughley, was convicted of manslaughter due to the CCTV footage.
The CCTV also disproved Roughley’s claim that she had checked on Genevive every couple of minutes. And it later led to the conviction of one of Roughley’s colleagues for the “deplorable” neglect of four other babies.
Tiny Toes nursery, where Genevive was killed, was rated ‘good’ by Ofsted five years previously, but the trial heard evidence suggesting it was run “shockingly”.
On the day Genevive died, Roughley was one of only two members of staff looking after 11 babies. If Ofsted reviewed the CCTV footage, they would have picked this up.
There was another terrible example case at Riverside Nursery in Twickenham. Roksana Lecka was convicted of abusing 21 babies at a nursery in Twickenham, after footage showed the worker pinching and scratching children and kicking one boy in the face. In that case, as with Genevive’s, CCTV was essential to the prosecution.
Some nursery chains already use CCTV, but there is no consistent national standard.
There are also understandable worries about cost, exploitation, hacking, and the role of AI.
I’m not naïve to the challenges this will bring, and I don’t think CCTV is a silver bullet to solve all violence towards children.
However, I think this is an important step towards safeguarding the most vulnerable people in our society, and one I believe a Government with Labour values should be prioritising.
- Tulip Siddiq is the Labour MP for Hampstead and Highgate.
