The family of Genevieve Meehan are calling for urgent change in law
The family of a nine-month-old baby girl who was killed at her nursery will deliver a letter to Downing Street today calling on the Government to ‘act now’ to prevent further tragedies in the future.
Genevieve ‘Gigi’ Meehan was killed at Tiny Toes Children’s Day Nursery in May 2022 after she was strapped face down onto a beanbag and left unsupervised for 90 minutes by her nursery worker, Kate Roughley.
Roughley was jailed for 14 years in May 2024 for causing her unlawful death. An inquest into Genevieve’s death has been set for June this year.
Her parents, John Meehan and Katie Wheeler have since launched a campaign – Campaign for Gigi – to improve safety standards in nursery settings.
In it, they are calling for compulsory CCTV in nursery settings; unannounced Ofsted inspections to be routine in early years settings; review of CCTV footage in Ofsted inspections; clear, statutory safe sleep guidance for early years settings; mandatory safe sleep training for all nursery staff and Ofsted inspectors; and clear statutory guidance as to the use of sleep products in early years settings.
The campaign, which can be found here, is urging for those to get in touch with their local MP to ask them for their support.
Later today, Monday, January 19, Mr Meehan and Ms Wheeler will hand deliver a letter to Number 10 as they call for changes in law to drastically improve safety standard to prevent further harm to children.
In the letter, they state that Gigi was put down to sleep in a ‘manifestly dangerous manner’. Those responsible relied on the lack of clear statutory guidance on safe sleep, they said. They had also relied on a Ofsted rating that was ‘not fit for purpose’.
They also said that without the CCTV in the Stockport nursery, Gigi would not have got justice. Keeping children safe must be ‘priority’ of any government, they added.
In a letter seen by the Manchester Evening News, the family wrote: “On 9th May 2022, we left our 9 month old daughter in the care of her nursery; an act undertaken by tens of thousands of parents across the country every day. The next time we saw her, she was dead, killed by the nursery worker that was supposed to care for her.
“Gigi had been put to sleep in a manifestly dangerous manner. At trial, those responsible sought to rely on the absence of clear statutory requirements for safe sleep in nurseries.
“The nursery Gigi attended had been rated Good by Ofsted. In common with most parents, we relied on that rating. We did not know that the Ofsted inspection process was not fit for purpose.
“We did not know that, prior to Gigi’s death, Ofsted had received complaints from staff and parents about the welfare of children at the nursery, but despite this, no intervention took place. Whistleblowing did not save Gigi.
“Gigi’s death was recorded on CCTV. This footage demonstrated conclusively that Gigi and other children had been mistreated. The CCTV footage was available to Ofsted. However, it did not view it as part of its inspection process. Had the footage been reviewed by Ofsted we have no doubt Gigi would be alive. Furthermore, without this CCTV, Gigi would not have got justice.
“This Government has made it a priority to increase the provision of nursery places. That is a laudable aim. However, in the absence of an equally strong commitment to improve safety in nurseries, the result of that policy is to risk placing more children into unsafe environments. Keeping children safe must be priority of any government.
“That is why we are campaigning for:
“1. Clear statutory requirements as to safe sleep in nurseries
“2. A strengthened and robust Ofsted inspection process including the routine use of unannounced inspections
“3. National safe sleep training for all Ofsted inspectors and nursery staff
“4. Mandatory CCTV in nurseries
“We know that the Department of Education has met with experts from The Lullaby Trust to discuss changes to the EYFS, however those changes have not yet been implemented. This puts children’s lives at risk.
“Gigi deserved to live her life and to flourish. That was so cruelly taken away from her. This Government must act now to prevent this from ever happening again.”
After delivering the letter, the family will be staging a parliamentary drop-in session for all MPs to attend, where they can learn more about the campaign. Early Years Minister, Olivia Bailey MP, is expected to attend, as is Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham.
Katie and John will be in attendance, as will their local MP Tom Morrison, experts from the Lullaby Trust and Manchester Sands, a child bereavement charity.
In a statement, the Minister for Early Education, Olivia Bailey MP, 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.”
