Another fatal incident at nursery

I agree. Allergy protocols should have prevented this and someone fucked up, resulting in the death of a child. How horrific for the parents as wholly avoidable. This was negligence.

All of them?

My child was much safer with me, at home. I would never have sent mine to nursery and was lucky enough that I didn’t need to.

My dc is allergic to nuts. Thankfully moat childcare settings are nut free but even if they weren't i doubt one of us would be able to quit working. And then what do you do when the child has to go to school? Home school? Why to deprive the child of an important developmental experience like that when it's not too difficult to just not give them the allergen?

I actually found that the nurseries and childminders dc went to were a lot more careful and transparent about dealing with their allergy than school but you cant avoid school.

https://www.itv.com/news/granada/2025-09-23/boy-two-dies-after-being-found-unresponsive-at-nursery

I suspect OP is referring to this story which was just a couple of weeks ago.

Yes I was thinking this.

far more are killed by parents/caregivers each year so by that logic we should cancel parenting and have the kids live in institutions 👀

I find this so insulting. Do you think those of us with allergic children want to rely on nursery workers/school dinner ladies to keep our kids alive? Do you not think we would prefer to care for them ourselves? I cannot afford to stop working because my child has allergies any more than I could afford it if I had a child without an allergy. We would lose our home. We would never be able to go on holiday, she would miss out on clubs and days out - not to mention learning how to stay safe in an environment outside of the home. This idea that you can just opt out of society because your child is at high risk is not feasible...

Most parents have to work. Most nurseries are also perfectly capable of keeping children with serious allergies safe despite the fact that they are poorly paid.

I work in a school kitchen and we provide the food for nursery also. I check, double and triple check everything I give these kids if they are on the allergy list, even though I know who has allergies… my direct manger has started telling me off for asking all the time. But I will ask no matter what than risk that one off chance I don’t something goes wrong.

Struggling to keep an eye on all the children is VERY different to giving a known allergen to a fatally allergic child. Not in the least bit comparable. Staff ratios are very poor but it’s not relevant in this case. Very easy to simply not give the allergen to the child. This is gross negligence and someone should absolutely be facing criminal charges

My toddler aged child has allergies and it is absolutely terrifying to hand her over to the care of anyone else who may not be as vigilant as I am. My instinct is to wrap her in cotton wool and keep her safe with me. However, I have to work, like most people. Like most people, I don't want my child to miss out on normal social experiences. I don't want to coddle her and make the world feel unsafe. We trust those in care to take care...it is the height of negligence to actively feed an allergen to an allergic child. It is gobsmacking that this can happen and no one is held accountable.

If my child had a deadly allergy I would never put them in the care of low paid workers.

Low pay also affects under staffing. As people wont work for the low pay. Under staffing affects children's safety

Maybe i quoted the wrong post. I meant to talk about nurseries, not childminders

Of course they should.

but there are people on this thread trying to say the childs death should be blamed on the young, poorly paid nursery workers.

bullshit.

how much/little you're paid should not affect how well you do your job when caring for small children.

Its not the poor pay. Its that society does not value child care workers, when it is a vitwl job!

Finance workers get paid over 100k.

Childcare workers who are literally responsible for looking after the lives of many children get paid 20k.

Society should value children and childcare workers more!

More children die at the hands of their parents than at nurseries and while I understand you are trying to make a point there are many fantastic providers out there and many parents that have no choice but to send their child to a nursery while they work.

We understand your privilege, and I agree that this should have been a never event, something that simply should not have happened. There should have been an absolute cast iron approach to ensure this child had not been given the allergen by any staff member. Yes, I also do think that nursery guidelines should be updated, but that will inevitably lead to increased fees - crippling many more parents than it is now. Potentially pushing more families into financial difficulty. There is no easy solution.

But scaremongering with your ‘no nursery is safe’ nonsense on top of this absolutely awful tragedy - no thats not okay.

Ex Nusery Nurse here, the staff were useless (even seniors), managers used to make excuses for abusive parents, dairy intolerant children were given dairy. Multiple more scenarios I could go in to. It was awful, so many fuck ups and i’m shocked a child hasn’t died or they haven’t been closed down yet at the setting I worked at.

The child died because someone gave him something that the child was known to be allergic to. It's not like he choked or fell over and hit his head. If he hadnt been given the yogurt he wouldn't have died. It's not like he snatched it from another child, right? He was given the yogurt. I don't think it's unreasonable to expect a nursery to not give a child something they have been informed could cause an allergic reaction.

I'm not saying that anyone should be prosecuted but I am saying that this is a death that could have been and should have been avoided. And I really hope that even if the police doesn't take further action I hope someone like ofsted will make sure that lessons are learnt and better systems are implemented.

Can people stop blaming poor pay? If you think being paid peanuts means you only half ass your job, you shouldn't be anywhere near the care of the vulnerable.

Stop making fucking excuses. i was an apprentice at one point, being paid £50 a week to work a 35hr week, and it did not mean i cared any less for the kids than the staff on full wages.

@BluntPlumHam

what sacrifices and careful contingencies did you make that you think other parents didnt make?

I would argue that the bosses are the ones who need to take responsibility (and if they cannot afford to pay for a good number of good staff then they should do the right thing and close their doors because a closed nursery is better than a nursery with dead toddlers).

If staff have been properly trained and ignored clear instructions and procedures then it is possible that there should be personal liability for the staff members.

HGV drivers who kill other road users should be let off because HGV wages aren't particularly high any more.

Oh wow, absolutely fucking not.

The nurseries i worked in, ALL OF THEM, knew who our kids were with allergies, we knew what they could/couldn't have, we kept their eating environment healthy and safe, it was absolute TOP priority at meal times to monitor, check, and double check what they were given.

This was NOT an accident. It was negligence, and i will not accept any other explanation, and nor should the parents. there are ZERO excuses for this. ZERO.

Those poor parents.
That nursery ought to be ashamed and prosecuted.

Good point. Every child that dies in these circumstances is a tragedy, but let's not sensationalise without knowing the full picture.

How would it be decided who actually really needs it though?

Only those who work? If so, what about those where one parent doesn't financially need to work?

If only those who work, what about the benefits showed to 2 year olds who access the 15 free hours they wouldn't otherwise get?

I don't understand your response to the post you quoted.