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*TRIGGER WARNING** - upsetting news article about 9month old death at nursery

132 replies

someoneanyoneeveryone · 19/04/2024 20:35

https://amp.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/apr/18/baby-told-stop-whingeing-alleged-killer-stockport-nursery

i am so appalled to read this
i cant imagine what the poor parents are going through but it’s making me very fearful to leave my son at nursery (he’s 10months and I have to go back to work soon).

my heart breaks
RIP GENEVIEVE 🤍

Baby told to ‘stop your whingeing’ by alleged killer at Stockport nursery | UK news | The Guardian

Nursery worker Kate Roughley, 37, accused of manslaughter over death of Genevieve Meehan in May 2022

https://amp.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/apr/18/baby-told-stop-whingeing-alleged-killer-stockport-nursery

OP posts:
Matthew54 · 20/04/2024 07:55

I have explained above regarding the resourcing and scrutiny. The ratio issue is less likely to occur because they can borrow from other branches if need be. I’ve picked my son up at odd times throughout the day and the baby room has never once been out of ratio.

It’s also unclear from the reporting but it sounds like there was a 10-1 ratio and no one else was present, which would not happen at our nursery.

I know mumsnet is very anti-nursery, but the reality is many women have to send their children to be cared for and there are great places out there. It is absolutely horrific what happened to this baby because this place was out of ratio and no one had the stones to stand up to this woman and help that baby.

MissHavershamReturns · 20/04/2024 07:55

Op IME the best advice when choosing any setting is to follow your instincts. When mine were tiny I visited a highly regarded local nursery which had been run for over twenty years by the same woman. Multiple people who were locally well respected had sent their children there and it looked the part. But when I went round I had an instinct they were not genuinely caring. That nursery has since had a few really grim OFSTED inspections finding issues and been closed down. I’m not sure what gave me a funny feeling about them, but something felt off.

Matthew54 · 20/04/2024 07:56

chocmatcha · 20/04/2024 06:59

Nasty. Some of us have to send our kids to nursery so we can afford to keep a roof over their heads

This is such an English point of view it’s ridiculous, children can thrive in nursery and saving for retirement so you’re able to provide for yourself and pay for your child’s education is a perfectly valid reason to work.

chocmatcha · 20/04/2024 08:04

Matthew54 · 20/04/2024 07:56

This is such an English point of view it’s ridiculous, children can thrive in nursery and saving for retirement so you’re able to provide for yourself and pay for your child’s education is a perfectly valid reason to work.

Are you saying my view is ridiculous? But you seem to agree with me.

Matthew54 · 20/04/2024 08:05

Sorry - correct agree with you choc! Quoted the wrong post.

KeyboardWhinger · 20/04/2024 08:10

That’s awful. The nursery chain should be made accountable somehow (gross negligence manslaughter??) for not following ratios which are (or were) 3:1 at that age.

FanofLeaves · 20/04/2024 08:12

Stigglet · 19/04/2024 21:04

I don’t think what she said out loud is relevant. I’ve told my own beloved babies “ffs be quiet”, “stop bloody crying”, “you’re driving me mad”, etc. Because you do verbalise your frustration when crying babies are driving you insane.

Obviously strapping a baby face down is manslaughter. Wtf was she thinking?!

As a previous nursery worker and currently a nanny now, no I would never ever say that no matter what I might say out loud at home. It’s totally unprofessional and unacceptable no matter what the circumstances. It is absolutely relevant in showing her growing frustration with a tiny child.

There were obviously serious breaches of safety here as they were working with an illegal ratio. Ten babies is absolutely insane, I think the nursery manager should be tried too- even with another colleague going home the ratio would still have been operating against Ofsted rules.

Matthew54 · 20/04/2024 08:25

FanofLeaves · 20/04/2024 08:12

As a previous nursery worker and currently a nanny now, no I would never ever say that no matter what I might say out loud at home. It’s totally unprofessional and unacceptable no matter what the circumstances. It is absolutely relevant in showing her growing frustration with a tiny child.

There were obviously serious breaches of safety here as they were working with an illegal ratio. Ten babies is absolutely insane, I think the nursery manager should be tried too- even with another colleague going home the ratio would still have been operating against Ofsted rules.

Edited

Agreed. Permitting a 10:1 ratio is frankly criminal

Yohannsd · 20/04/2024 08:26

Stigglet · 19/04/2024 21:04

I don’t think what she said out loud is relevant. I’ve told my own beloved babies “ffs be quiet”, “stop bloody crying”, “you’re driving me mad”, etc. Because you do verbalise your frustration when crying babies are driving you insane.

Obviously strapping a baby face down is manslaughter. Wtf was she thinking?!

It's okay when it's your own child but not when you're working and supposed to be professional FFS!

AloeVerity · 20/04/2024 08:27

The rules are not Ofsted’s. They are enforced by Ofsted. They’re laid down in the EYFS framework.

@Matthew54 - international chain means diddly squat! If anything, the bigger and more corporate, the better they are at covering up. Bright Horizons had a baby choke to death in one of their nurseries because of inadequate supervision.

chocmatcha · 20/04/2024 08:28

Yohannsd · 20/04/2024 08:26

It's okay when it's your own child but not when you're working and supposed to be professional FFS!

No its not really OK even when it's your own child. But it happens. It's not ok. It's just a thing that sometimes parents get frustrated and swear a little under their breath

chocmatcha · 20/04/2024 08:29

Matthew54 · 20/04/2024 08:05

Sorry - correct agree with you choc! Quoted the wrong post.

Thanks for clarifying I'm not great with this sort of thing!

caffelattetogo · 20/04/2024 08:35

Thevelvelletes · 19/04/2024 23:00

The young and elderly of this country are used to turn a profit.... real care is in very short supply.

Absolutely. Vulnerable people are used by these companies to make money. An elderly relative had an appalling level of care in a nursing home.

The ratios are often abused, with staff being diverted from hands on roles to 'help out' with office admin etc. by the time you factor in breaks and sickness, one nursery nurse or carer in a nursing home can have an unreasonable workload.

elisamun · 20/04/2024 08:37

Best to ignore the likes of @andyetthe

There's always that one poster who gets off on telling parents (no, actually telling mums) how awful it is to use childcare. In real life these people are often the ones who are envious of women who, by being able to access childcare, have good careers and whose children have grown up into perfectly well adjusted, happy adults!

Anyway, back to this article. It's absolutely appalling and the nursery manager should be charged too imo. What kind of person ever thinks it's ok to place a child face down on a beanbag to sleep? This woman clearly had some sort of issue with this child from reading about the way she spoke to and about her, and should have been nowhere near children. Just vile.

Kalevala · 20/04/2024 08:43

People say nursery is safer than a childminder but a childminder has a range of ages, so three and four year olds who can be playing supervised but independently while you care for a toddler or baby. Nothing like multiple under twos. Also, having children who can talk and relay information to home can make a carer more likely to stop and check their behaviour when frustrated, compared with being with only non verbal children.

DrJoanAllenby · 20/04/2024 08:45

The killer wasn't fit to work with infants but he owners of the nursery did not have enough staff so she shouldn't have been solely responsible for ten babies.

SevenSeasOfRhye · 20/04/2024 08:46

I found that story very distressing - why would someone like that be working at a nursery?

caffelattetogo · 20/04/2024 09:02

Kalevala · 20/04/2024 08:43

People say nursery is safer than a childminder but a childminder has a range of ages, so three and four year olds who can be playing supervised but independently while you care for a toddler or baby. Nothing like multiple under twos. Also, having children who can talk and relay information to home can make a carer more likely to stop and check their behaviour when frustrated, compared with being with only non verbal children.

Very much so. It's the idea that non verbal children are being treated badly and can't tell anyone that I find particularly chilling.

Blueskyandbluesea · 20/04/2024 09:20

My daughter whistle blew on a poor nursery (and she wasnt the only one). They were inspected and passed, because it was mainly things that could be quickly changed once the inspection team walked through the door.
Babies were left crying in cots and seats, the staff didnt interact with them much beyond basic feeding and changing, they'd be left lying on mats.

Parents would say their child was potty training, but staff would put them back in nappies as it was easier. Food given wasn't the food parents were told their kids were given. The manager would take a dislike to certain kids and pick on them, they'd be put in with younger kids away from their friends as punishment. Parents would be told the child's behaviour was bad, when they had just been upset, that child would then be left out of trips. Although the trips rarely happened, despite the glossy brochure. There were lots of toys and activities, but anything messy was hidden and only brought out for photos or open days, the range of things "allowed" was very small. The manager would shout at staff infront of the kids and the staff turnover was huge. They were often not in ratio.

The nursery doesn't have a great reputation locally, mainly because they can only attract young poorly qualified staff. But it's cheap and the only one near a certain school providing wrap around care.

I'd hazard a guess that there are lots of nurseries like this, operating just under the radar. Not good but "good enough" .

someoneanyoneeveryone · 20/04/2024 09:20

As a single mum, I don’t have another option but to put my son in childcare. I know there are many benefits socially once children are 2/3 and most nurseries are run securely and with care to following the rules.. so this wasn’t a thread to bash nurseries or mums for choosing to send their children there.

I’m still struggling to see how the defendant is pleading not guilty! So many things she did were just plain wrong.. even her surname (ROUGHey) gives an indication of her nature (I know i shouldn’t judge on a name but you can’t make these things up!)

it’s stuck with me this story.. just little details like the parents of the little girl giving her a pretend French accent because of her name and waiting to hear her talking.. they’ll never get to hear her speak.

OP posts:
Ireneforsythe · 20/04/2024 09:21

Rainyspringflowers · 19/04/2024 20:39

What a heartbreaking story.

The nursery managers should be tried too IMO.

The offender is the nursery manager.

someoneanyoneeveryone · 20/04/2024 09:22

The defendant was the deputy manager so she had some say in staff ratios also

OP posts:
Ireneforsythe · 20/04/2024 09:27

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

Meanwhile in the real world parents have to work to afford to live and therefore have to put their children in childcare.

Dareisayiseethesunshine · 20/04/2024 09:27

She must have known there was cctv yet her verbal abuse of that dc was shocking.. Obviously physically she murdered that dc after a personal dislike built up according to the cctv.. It wasn't a spur of the moment action.... My 2 dd's work in a nursery and both know each and every dc... They have never recalled a day that hasn't been all about the dc and their care.. The ratio for babies there is 1 staff to 3 babies...