After two hours of deliberation into the death of nine-month-old Oliver following the incident at the nursery on 23 September 2021, the jury at the inquest returned a conclusion of ‘misadventure’.
Before retiring to consider the evidence, Coroner Katina Hepburn told the jury at Maidstone Crown Court that there was ‘no evidence which would show failures by the nursery or its staff’.
She will now make a Report to Prevent Future Deaths for the Department for Education.
The coroner said she was concerned that evidence suggested staff were ‘not able to put into place Resuscitation Council guidelines’ in an emergency.
Ms Hepburn said, ‘I am concerned that even staff with valid training, without having regular refresher training, they may not recall the finer particulars of first aid.’
She also raised concerns about early years guidelines stating that only one staff member has to have a valid paediatric first aid certificate.
Since then, the EYFS has been updated to make the wording of the paediatric first aid requirement in nurseries clearer.
The wording of the updated version of the EYFS, which came into effect on 4 January this year, has been amended to make it explicit that all staff who have obtained a Level 2 and/or Level 3 qualification since 30 June 2016 must also hold a valid paediatric first aid qualification to be included in the required staff-to-child ratios.
DfE guidance states that practitioners must renew their first aid training, which must be relevant for staff working with young children and babies, every three years.
Oliver's mother speaks out
Speaking after the conclusion of the inquest, Oliver’s mother, Zoe Steeper, said, ‘On 23 September, I dropped Oli off at nursery. He never came home again.
‘We have heard evidence in court that the nursery fed our nine-month-old baby chopped penne pasta bolognaise. He choked and died. A significant amount of food debris was found blocking his lungs.
‘In court, we were shocked to hear various witnesses give evidence about the scene of total chaos that unfolded that day in front of many other little children.
‘Oli was just a little baby. Why did this happen? We believe that Oli’s death was entirely preventable.
‘We feel he wasn’t ready for the type of meal he was given, and we maintain that we never gave the nursery permission to unilaterally make that decision.
‘We entrusted Jelly Beans Nursery with our most prized possession - our beautiful baby boy. We were assured that they would look after him properly. No parent should ever leave their child at nursery for them not to come home.
She went on to say, ‘Oli’s case has shone a light on what we feel are loopholes in the way nurseries are allowed to care for young children and babies. We have waited more than two and half years for Oli’s voice to be heard. We now want to see meaningful change to ensure that no other family has to go through the heartbreak of losing a baby in this way whilst in the care of others.’
The family’s solicitor, Leigh Day partner Jill Paterson commented, ‘Oli’s death was an unimaginable tragedy and one that no parent should have to endure. Despite the devastating grief our clients have had to go through, they are fully committed to ensuring that important lessons are learned from this terrible incident and that nurseries and other early childhood settings become safer places in future.
‘Urgent action must be taken by all those involved in the early years sector, including regulators, legislators and childcare providers, to ensure that this appalling tragedy that cost the life of a baby boy never happens again.’
