Nursery World - Oliver Steeper inquest: Key worker says nine-month-old was given chopped and not pureed food

A member of staff who worked at Jelly Beans Day Nursery where Oliver Steeper choked on food and died days later in hospital, told an inquest the nine-month-old ate chopped, rather than pureed food.

Oliver Steeper, PHOTO: Steeper Foundation

On the second day of the inquest, giving evidence, Oliver’s key worker Loetta Collins said she had not received training from the nursery about what size the food served to him should be.

Ms Collins, who chopped the penne pasta Bolognese Oliver was served on 23 September 2021, the day he passed away, said she was ‘content’ that the pieces were small enough.

Another member of staff was feeding Oliver and three other children, the inquest heard.

She was also asked about a risk assessment produced by the setting, which stated that all food for babies was to be blended to a consistency which is ‘fluid-like rather than solid.’

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