Tulip Siddiq, Labour MP for Hampstead and Highgate, and a parent whose children attended Bright Horizons nursery, have written to urge government action on safeguarding in early years settings. Their letter, published today, follows the case of Vincent Chan, a former nursery worker at Bright Horizons in north-west London.
The letter identifies what they believe are serious gaps in the safeguarding system that require urgent government attention. They propose making CCTV mandatory in nurseries, arguing it could act as a deterrent and provide evidence for allegations.
Further recommendations include implementing a "flare" system to allow parents, carers, and nurseries to report safeguarding concerns, linking allegations and employment information across different early years settings over time. They also suggest examining the law governing sexual and exploitative images of children, noting that some images found on Chan's devices did not meet the existing legal threshold for indecent images.
Finally, the letter calls for clear, enforceable standards for electronic devices in early years settings, backed by Ofsted inspection. They state that such standards could have led to Chan being caught sooner.