"We couldn't see... now we know": Complaints, 'scapegoats' and the ultimate tragedy - inside the chaotic nursery where a little child died
Off a busy main road in the leafy Stockport suburb of Cheadle Hulme, sat a nursery that would become the scene of an unthinkable tragedy. Adorned with flashes of bright green - and portraits of smiling babies - images of the daycare facility would, following the death of an nine-month-old girl, appear on news websites and social media feeds across the UK.
Behind closed doors, Tiny Toes Day Nursery was in chaos. Staff were overstretched and there were too many children. Babies and toddlers filled every crib and high chair. Some were sprawled out on the floor.
Infants bawled while staff constantly moved between them, trying to give them the attention they needed. The disorder and confusion culminated in the death of Genevieve Zofia Meehan at the hands of deputy manager Kate Roughley.
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Roughley, 37, in her role as 'baby room leader', swaddled the child before placing her face down on a beanbag, strapping her down with a harness and leaving her for an hour-and-a-half. Baby Genevieve, nicknamed 'Gigi' by her family, died from asphyxia and 'pathophysiological stress' caused by an unsafe sleeping environment.
Now - as Roughley begins a 14-year sentence having been found guilty of manslaughter by a jury following a Manchester Crown Court trial - the full truth of what was going on at Tiny Toes can be told. The harrowing details heard in court will make every parent shudder.
'We couldn't see what was going on... now we know'
The Manchester Evening News spoke to people whose children attended the nursery. One parent, who asked not to be named, said his son went to Tiny Toes alongside Genevieve.
"He wasn't there that morning when that happened, but he was on other days," he said. He said that after Covid, parents were told to drop their children off at reception - and were unable to go into the nursery itself to collect them.
"We couldn't see what was going on in there," he added. "Now we know." The nursery is now being run by a new provider, it is understood. Tiny Toes signs have been taken down.
Former staff members, other than Roughley, gave evidence during her trial. They told jurors the nursery was 'badly run'.
Megan Goldsby, an early years practitioner, was asked by prosecutors to summarise her views on how the facility operated. "Not great," she told jurors. "It was very badly run. We had too many children. For my room, it was one staff to three children.
"There are Ofsted guidelines. At the very start it was close. It was not that bad, but it gradually got worse." Ms Goldsby said policies on staffing ratios were not followed and 'did not reflect reality'.
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She told the court that a week before the incident involving Genevieve, she recalled a child being put to sleep on a strapless bean bag on their side, because it was the 'only option' after they had not settled in a cot or on a floor mat.
Ms Goldsby said the bean bag had 'little straps on the front so you could secure them in'. Martin Reid KC said: "How did you understand a baby would be placed in it?" She replied: "Facing forward."
Nursery nurse Lydia Wakefield, who worked at Tiny Toes for 20 years, said she never put young children to sleep on a bean bag. Jurors also heard evidence from Catherine Knowles, an independent children's social work consultant.
She said the available floor space was 'not sufficient', adding: "The whole set-up of this baby room was not conducive to a caring, nurturing or learning environment. In general, there was no structured set-up for play activities."
She told the court CCTV footage showed the nursery falling short of having the recommended number of adults to children 'appear[ed] to be the norm'.
'Queues of parents 20 to 30 deep'
Another parent, whose son went to the nursery, told the M.E.N: "We would drop him off and he would scream all the time. We thought it was separation anxiety and being around new people, due to him being a lockdown baby. There were always queues of parents picking up their children, 20 to 30 people deep.
"When it closed, they said a child had unfortunately become unwell and it would reopen in six weeks. I thought it was something to do with choking. We just kept our son at home."
The dad said every time they went to pick his little boy up, he was crying. He said they once called to ask if staff could wake him earlier from naps because he wasn't sleeping through the night.
"They said 'you're not allowed to wake them up when they're asleep'," he added. One person said when he picked his son up, he was always really red and hot.
"My son wasn't being interacted with. He always gets upset when we try to speak to him about it. He was left on his own." On the morning of May 9, 2022, Genevieve was dropped off by her parents Katie Wheeler and John Meehan.
Her mum told her: "I love you, sweetie." Just over seven hours later, the beloved infant was dead. The tragic events - and interactions with the child in the days prior - were caught on CCTV. Footage seen by jurors showed Roughley becoming increasingly frustrated with Genevieve.
At one stage, she sang, as the little girl cried: "Oh Genevieve. Genevieve go home, Genevieve go home, go home Genevieve." Shortly before 1.30pm, Roughley complained to a fellow member of staff that Gigi had not slept for three hours, before swaddling her tightly in a blanket. She then put her on her front onto a bean bag and fastened a strap across her back.
An hour and 37 minutes later, footage showed she went to check on Genevieve by putting a hand on her back. She then crouched down next to her, lifted the baby up and said: "S***, she's not breathing."
"What?," her colleague asked. "She's not breathing," Roughley repeated. The child was carried to a playmat, where four members of staff attempted to resuscitate her before paramedics arrived and took over.
Gigi was rushed to hospital, but it was too late. She was pronounced dead by medics at Stepping Hill.
Complaints about the 'sheer volume of children'
Roughley gave evidence during her trial. She said she had complained about the 'sheer volume of children', but wasn't listened to. National guidelines state there must be at least one member of staff for every three children aged under two in nurseries in England. At Tiny Toes, numbers far exceeded those levels.
The day Genevieve died, Roughley was one of two staff members looking after 11 babies. Asked by her barrister if she felt stressed, she said: "At times, yes. We didn't have much of a break, and we ate lunch with the children."
She said she would 'sing or chant' as a coping mechanism, insisting there was no malice or intent behind the comments she made. Tiny Toes nursery's licence to operate was suspended by Ofsted the day after Genevieve died.
Four months later, an inspection found it had failed to meet its legal requirements and soon after the nursery's owners gave up the licence. It is now being run by a different firm. It was a far cry from the 'good' rating it received five years before.
An Ofsted report stated that on May 10, 2022, the watchdog was informed a baby became unresponsive at the nursery and had died at hospital. "We suspended the provider's registration on 10 May 2022 because we believe children may be at risk of harm," the report added. "Suspension allows time for the provider to take steps to reduce or eliminate the risk of harm to children.
"On 2, 5 and 28 September 2022, we carried out regulatory visits. We found the provider was not meeting some of the requirements. On 27 September 2022, the provider appealed to the decision to suspend registration. Before the appeal took place, the provider resigned their registration and is no longer registered with Ofsted."
Stockport council confirmed it is responsible for investigations and enforcement of the provisions in the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, in respect of accident or death in a childcare setting. The town hall said it has been working with Greater Manchester Police since 2022 and that its investigation will continue following the conclusion of the trial.
'Scapegoat' claims - and judge's stark words
Roughley's barrister, Sarah Elliott KC, told jurors her client was being used as a 'scapegoat'. "You may think that there are a number of people the Crown could have put in the dock," she said during the trial. "But they have chosen to blame Kate Roughley."
At Wednesday's sentencing hearing, Ms Elliott KC said the court should consider whether Roughley was failed by senior leaders at the 'dangerously understaffed' nursery. She said Roughley was 'devastated by her actions', adding: "She is not a monster. We accept the dreadful impact this has had and will always have on Genevieve's family. We submit that the court should not accept she was cold-hearted and callous. More accurately described as careless, unthinking and exasperated.
"The behaviour of a woman at the end of her tether. She undoubtedly failed Genevieve - she also failed herself."
Mrs Justice Ellenbogen, sentencing Roughley, was clear in her assessment of the case. "She died whilst in your charge," she told her. The judge added: "During the afternoon, you put Genevieve down to sleep on a beanbag, tightly swaddled her, restricting her ability to move and placed a blanket over her.
"As harrowing video and audio shows, you left her, only carrying out the most cursory of checks, her increasing distress most apparent. She can be seen desperately moving her body and crying and coughing. In doing so, she sank further into the soft beanbag because exhausted and overheated.
"I am certain that every person in this courtroom was willing you to pick her up and remove her from danger from where you placed her - knowing that you would not. By its verdict, the jury has rejected your evidence.
"Had you conducted... checks, Genevieve's distress would have been abundantly apparent. Mere visible checks from a distance were woefully inadequate.
"From the CCTV it is apparent, at best, you considered Genevieve to be a nuisance and displayed apathy towards her. On [the morning of] May 9m you berated her for only sleeping for 20 minutes, having called her 'vile'.
"She was placed on a beanbag, notwithstanding her kicking wriggling, her tears, you failed to check. Her crying intensified, carrying a grunting tone, even then you didn't approach her, pick her up or show concern for her welfare. You left her to die.
"Your interactions with her showed you palpably lacked any care for her. I accept the staff to child ratio fell below national standards. But that did not bring about circumstances in which you put her to sleep. At your hands, her parents and grandparents have lost their sunny funny little girl. The last photo of her shows a bright, happy baby. By your callous acts, you have deprived her of her life. Her mother describes how Genevieve and her sister had become inseparable."
The judge said there was little mitigation, adding: "You have steadfastly refused to acknowledge any action of yours that caused her death." She said comments Roughley had 'Genevieve in her thoughts' showed 'no genuine remorse'.
'She was discussed as a piece of evidence - she was a person'
Mum Ms Wheeler said of Roughley in a statement read at the sentencing hearing: "She has lied throughout this trial. We found her evidence without compassion grossly insulting, and had to listen to lie after lie about Genevieve.
"None of it was true, despite our daughter's distress so clear on CCTV. She was discussed as a piece of evidence - she was a person, she had a happy life and full of promise, that was destroyed.
"My love for Genevieve started from the moment we found out I was pregnant. It was a privilege to carry her in my womb. I am haunted that nine months later she was dying in an ambulance.
"My love for her can simple not be put into words. Words are simply inadequate. Baby Gigi and her sister were inseparable. Their relationship was beautiful. Her sister did everything with me. My life was complete with my children.
"I feel so ashamed and I was ignorant at the time at what was to come. As mother mother, I feel I should known she was going to die. In hospital I ran to her and saw her lying on the bed surrounded by more doctors than I had ever seen. I held her for hours after she died until she felt heavy and her face started to change. I did not want to let her go.
"I am dead inside and incapable of living. She is my little girl, she lived inside me - she is a part of me. I want the world to know how loved she was, and how desperate I am to hold her, to feel her cheek next to mine. My little Gigi was - and is - a beautiful soul, the image of her Daddy and the light of our lives."
Dad Mr Meehan, addressing the court and Roughley, said: "Your actions have shattered my heart and soul. She did not know - neither could we - every interaction for you with her was in inconvenience. You put your personal convenience above her. You could have taken responsibility.
"You are cold and callous and cruel. You are a child killer."