'We never imagined our daughter could be killed at nursery - we want greater safeguards'

The parents of a baby who was killed at a nursery have told the BBC they want stronger safeguarding measures to be introduced.

Nine-month-old Genevieve died from asphyxiation when she was tightly swaddled, strapped to a beanbag, and left unattended by a nursery worker for 90 minutes.

In an exclusive interview, Katie Wheeler and John Meehan told the BBC that life without Genevieve was "unbearable".

When she sent her daughter to nursery, she "never in a million years thought that anything like this would happen", says Ms Wheeler.

The couple have described as "horrifying", figures obtained by the BBC that show there were almost 20,000 reports of serious childcare incidents in England's nurseries in the past five years.

That is an average of about 75 "significant events" reported to Ofsted each week - including incidents of serious injury or significant harm. There have even been rare cases involving deaths.

The latest figures for serious incidents in the year 2023-24 are 40% higher than five years previously.

Ofsted - which inspects England's education providers - says the rise may, in part, be due to its increased efforts to ensure nurseries report such events.

Industry body, the Early Years Alliance, says most providers prioritise safety and that safeguarding breaches are extremely rare.

Ms Wheeler and Mr Meehan are now calling for more frequent Ofsted inspections and for CCTV footage to be checked by inspectors.

Genevieve had been at the now-closed Tiny Toes nursery in Stockport, Greater Manchester, for a week when she died.

CCTV footage showed her struggling and coughing, but nursery worker Kate Roughley did not check on her properly until she was "unresponsive and blue", her trial heard. Roughley received a 14-year prison sentence for manslaughter in May last year.

"I couldn't understand how a baby of this age could go to sleep for a nap in the afternoon and then not wake up," Ms Wheeler told us.

"I completely lost who I was, that night in hospital, holding her."

Nurseries made more than 4,200 reports of serious childcare incidents in 2023-24, the BBC has found, compared with 3,021 in 2019-20 - according to Ofsted figures, obtained through a Freedom of Information request.

Ofsted - which regulates more than 27,000 non-domestic childcare settings in England - says these were reports it had assessed as urgent.

Incidents could range from injuries or illnesses, to serious accidents and deaths. They also include events affecting nursery premises, such as fires or floods.

Ofsted's broad criteria for reporting can mean nursery workers "err on the side of caution", the Early Years Alliance says - meaning investigations often find no safeguarding breach has, in fact, occurred.

But a childcare expert says the rise in the number of reports highlights a "dire situation".

"Standards [of care] are so low that the government surely has an obligation to improve them," says Helen Penn, professor of early childhood from the University of East London.

Parents often rely on Ofsted's inspections and subsequent ratings to help them choose the best childcare setting.

Full inspections usually happen every six years, but the regulator can inspect more often if a nursery is graded as inadequate or requiring improvement - or if concerns are raised.

Schools rated good or outstanding are usually inspected every four years - and more frequently if graded lower.

More than 1,500 nursery inspections had been brought forward after receiving reports of serious childcare incidents - Ofsted told us.

But a former Ofsted inspector told us the regulator is not conducting enough inspections to identify poor practice and protect children.

The ex-inspector, who did not want to be named, says inspections are a "tick box exercise" which are "very easy to manipulate".

"As long as they can say: 'We've asked all these questions, what more can we do":[]}