Families whose children attended the nursery at which paedophile Vincent Chan worked are set to meet the education secretary to demand reforms to safeguarding.
Chan was jailed for 18 years last month after admitting 56 sexual offences in a campaign of sexual abuse dubbed “every parent’s worst nightmare”.
Now, relatives of children who attended Bright Horizons nursery in West Hampstead, north London, have said they are meeting Bridget Phillipson on Tuesday to call on the government to ensure nurseries are “closed to predators”.
They are taking legal action against Bright Horizons and have called for nursery bosses to be prosecuted.
Bright Horizons said in December it was “shocked and appalled” at the crimes, and it had commissioned an expert review of its safeguarding practices.
In a statement, the families said 45-year-old Chan “was able to commit his crimes because safeguarding failed”, creating “the perfect hunting ground for a predator”.
“We want accountability for all failures, and we are determined to make sure other children are protected from similar harm,” they added.
The families are calling for an early warning system, so concerns can be reported to an independent external body, along with CCTV or body-worn video in early years settings, a mandatory two-adult supervision rule for larger settings and stronger safeguards for the use of nursery-owned devices.
Alison Millar, from law firm Leigh Day, which represents 52 affected families, said parents have reported that concerns they raised over staffing, supervision and Chan’s behaviour with children were not addressed.
‘Depraved and devious’
Ms Phillipson, who described Chan’s crimes as “absolutely sickening”, announced a local child safeguarding practice review in December, promising to “consider all of the concerns and recommendations put forward to stop vile acts like these from happening again”.
She appointed an expert advisory group to develop guidance for the sector on the safe and effective use of CCTV, but warned it could lead to other forms of child abuse if footage was misused.
Mandatory use of CCTV in early years settings is part of the review, education minister Olivia Bailey told MPs in January.
Chan worked at the Bright Horizons nursery for seven years until he was suspended in 2024, after a colleague raised concerns about his activities with the children.
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Police found he had more than 25,000 indecent images of children, including videos of himself sexually assaulting children at the nursery while they were sleeping at naptime.
In a statement after Chan’s sentencing, Bright Horizons said his actions “were depraved and devious and go against the kindness and care our dedicated professionals provide to children each day”.
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The company, which has nurseries across the country, said it was increasing awareness of ways staff can escalate concerns so that they do so quickly and confidentially.
It added it has “extensive safeguarding practices and training requirements in place”, and it has “brought forward several internal safeguarding audits and refresher trainings to ensure staff are fully aware of their obligations”.
