Mum calls for nursery law changes after baby assault
BBCA woman whose baby was assaulted at nursery has called for CCTV to be installed in all nurseries and a ban on unqualified agency staff being employed in them.
The child was handled in what was described as an angry and aggressive manner by Elizabeth Adeagbo, 29, who was convicted of assault by beating and given a 12-month community order after the incident at a Wirral nursery in 2025.
The mother, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said had it not been for CCTV cameras, "there would have been no conviction".
The Department for Education is expected to consider recommendations over the use of CCTV in childcare settings.
The Wirral nursery case features in the BBC's latest investigation into childcare standards, Nursery Scandals: What Went Wrong, available on BBC iPlayer.
The mother said she became concerned her children's care at the nursery almost immediately after enrolling her two children there in early 2025, when she returned to work.
"From the very first week there were issues," she said. "Every time I went to collect them, they were screaming, and I just thought, 'Is that normal?'"
"They were coming home starving, screaming at the sight of the bottles on the side," she said.
On one occasion, she said, a child under one had been given a whole jacket potato for lunch. "I don't think any child that age would know what to do with that."
In another incident, she said, one of her children was left crying for so long that he burst a blood vessel in his eye.
She also said she believed the conditions were not suitable for babies.
"The room was really, really small," she said. "The windows were rarely open, or if they were, staff would be fully clothed in fleeces while babies were sitting there in vests."
The most serious incident happened in April 2025.
"I'll never forget it," she said. "[The nursery manager] rang me at 12:04 and said, 'I'm really sorry to have to tell you this, but your child has been inappropriately handled by an agency member of staff.'"
She said she immediately drove to the nursery, ran straight upstairs and found her child visibly upset.
"He just looked heartbroken," she said.
The mother said she was told the worker had grabbed the child by the shoulder and lifted him off his feet before moving him across the room.
"It was done in a very angry and aggressive way", she said. "As soon as she grabbed him, he started screaming."
Adeagbo, was charged, tried and convicted of assault by beating in March this year.
Her community order included 10 rehabilitation days and 100 hours of unpaid work.
She was ordered to pay £300 in costs, and £250 compensation to the boy's family.
The child's mother said she had been told that Adeagbo - who was employed through an agency - had only been at the nursery for a couple of days, and was unqualified.
"I want the law to change," the mother said. "I don't think nurseries should be allowed to operate using unqualified agency staff who don't know what they are doing."
The government said it was investing more than £8m a year to strengthen safeguarding in early years settings. Measures include 3,000 extra unannounced Ofsted inspections a year, stronger checks before nurseries open, and more face-to-face interviews with providers.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: "Nothing matters more than keeping children safe. Parents should be able to trust that when they leave their child at a nursery, they are in safe hands.
"This investment means more surprise Ofsted visits, stronger checks, and faster action where there are concerns – so risks are spotted early and dealt with quickly."
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