Families have called for a criminal prosecution into a nursery chain.
The calls come after “predatory paedophile” Vincent Chan sexually abused children at a Bright Horizons nursery in Finchley Road, West Hampstead.
Parents are demanding a nationwide review of nurseries and child safety, saying warnings were missed and not acted on.
The mother of a child who attended the nursery said: “Their safeguarding system has really failed.
“There were signs, concerns raised internally by parents, and they were not picked up.
“And then when they were, we feel they weren’t taken seriously enough or not acted upon.”
Chan was jailed for 18 years after admitting 56 offences.
These included sexually assaulting nursery children while filming the abuse, and downloading tens of thousands of indecent images of youngsters.
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Vincent Chan (Image: Metropolitan Police)
The abuse occurred while Chan worked as a room leader at Bright Horizons.
One of the parents said: “If he felt comfortable recording that behaviour and staff members in the room witnessed it and didn’t feel like they should come forward and say something, that really tells me something about the culture and about safeguarding practices we believe weren’t there.”
He also raised concerns about how Chan could abuse children in a “central room at the nursery” in full view of others, highlighting “compounding failures” in the system.
Following his conviction, Bright Horizons said: “This is a distressing time for families and all those impacted by Vincent Chan’s horrific crimes, and our thoughts are first and foremost with them.
“Keeping children safe is our most important responsibility.
“Vincent Chan broke that trust.
“His actions were depraved and devious and go against the kindness and care our dedicated professionals provide to children each day.
“Chan’s actions came to light because a staff member raised concerns and followed our internal escalation procedures.
“We then escalated externally to the local authority and Ofsted and worked with the police throughout their investigation.”
The nursery chain has carried out an external review of its safeguarding practices, and has brought forward internal safeguarding audits and refresher training to make sure staff are aware of their obligations.
Camden Council confirmed it is contributing to an independent child safeguarding practice review covering the Bright Horizons setting and others in Barnet.
A council spokesman said: “This is a highly distressing case and our thoughts are with the children and families whose lives have been so deeply affected.”
The review is designed to prevent anything like this from ever happening again.
Camden Council said it is not currently carrying out a separate health and safety investigation due to its involvement in the safeguarding review.
It said it will continue supporting affected families and prioritising improvements to safeguarding across the community.
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