Nursery worker jailed for three years over death of 14-month-old boy in her care

A nursery worker has been sentenced to more than three years in prison and the nursery fined £240,000 after a 14-month-old boy was restrained and died in their care.

Noah Sibanda died after he was physically restrained face-down with a blanket over his head while being put to sleep at the Fairytales Day Nursery in Dudley in December 2022. He was left unchecked for two hours before he was found unresponsive. He was pronounced dead an hour later in hospital.

The nursery worker Kimberley Cookson, 23, was sentenced at Wolverhampton crown court on Friday to three years and four months in prison after admitting gross negligence manslaughter in relation to her actions in trying to make Noah fall asleep.

Kimberley Cookson was told that she must serve 40% of her sentence in custody. Photograph: West Midlands police/PA

Justice Choudhury, the judge, told Cookson it was “blind luck” that there had been no other deaths at the nursery before Noah, and that she would serve up to 40% of her sentence in custody and the remainder on licence.

The owner of the nursery, Deborah Latewood, 55, was sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for two years, after admitting to a health and safety offence, on the basis that she did not know children were being put down to sleep in a dangerous way but should have known.

The now-closed Fairytales Day Nursery was fined £240,000 after admitting corporate manslaughter and failure to comply with health and safety regulations. It was also ordered to pay £56,000 in legal costs.

Making his sentencing remarks, Choudhury said: “Tragically, the events of that day meant that Mr and Mrs Sibanda would never see Noah alive again.”

He described CCTV footage from the nursery as “shocking” and the level of disregard for Noah’s welfare “distressing to watch”, adding that “dangerous and unacceptable practices” had gone unchecked at the nursery.

“There were repeated instances of rough-handling by several of the nursery practitioners, including Miss Cookson, often in view of a manager,” he said.

Noah’s parents said in a statement after the sentencing on Friday that “Noah’s absence is felt in every corner of our lives.”

On Thursday, Masi Sibanda, the boy’s mother, told the court in a victim impact statement that the nursery had played “Russian roulette with our children’s lives” and had used “excessive” force on her son. “I handed Noah over to the people who killed him,” she said. “Because of this I cannot forgive myself and consequently will never forgive the defendants.”

She said Noah had been a “prayer answered” and described how he had brought calmness to her life.

In a separate statement, Noah’s father, Thulani, said: “My son died at just 14 months old because of the gross negligence of someone who was trusted to care for him. Noah deserved to live. He deserved to be protected and we deserved to watch him grow up.”

John Elvidge, for the prosecution, told the court that the sleeping environment in the nursery had been exceptionally dangerous. He said CCTV footage showed Cookson, then 20, had placed Noah face-down on a cushion, restrained him with her leg for seven minutes and left him unchecked for two hours. This posed risks of overheating and exhaustion, he told the court.

“Kimberley Cookson’s negligence was gross. That means it was truly exceptionally bad,” he said.

Rashad Mohammed, defending Cookson, said the 23-year-old had no previous convictions and had not acted with malice. “Her motivation that day was to try and put Noah to sleep. She did not intend to cause him any harm,” Mohammed said.

In a letter read out in court, Cookson apologised. A letter from the director of the nursery was also read to the court, where Latewood apologised.

“My total aim has and always will be the safety and security of children and families,” Latewood said. “This did not happen for that beautiful child Noah and words will never be enough. I failed Noah and his family, his community and his God.”

Dominic Kay KC, defending the company, which was rated good by Ofsted in 2022, said employees had been trained but that it was not effective with sleeping practices.

“Nothing I say on behalf of the company can begin to address the grief and sorrow felt by Noah’s family,” he said.