A nursery worker in England’s West Midlands has been jailed for three years and four months after a toddler in her care died from suffocation. Kimberley Cookson, 23, was convicted of gross negligence manslaughter over the death of 14-month-old Noah Sibanda at a nursery in December 2022.Ahead of her sentencing, Cookson had admitted the charge last month.CCTV footage shown in court captured her tightly wrapping the child in a sleeping bag, covering his head with a blanket and placing him face down inside an indoor teepee. At one point, she used her leg to hold him down, which prosecutors described as an attempt to “force” the child to sleep. Noah was left unchecked for about two hours. When staff realized he was not breathing, emergency services were called, but he was pronounced dead in hospital an hour later despite efforts to revive him.Delivering the judgment, the judge, Justice Choudhury, described the footage as “shocking”, noting repeated instances of rough handling of babies by staff. He added that unsafe sleeping practices had become routine and gone unchallenged, ultimately leading to the child’s death on December 9, 2022.The judge noted that the child’s suffering should have been apparent to Cookson, while acknowledging her remorse and that she had not tried to shift blame.Nursery owner handed suspended six-month sentenceThe nursery’s owner, Deborah Latewood, 55, also pleaded guilty to a health and safety offence, admitting she should have been aware of unsafe sleeping practices. She was handed a six-month sentence, suspended for two years. The facility itself admitted corporate manslaughter and a separate health and safety breach, and was fined £240,000 along with £56,000 in costs.The nursery was ordered to close by regulator Ofsted shortly after the incident. The watchdog stressed that no child should come to harm in a place meant to ensure their safety and pointed to recent government steps to fund more frequent inspections.The case has sparked fresh concerns over oversight in private childcare settings across Britain and raised questions about how such dangerous practices went undetected.
