Tag Archives: infant sleep

This week was a huge moment for the Campaign for Gigi. 

After almost two years of campaigning for safer standards, inspections, and regulation of the nursery sector, the Government has announced a huge package of measures that would make nurseries safer and put child safeguarding at the forefront of the sector.

£8 million will be spent on strengthening safeguarding across early years, 3,000 more unannounced Ofsted visits will now take place to spot risks, and stronger checks on new nurseries before they open will happen.

As well as this, new legislation will be introduced in September which will set out specific and enforceable standards for how babies and young children must be placed and monitored during sleep in early years settings. 

These changes are a testament to the tireless campaigning of Gigi’s parents, John and Katie Meehan.

Gigi was just nine months old when she died in a nursery in Cheadle Hulme. A nursery worker was later sentenced to 14 years for manslaughter after leaving Gigi tightly swaddled and face down on a bean bag for an hour and a half.  

Gigi’s death was not an accident. It was a failure of a system that does not work and currently puts the lives of children at risk. 

Last year the BBC reported there were on average 75 incident reports to Ofsted every week, a 40% rise in just five years. Horrendous cases in Twickenham, Camden and Dudley have also brought the safety of nurseries in this country to question. 

Parallel to this, another BBC investigation highlighted the work of so-called ‘infant sleep experts’. These people, who often sell their advice on social media, would provide support and guidance to parents on getting babies to sleep better.