A nursery worker accused of killing a nine-month-old baby and tying her face down on a beanbag before her death has told a jury she had “always wanted to work with children”.
Kate Roughley is on trial at Manchester Crown Court, charged with the manslaughter of nine-month-old Genevieve Meehan, who died following an incident at Tiny Toes nursery in Cheadle Hulme, Stockport.
The 37-year-old, of Heaton Norris, Stockport, who was assistant manager at the nursery, allegedly swaddled the baby in a blanket and put him to sleep on his stomach on a beanbag on May 9, 2022, Manchester Crown Court has previously heard.
She then tied a strap around Genevieve’s back before placing another blanket over her, prosecutors allege.
Staff and paramedics performed chest compressions on the infant, but were unable to resuscitate her. Genevieve was pronounced dead at Stepping Hill Hospital later that afternoon.
Deputy headteacher Kate Roughley (pictured) is on trial at Manchester Crown Court, accused of causing the death of little Genevieve through her abuse.
Nurse Kate Roughley leaves Manchester Crown Court after Genevieve’s death
Giving evidence, Ms Roughley – who denies manslaughter – told jurors the staff-to-child ratio at the nursery had “worse” over the years and that she had been told not to place children on their belly before the age of six months. -old.
She told jurors: “Ever since school I always wanted to work with children, from year 10 or 11.”
After completing her NVQ Level 3 in childcare while working at Tiny Toes, Ms Roughley spent three months in agency work at different nurseries, before returning to Cheadle Hulme nursery full-time, she said. declared.
She was later promoted to “toddler group leader,” meaning her additional duties included administering medications. During the coronavirus lockdown, the toddler room and the baby room were merged. Ms Roughley said she was asked to move to this section of the nursery, which remained open to the children of key workers.
“I went into the nursery after Covid,” she added. “Have you not worked with babies at all before?” asked his lawyer, Sarah Elliott KC. “That’s true,” replied Mrs. Roughley.
She said senior management then asked her if she wanted to become an assistant principal, and she agreed, although no additional management tasks were delegated to her, such as registering children, training other members of the personnel or the implementation of monitoring systems for children.
Ms Roughley said that when she started working at the nursery aged 18, the staff to child ratio was “lower than it ended up being”.
“The numbers have gotten worse over the years. Little by little, more and more children were added every day, over a long period of time,” she added.
She said the only training provided on site was in first aid, and that was at weekends, when the nursery was closed. She took additional self-paced classes, titled “Understanding Babies” and “Blossoming Babies,” to increase her knowledge about babies, the defendant said.
Genevieve Meehan died after being found unconscious at Tiny Toes Children’s Day nursery (pictured) in Cheadle Hulme, Greater Manchester.
Regarding the nursery’s policies, Ms Roughley said they were in a number of files in the various wards and management had asked staff to “sign in favour”.
When asked by Ms Elliott KC if she remembered reading the “protecting children” policy, she replied: “I didn’t read it specifically.”
Discussing the “sleep policy”, Ms Roughley told the court she had read it and then discussed with management and other staff that sometimes babies slept “in different ways and not only on the back.
“Have you figured out in your mind the appropriate way for a child to sleep? » asked Ms. Elliott KC.
“The only time I was told not to put a child on their stomach was before they were six months old,” Ms Roughley said.
The court heard there was a policy of regularly monitoring babies up to six months old until staff were familiar with them and their sleeping habits.
“It was quite difficult to do that, especially because of the large number of children we had,” she added.
The trial continues.
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