A day care in England is facing manslaughter charges after one of the children in its care died. In December 2022, Noah Sibanda was improperly restrained by a staff member who was trying to force the toddler to nap. As a result of her actions, the boy suffocated. Even though he was taken to a hospital, it was too late to save him. Because it happened while the boy was in its care, charges are being brought against the nursery and its owner for not knowing the unsafe conditions children were being placed in by staff. It won’t bring Noah back, but it’s an important lesson in accountability.
The owner of the nursery was recently in court.
On March 25, 2026, the private day care, Fairytales Day Nursery, which is no longer open, admitted to corporate manslaughter and an offense against the Health and Safety at Work Act at the Wolverhampton Crown Court, Sky News reported.
Deborah Latewood, owner and director of the nursery, pleaded guilty to a Health and Safety at Work Act offense. She admitted she had no idea children were being put to sleep in a dangerous manner, but she acknowledged that she should have known what was happening at her place of business.
Kimberley Cookson, the former nursery worker whose actions led to the death of little Noah, previously pleaded guilty to gross negligence manslaughter.
There was no way to deny what happened to the toddler.
The Crown Prosecution Service, or CPS, said CCTV footage showed Noah tightly wrapped in a sleeping bag with a blanket on his head, the BBC reported.
Cookson lay the boy face-down on a soft cushion and restrained him with her leg to “make him sleep when he did not want to,” CPS said.
It was noticed that the boy wasn’t breathing, and staff called emergency services. Unfortunately, Noah was declared dead at the hospital.
Alex Johnson from the CPS called the case “deeply distressing” and said it represented “every parent’s worst nightmare whenever they leave their young child at a nursery.”
The adults at the day care failed the boy.
“Noah Sibanda should have been safe in the care of professionals entrusted with his wellbeing,” Johnson said, per itv News. “He lost his life as a result of reckless and dangerous sleeping practices which posed an obvious and serious risk of harm.”
He said the evidence, which included not only the CCTV footage but also findings by a medical expert as well, showed “Noah was placed to sleep in a way that severely restricted his ability to breathe and move. These practices created a suffocating environment, from which a 14-month-old child was clearly unable to escape.”
Johnson acknowledged that Fairytales Day Nursery Limited accepted responsibility for the “systemic failures” that led to the boy’s death. He also pointed out that both Latewood and Cookson had done the same.
“Nursery providers have a fundamental duty to protect the children in their care. This case underscores the devastating consequences of what happens when that duty is breached. Our thoughts remain with Noah’s family, who have endured an unimaginable loss,” he shared.
Latewood, Fairytales Day Nursery Limited, and Cookson will be sentenced on April 16, 2026.
