A Mother's Unimaginable Loss
The first time Masi Sibanda dropped her 14-month-old son Noah at nursery, she experienced the typical parental anxiety. The 32-year-old social worker worried how her only child would handle the separation, but Noah surprised her with his calm demeanor. "People had told me that children cry when you first leave them," Masi recalled. "But he didn't. That's how relaxed he was. He kind of just went, 'Well, I'm here now,' and barely acknowledged me when I left."
Trust in the System
Masi described developing trust in the nursery staff at Fairytales, which gave her a "reassuring sense of familiarity." She explained, "It was the same way we trust the GP or the hospital. It's not something you'd ever second-guess. 'Am I safe here? Are these people kind? Are they cruel? Are they malicious?'"
Noah, who hadn't yet learned to walk or speak, showed no signs of distress during his six months at the nursery. The only minor concern Masi had was the occasional lack of Vaseline for her baby's nappy rash, but she dismissed this as the staff seemed busy. "He was always happy to be picked up," she said. "It's sad because obviously, he couldn't talk. And that's part of the guilt that we face as parents – that he couldn't tell us what was happening."
The Fateful Day
Everything changed on December 9. Masi remembers that morning vividly: "It was very cold that morning, and it feels now as if the world was trying to warn me somehow. I was heavily pregnant, very sick and the roads were treacherous."
She handed Noah to a staff member she wasn't accustomed to, then continued with her day until receiving a phone call just after 3pm. "I just thought he was a little ill, so I packed some Calpol and a few other things," Masi said. "It was only on the drive over they said he wasn't breathing."
Investigation Reveals Horrific Details
Nursery workers called emergency services and rushed Noah to hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Following a two-year investigation, nursery worker Kimberley Cookson, 23, was charged with gross negligence manslaughter. The nursery's director and business owner Deborah Latewood, 55, faced charges for failing to comply with general duties under the Health and Safety at Work Act.
CCTV footage presented during the trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court showed Cookson lying Noah face down on a soft cushion during nap time. According to the Crown Prosecution Service, Noah was tightly wrapped in a sleeping bag with a blanket over his head. The court heard that Cookson pinned him down with her leg to force him to nap when he resisted. Staff only realized Noah wasn't breathing after a "considerable" amount of time had passed.
Aftermath and Accountability
Masi hasn't watched the footage herself, only viewing still images. She expressed frustration with the nursery's response: "The nursery didn't explain anything to us. They were open and back to business the next week. They told other parents Noah was just a poorly boy and shifted the blame onto us."
Cookson later admitted to gross negligence manslaughter, while Latewood admitted her Health and Safety at Work Act offence on the basis that she should have known children were being put down to sleep dangerously, though she claimed she didn't know. Fairytales, which had been named "Nursery of the Year" for the Midlands in 2020, has since been closed.
A Mother's Reflection
Reflecting on Cookson, Masi said, "Sometimes I'd see her in the car park. My overall impression was fine. I put her slightly awkward, non-talkative mannerisms down to her personality. I can be like that around people, but I would never think that this person kills children."
Masi has called for Ofsted to implement stricter checks, including more unannounced inspections and greater use of accessible CCTV in nurseries. "I get so sick of people just saying more CCTV in nurseries, it is not enough," she emphasized. "My baby was killed on CCTV. Kids are still abused on CCTV. It needs to be easily accessible to parents so they can see the behaviour of staff and make their minds up if they want their children in that nursery."
Moving Forward with Grief
Just ten days after Noah's funeral, Masi gave birth to his sister, Mali. "They look exactly the same, but their personalities are so different," Masi observed. "She is very hyper. It feels like a betrayal of Noah to drop her off at pre-school – because that was the mistake we made with him – trusting people. But she's very engaged and curious. She wants to talk to people, so we have no choice but to let her go out into the world."
Masi added poignantly, "Noah wasn't like that. He was more reserved. Maybe he would have changed to be more like her. But we will never know. That's what Kimberley took from us."
The nursery, Deborah Latewood, and Kimberley Cookson are scheduled for sentencing on April 16, bringing some measure of closure to a tragedy that has forever altered a family's life.
