Local Councils Should Refer To The Police...

...not be expected to investigate themselves.

A paedophile nursery worker was cleared by an investigation overseen by a local authority three years before he was arrested.

In February, Vincent Chan was jailed after pleading guilty to 56 offences, including assault by penetration on three-year-old girls in his care at a Bright Horizons nursery on Finchley Road in north-west London. After his conviction, prosecutors described him as a “prolific sexual predator”.

But as a man, and one with an ethnic identity, he was a valuable hire for the nursery, no doubt

The Guardian can now reveal that Chan was the subject of an earlier safeguarding investigation, carried out by Bright Horizons, with the oversight of Camden council. It followed what were described as “significant concerns” raised with the nursery in 2021 about Chan’s conduct and behaviour by the parent of a young girl, including concerns about what her daughter was saying to her about Chan.

Bright Horizons referred the matter to Camden council, which advised the nursery to investigate. Chan was put on duties that involved no contact with children while the investigation by Bright Horizons took place. After it was completed, Chan was cleared to return to his role caring for young children in the nursery.

And must have thought he could get away with it - because he could, as the nursery and council were allowed to mark their own homework, in effect.

The revelation that Camden council and Bright Horizons were aware of concerns about Chan three years before his arrest, and that there had been an investigation into his behaviour, will raise questions about whether there were earlier opportunities to stop him.

Local authorities have the ultimate responsibility for managing allegations raised that relate to adults who work with children. LADOs can recommend that a matter be referred to the police if they believe it meets a criminal threshold. It is understood that the Metropolitan police did not receive a referral in 2021 regarding Chan, and were only notified of the concerns subsequently.

All allegations that suggest criminal behaviour should result in automatic referral to the people who we pay to uphold the law, and not the people we pay to empty the bins and fix the potholes.