'My son died alone, scared, and in pain'

Warning: This story contains distressing content

The mother of a 14-month-old boy who died after being restrained and put face down to sleep at a nursery, says in her son's final moments he was "alone, scared and in pain."

Noah Sibanda died on 9 December 2022 at the now-closed Fairytales Day Nursery, in Dudley.

"Since his death, there has not been a single day I haven't regretted being alive when he is not," Masi Sibanda said in her victim impact statement. "My guilt comes from knowing I handed him over to people who killed him."

The nursery, its boss and a staff member are being sentenced at Wolverhampton Crown Court, with the hearing due to continue on Friday.

Nursery worker Kimberley Cookson, 23, is due to be sentenced for gross negligence manslaughter.

The court heard that in attempting to get him to sleep Cookson placed Noah face-down on a soft cushion in a teepee in the nursery's baby room, placing her left leg on his lower back to prevent him from moving.

Nursery owner, 55 year-old Deborah Latewood, is due to be sentenced for a health and safety offence, while the nursery itself will be sentenced for corporate manslaughter as well as a health and safety offence.

Masi said her son was a confident child, "always kind and full of patience and gentleness".

Before the tragedy, she said she had had a "naive trust in the nursery" and "will forever feel guilty".

The "excessive" force used on him was like that used in prisons, she said, adding "he was treated as a felon, a danger, as if he was in jail".

"I can't forgive myself and cannot forgive [the] defendants," she said.

There was "no sentence that Kimberley could receive that would amount to the pain and suffering we have been put through", she continued.

She had wondered whether the way Noah was treated by Cookson was because of his skin colour, or her having something against him or his family.

"Behind closed doors, they were playing Russian roulette with our children," she said.

"Last time I saw and held my child was in hospital, shortly after I was told nothing more could be done.

"He wouldn't open his eyes when I whispered to him that it was time to go home."

She said she watched Noah's father rock him and said "I'm so sorry, little one".

The court heard that on the day of his death, Noah was wrapped tightly in blankets and placed face down inside a "sleeping pod" by Cookson - which was a sleeping bag that should have been used for outdoor camping.

The aim was to get him to have a nap, but he did not want to go to sleep.

A blanket was placed over his head, which was described as "commonplace" at the nursery, to block out light from the windows and help children sleep.

'Struggling and thrashing'

However, it was described in court that nursery worker Cookson had been "rough" with Noah.

CCTV footage showed him "struggling and thrashing" before Cookson put her left leg across his back for seven minutes while he was face down.

Believing that he had fallen asleep, Cookson than left Noah alone.

On several occasions, staff "ignored" him and did not physically check on him for two hours.

However, after 13:12 GMT, Noah did not move again.

It wasn't until 15:13 that Cookson checked on him, noticing he was unresponsive and moved him to the nappy-changing room.

At 15:17, emergency services were called, and some members of staff started doing CPR - with many seen to be in distress. Cookson was crying.

At 15:23, paramedics arrived, and Noah was taken to an ambulance at 15:52 before being taken to hospital.

Despite the best efforts of hospital staff, he was pronounced dead at 16:15.

In a statement read out in court, Cookson said she "could not explain" why she behaved so harshly towards Noah that day and did not know why she had not checked on him, adding there was "no excuse".

She told police she had learnt how to wrap and swaddle babies on the job, and had had no formal training in how to put children down to sleep.

"I cannot imagine the pain the family is going through," she said.

"I only hope that one day they hold it in their hearts to forgive me," she added. "I never set out to harm anyone.

"What happened will haunt me for the rest of my life.

Her counsel, Rashad Mohammed KC, said: "She herself says she deserves to be punished."

The nursery apologised to Noah's family, and said his death should never have happened.

The actions of senior management amounted to a gross breach of his care, said Dominic Kay, KC for the nursery.

Criticisms that the company's nursery practitioners did not receive any training were not accepted, he added.

Sleeping pods breached guidance

However, he said that in the weeks before Noah's death, CCTV footage showed that a culture appeared to have developed in the baby room "where children were not being treated with sufficient care by some of the practitioners".

This behaviour was "not stopped or challenged by at least one member of Fairytale's management", he said.

He told the court that while the sleeping pods were introduced in "good faith" in 2021, they should have been rejected as they did not comply with NHS sleep guidance.

The court heard they were also meant for outdoor use, could be too hot indoors and had a soft surface that could surround the head and face of a baby.

In a letter to the judge, nursery manager Deborah Latewood said Noah was a "beautiful, happy, loveable child".

Her counsel, Mark Balysz KC said the CCTV footage of Noah's death and what occurred leading up to it, had come as an "appalling shock" to her.

At the time of Noah's death, Latewood was spending most of her time at two other nursery sites, and did this because she thought management at the Bourne Street site were conducting themselves as they should be.

Balysz added his client was furious with herself at not identifying or knowing about the behaviour in the room where Noah died.

The KC said she was contrite and her professional and personal life had collapsed as a result of her conviction.

"Not a day passes without Mrs Latewood thinking about Noah and his family," he added.

The sentencing hearing is due to recommence at 14:30 on Friday.

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