'We warned nursery about abuser Vincent Chan - they dismissed us,' parents tell BBC

Parents who say they warned childcare bosses about a predatory nursery worker months before he was caught have told the BBC they felt ignored and were made to feel "hysterical".

Vincent Chan, who worked at Bright Horizons, in north-west London, has been sentenced to 18 years in prison after admitting 56 sexual offences, including abusing children at the nursery.

Chan first came to the attention of staff for filming children at the nursery, in Finchley Road, West Hampstead, in May 2024.

However, the parents say they warned the nursery about his behaviour months earlier.

When police investigated, officers found "deeply disturbing material" on his devices.

They later found video evidence of children at the nursery being sexually abused by Chan, some of which had been filmed by him on nursery iPads.

Bright Horizons, which has nurseries across the UK, said it takes parents' concerns seriously, adding: "Keeping children safe is our most important responsibility. Vincent Chan broke that trust."

The nursery has since closed.

The BBC has spoken to a couple who we are calling Rachel and John, which are not their real names, to protect their children's identities. They had a son and daughter at the nursery and both were taught by Chan.

The couple say they first raised concerns when their son began coming home from nursery with bruises and bite marks, but say they were ignored.

They say they have since had to look through images of Chan sexually abusing girls to establish whether their daughter was one of the victims.

They still do not know whether she was sexually abused by Chan or not.

Months before Chan was arrested, Rachel says she told the nursery manager her son had suddenly started showing signs of inexplicable rage.

He was shouting and screaming at home and was refusing to go to the nursery, saying: "Vincent is angry."

When her son began coming home with bruises and bite marks, Rachel says she saw another child at the nursery saying to her son: "You're a bad boy."

But when she told the nursery manager and deputy manager in early 2024, she says they made her feel like a "hysterical mum" who was exaggerating.

"We were told that he's a very good teacher, and we were dismissed just like that."

Chan had worked at the Bright Horizons nursery for seven years, from 2017 to 2024, as an early years practitioner and a nursery nurse. He worked with children between the ages of two and four.

He was suspended in May 2024, after a member of Bright Horizons staff raised concerns. Detectives later found harrowing videos filmed by Chan, including close-up footage of Rachel's son crying.

"He is screaming," Rachel says. "And instead of the adult who was meant to take care of him helping him, there is a camera in front of his face while he is crying and in distress."

Chan had edited the videos to make fun of their son. The couple later discovered Chan had also encouraged three other boys to hit him.

When, in September 2025, police found pictures of Chan sexually abusing girls, the couple had to go through the torture of looking through the images to establish if their daughter was one of the victims. However, they say they could not be sure, one way or another.

"It was very difficult to understand whether [it was] our daughter or not," John says.

"We do not understand how a man works in such an environment for so many years without anyone knowing what is happening," Rachel says. "How was it possible for such a predator to get into a nursery and work with young children?"

The couple say they had chosen Bright Horizons because it was one of the most expensive nurseries in the area. They assumed that meant staff would take good care of their children.

The couple remain angry Chan was not charged with cruelty, in relation to the video of their son crying. The Crown Prosecution Service is currently reviewing the decision by Met Police detectives not to seek cruelty charges.

Ofsted carried out safeguarding checks after concerns about Chan were first made.

However, the two parents told the BBC they are shocked Ofsted inspectors rated the nursery as "Good" a year after Chan had been suspended over allegations of neglect.

Camden Council has also commissioned a Local Safeguarding Practice Review.

The parents are part of a civil case being brought by Leigh Day solicitors against Bright Horizons.

The law firm said: "Bright Horizons repeatedly dismissed concerns from parents about Chan's behaviour, and we believe their consistent culture of brushing concerns aside was key to enabling this catastrophe to happen."

Bright Horizons, which runs more than 300 nurseries in the UK, said in a statement: "As a provider, we take parent concerns seriously and actively encourage parental feedback. We have a number of ways of supporting any concerns that are raised, including a separate complaints team.

"If a parent raises a concern at nursery level and they are not happy with how it has been resolved, we encourage them to escalate in accordance with our complaints' procedure. When parents do escalate concerns, we work with them to investigate the complaint and resolve it whenever we can."

Bright Horizons said it could not comment on individual cases, but added: "The feedback that parents and their lawyers have shared via the media is concerning to us. If concerns were raised and they were not acted on appropriately this is clearly not acceptable.

"We encourage parents to share details of all concerns raised, including how and when they were raised, as part of the Child Safeguarding Practice Review."

An Ofsted spokesperson said it was made aware that Chan had been suspended on suspicion of cruelty in May 2024, and visited the nursery in August 2024.

"We returned to the nursery to conduct a full inspection in May 2025, when the management team at the nursery had changed. We found the nursery to be Good.

"At the time of this inspection, police inquiries had not concluded. The full nature of the allegations against Vincent Chan did not emerge until September 2025, which was after the nursery had resigned its registration. We are currently undertaking a review of our work in connection with this nursery."

A Camden Council spokesperson said it was participating in the independent Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review. It added: "We will continue to support parents, carers and their children, and strengthen safeguarding across our community as this vital work moves forward."

A dedicated NSPCC helpline has been set up for anyone affected by Chan's offending, on 0800 028 0828.

Details of organisations offering help and support for victims of child sexual abuse are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline.