Dicky Birds Nursery in Wimbledon fined £180,000 after death of toddler Tiya Chauhan

Tiya Chauhan was just 22 months old when she was briefly left unattended at Dicky Birds Nursery in Dundonald Road on August 23, 2012.

Dicky Birds Nursery in Dundonald Road

During this time – estimated to be a maximum of 75 seconds – Tiya tragically placed a jelly cube that was being used as part of a sensory activity into her mouth and started to choke.

After being found face down and unresponsive on the nursery floor by a member of staff, Tiya was rushed to St George’s Hospital in Tooting where she showed no signs of consciousness.

September 2014: Dicky Birds Nursery in Wimbledon guilty of 'gross failure' over toddler Tiya Chauhan's death

By the morning of August 24, her pupils had become fixed and dilated. Physicians said she had suffered intensive brain damage and that further treatment would be in vain.

Her life support was stopped at 9.38pm, and Tiya died at 9.50pm.

Tiya’s tearful parents, Chetan and Dipa Chauhan, were in Kingston Crown Court yesterday to hear the ruling against Dicky Birds, which runs six nurseries and an after school club around Merton and Kingston, along with several members of staff.

The nursery had previously pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that Tiya was not exposed to the risk of choking on the jelly cube, and with failing to make a suitable and sufficient assessment of health and safety risks.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, Mr Chauhan described waking Tiya up and dressing her before taking her to nursery on the fateful day.

Tiya's mother Dipa and father Chetan Chaunhan, pictured at an earlier hearing, were in court today

His statement said: “That morning she was fine. I gave her a kiss and she went off straight away, playing with toys. She seemed happy.

“That was the last time I saw Tiya well.

“We will always wonder whether there was more that could have been done to prevent the tragic death of our baby daughter.

“Tiya will be forever loved and missed in our family, and I hope no other family has to go through what we have been through in the last three years.”

The court heard that the hard cubes of jelly had been added to the sensory table without any assessment of possible risks by nursery manager Jacqueline Cruchfield that morning, who thought it would make the activity more interesting.

Keith Morton, barrister for the defence, said Ms Cruchfield was so distressed by what had happened to Tiya that she had been unable to continue on as manager, and that many of the staff who had been present that day had since left the nursery.

However, Charles Curtis, barrister for the prosecution, condemned the lack of risk assessment undertaken by the nursery, arguing that they should have known that jelly cubes posed a choking hazard.

September 2014: Dicky Birds nursery did not know jelly was dangerous until after Tiya Chauhan toddler death

Tiya was one of six children who had been briefly left unsupervised in the room containing the sensory table during a period of “free flow”, when children were allowed to move at will between the different rooms in the nursery.

The nursery had 30 children in that day, with 11 members of staff on duty, exceeding the required ratios of staff to children.

Mr Curtis said: “The failure to supervise may have only been for one minute and 15 seconds, but that was sufficient time for Tiya to pick up the jelly, put it in her mouth, choke on it and collapse on the floor without being seen by any member of staff because of the inadequacy of the steps taken by the nursery in terms of supervision and lack of risk assessment.

“It was, the prosecution say, an incident that was waiting to happen.”

Mr Curtis also quoted a lecturer in early childhood studies at Plymouth University, Karen Wickett, who prepared a report for the prosecution.

The report stated: “Raw jelly is an inappropriate resource to put into an unsupervised activity for a child of 22 months, or any child under the age of five years.”

The report added that children should be expected to try and put a sweet foodstuff in their mouth, and that the choking hazard should have been identified.

Sentencing, Judge Peter Lodder acknowledged the good Ofsted ratings achieved by Dicky Birds, as well as their good relationships with Merton and Kingston councils and the work they do with children who have learning difficulties and those from deprived backgrounds.

He also accepted the changes put in place by the nursery following Tiya’s death, including the removal of all jelly and play dough and the ending of the free flow activity.

A statement from the owner of Dicky Birds Rachel Berry, who was also in court today, was also read out.

It said: “I want to begin by expressing on behalf of myself and all the staff of Dicky Birds our regret at the tragic loss of Tiya’s life.

“Tiya’s death has had a profound impact on me and the nursery staff. I can only begin to imagine the impact her loss has had on her family.”

Judge Lodder QC said he understood the proceedings had been extremely difficult for both the defendants and Tiya’s family, and thanked them for the way they had conducted themselves.

He fined the nursery £270,000, which was reduced to £180,000 because they pleaded guilty at the earliest possible stage.

They will also pay legal costs of £17,234.50.

Speaking of Mr and Mrs Chauhan, Judge Lodder said: “I’m sure no one in this court could feel anything other than the utmost sadness and compassion for their loss.”

In a statement released by Dicky Birds after the sentencing, a spokesman said the nursery had pleaded guilty to the charges to avoid the case lasting longer than was necessary. 

In the statement, Mrs Berry said: "After three and a half years, we were simply not prepared to put Tiya's family or our staff through many more months of stress and uncertainty.

"We work tirelessly to make our nurseries the best they possibly can be. I am certain that we have done everything we can to minimise risks in our nurseries and I hope that other nurseries around the country have taken heed and learnt from this tragic accident.

"I will continue to do what I can to raise awareness amongst nursery managers of the very specific risks of raw jelly cubes and to put pressure on the manufacturers of jelly products to add clear warnings on their packaging."