Paedophile nursery worker could have been caught months earlier, says colleague

A paedophile nursery worker who abused children in his care could have been stopped far sooner if managers had listened to staff who raised the alarm, a former colleague has said. Nathan Bennett, who worked at a nursery in the south of England, was eventually convicted of multiple child sex offences — but those closest to him on the floor say the warning signs were there long before anyone acted.

Concerns raised and ignored for months

The former colleague, who asked not to be named for fear of professional repercussions, said she flagged her unease about Bennett’s behaviour on at least three separate occasions over a period of roughly eight months. She described him as “overly tactile” with certain children and said he would seek out opportunities to be alone with kids in a way that made staff uncomfortable. But nothing was done. Her concerns, she says, were brushed aside by senior staff who told her she was “reading too much into things.”

“I knew something wasn’t right. You just know,” she said. “And I kept being told I was wrong. That’s something I’ll carry with me.”

It wasn’t until a second member of staff independently raised similar concerns that management finally referred the matter to the local authority’s designated safeguarding lead. By that point, Bennett had worked at the nursery for nearly two years.

What the investigation found

Police were brought in after the referral, and a subsequent investigation uncovered evidence of abuse going back at least 14 months. Bennett was found to have recorded some of the abuse on a personal mobile phone. He was charged with 11 counts of child sexual abuse and one count of making indecent images of a child. He pleaded guilty to all charges at crown court and was sentenced to 19 years in prison.

Investigators identified six victims, all under the age of four.

Safeguarding failures under scrutiny

The case has prompted a serious case review by the local safeguarding children partnership, which is expected to examine how concerns raised by staff were handled internally. Child protection campaigners say it’s a pattern they see with troubling regularity — frontline workers noticing something wrong, only to be dismissed by managers who are reluctant to escalate.

A spokesperson for the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children said: “No concern raised by a member of staff about a child’s welfare should ever be dismissed without proper investigation. Employers have a legal and moral duty to take those reports seriously and act swiftly.”

Calls for stronger workplace reporting rules

Children’s charities are now calling on the government to introduce mandatory whistleblower protections specifically for early years settings, where power dynamics can make it difficult for junior staff to escalate concerns without fear of consequences. Currently, no such targeted legislation exists.

The former colleague says she wants the review to result in real change. “I don’t want what happened here to happen somewhere else,” she said. “Someone has to be accountable.” The review’s findings are expected to be published within six months.