Nursery worker continued sexually abusing children after safeguarding investigation
A former nursery worker jailed for 56 child sexual offences was allowed to continue working with children after he was investigated by his employer, it has emerged.
Vincent Chan, of north London, went on to sexually abuse young girls at the nursery before he was reported to the police.
Chan was jailed for 18 years in February after admitting to the sexual abuse of numerous children over a period of 14 years.
Safeguarding concerns raised three years before police involvement
The abuse included physical sexual assault and taking indecent images while he was working at Bright Horizons nursery on Finchley Road and as a teaching assistant at St Mary’s Church of England primary school in Dollis Park between 2007 and 2024.
It has now come to light that in 2021, Bright Horizons carried out a safeguarding investigation into Chan as instructed by Camden Council. This investigation was deemed necessary following concerns raised about Chan by a parent of a girl attending Bright Horizons at the time.
The investigation concluded and Chan was allowed to continue his usual role as a nursery worker caring for children. Following the investigation, Chan filmed himself sexually abusing young girls at Bright Horizons in 2022.
In addition to the 2021 investigation and prior to his arrest, various complaints were made to Bright Horizons in 2024 about Chan’s behaviour at work. Bright Horizons were clearly made aware of concerns regarding Chan on several occasions, meaning there were potential opportunities to stop him sexually abusing children at nursery.
Similarly, Camden Council was made aware of concerns regarding Chan in 2021. It was ultimately responsible for managing the allegations against him and could have referred the matter to the police if officers believed it met a criminal threshold. The police were not notified of any concerns regarding Chan in 2021.
Safeguarding failures review
Camden Council has been carrying out a review of the safeguarding investigation carried out by Bright Horizons in 2021 and has commissioned a local safeguarding practice review to consider how Chan was allowed to abuse children at nursery and primary school. This review is scheduled to be released in early 2027 and hopefully this will improve the safeguarding procedures for nurseries and schools going forward.
A large number of pupils passed through the school and nursery during Chan’s periods of employment, with some instances of abuse happening nearly 20 years ago. Even if many years have passed since the abuse took place, it is never too late to come forward. Reporting what happened may encourage other survivors to speak out as well, and can help hold perpetrators accountable.
At Bolt Burdon Kemp, our Sexual Abuse team is committed to supporting survivors of abuse with sensitivity, compassion and without judgment. We understand how difficult it can be to come forward, whether the abuse happened recently or many years ago, but you do not have to face it alone.
If you experienced abuse by Vincent Chan or anyone else connected to a school or other organisation, you may still be able to pursue a civil compensation claim. If you would like to explore your legal options in a safe and confidential environment, you can contact me using the details below.
