Families demand answers over nursery worker Vincent Chan

Families affected by a former nursery worker who sexually abused young children in his care want an investigation after learning he was allowed to return to work despite a complaint having been made against him.

Vincent Chan, who worked at Bright Horizons nursery in Camden, north-west London, between 2017 and 2024, was jailed for 18 years in February after admitting 56 sexual offences.

Concerns about him were raised in 2021, according to reports. The nature of the complaint has not been made public.

Camden Council said it had shared “all relevant documents”, while Bright Horizons said it could not comment while the review was ongoing.

An investigation by The Guardian, external said Bright Horizons had investigated concerns about its own employee with oversight from the council, but the matter was not referred to the police.

In a statement, more than 50 of the affected families who are taking legal action against the nursery, said: “We need a full and independent account of what happened, who knew what, when they knew it and why these decisions were made.”

Simultaneously, an independent local Child Safeguarding Practice Review (CSPR) is under way, with findings expected to be published in early 2027.

Speaking anonymously to the BBC, parents of one of the nursery victims, Andy and Sarah (not their real names), said they had “only just learned” about the complaint, and that they were “shocked”.

“We think this was an opportunity to stop this man and his vile behaviour, years before this happened to our children,” Andy said.

“We’re angry. We’re angered by the fact this has potentially been missed or overlooked.”

Warning: This article contains distressing details

Chan was first reported to police by the nursery in May 2024.

A colleague had raised concerns about his activities with the children, which included Chan filming a child falling asleep and setting the footage to music.

He was first arrested on suspicion of child neglect, but searches of his electronic devices led officers to discover his sexual offending: he had filmed himself abusing young children at the nursery, and had also amassed a collection of at least 26,000 indecent images online, including clips of children being raped.

During Chan’s sentencing, Judge John Dodd KC told the court that Chan was a “perverse and depraved” man who had “clearly lost all sense of moral compass”.