Early years practitioners are particularly appalled that someone from their own ranks, ostensibly a trained, caring professional, could possibly carry out such acts with vulnerable babies and toddlers in her nursery. They are aware that parents may well have their faith in safeguarding procedures at their own child's setting shaken. Suspicion and fear do not make for happy, trusting relationships between parents and nurseries.
Hysteria should not be allowed to take a grip, however. Settings need to do everything they can to reassure parents that their child is safe and cherished when at nursery - transparency, an open door, good management and policies rigorously applied ... Yet this sort of criminal behaviour from a childcarer in a daycare setting is rare. Far more abuse takes place in family homes, carried out by family members or acquaintances. In a well-run nursery, there should be very little chance of something like this case happening.
Criminal records checks can only show so much, of course, and even the new vetting and barring system will not be able to exclude every person who could be a risk. That is just not possible.
Nursery managers must take the opportunity to reassure parents and demonstrate how their safeguarding works. They should examine, too, their policy on mobile phones at work - see the online discussions on www.nurseryworld.co.uk/forums to find out practitioners' views on this and add your own.