Baby who choked ate non-pureed food – nursery worker

Oliver Steeper died aged nine months on 23 September 2021

A nine-month-old baby who died after choking at a nursery in Kent ate chopped food rather than pureed, an inquest has heard.

Oliver Steeper died six days after he choked at Jelly Beans Day Nursery, in Ashford, on 23 September 2021.

Zoe Steeper said she found chunks of pineapple in her son’s vomit when he was violently sick on 16 September.

Oliver’s key worker at the nursery, Loetta Collins, said she had not received training from the nursery about the size the food should be served.

Ms Collins, who chopped the penne pasta bolognese Oliver was served on 23 September, said she was “content” that the pieces were small enough.

“I spent a lot of time cutting it and mixing it until I was satisfied,” she told the inquest.

Oliver Steeper's parents say they want to keep their son's memory alive

Another member of nursery staff was feeding Oliver and three other children.

When asked if it was usual for staff to feed four children at once, Ms Collins said: “No, not really.”

She was also asked about a risk assessment produced by the nursery which stated that all food for babies was to be blended to a consistency which is “fluid-like rather than solid”.

She told the inquest that there was a blender in the building, but she did not recall it being used.

The inquest previously heard that Oliver, who only had two front teeth, had been eating pureed meals at home, and his parents had been assured by nursery workers that solids could be blended before being fed to him.

The baby was taken to the William Harvey Hospital before being transferred to Evelina London Children’s Hospital where he died.

The inquest in Maidstone continues.

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