Nursery paedophile Nathan Bennett 'could have been stopped sooner' after concerns were 'ignored'

Nursery paedophile Nathan Bennett 'could have been stopped sooner' after concerns were 'ignored' WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT. A former colleague of Nathan Bennett has shared her experiences before his arrest as she claims she repeatedly raised concerns about his interactions with children A former colleague of paedophile nursery worker Nathan Bennett claimed he could have been stopped sooner after she repeatedly raised concerns about his behaviour around young children but was allegedly told she was “imagining it”. Bennett, 30, was handed a 30 year sentence in March after raping and sexually assaulting five toddlers in his care, having been convicted in February of eight offences, including rape, sexual assault and assault by penetration, relating to five children aged between two and three at Partou King Street Nursery in Bristol. Former nursery worker Bessie Martin told a BBC investigation she became uncomfortable with Bennett’s interactions with children months before his arrest. She said he would hold children for lengthy periods and often sat them on his lap out of view of CCTV, claiming she repeatedly raised concerns with management before it emerged he had been abusing children. “I would see a child try to wriggle away or stand up and walk off, but he’d say, ‘sit here and we’re going to read a book’," she said. Bessie said she was “constantly complaining” about him for months. However, her fears were dismissed. She said: “I was basically told that I was imagining it, and just seeing things you’re probably not seeing. ‘You’ve kind of put two and two together and it’s not what you think’. At the time, I really kind of felt I was going a bit crazy but if I was listened to and more vigorous checks on CCTV were done, I think it would be very different.” Bessie said: “You never imagine that you have to deal with the horror stories that you hear about when you do your training.” It was only after she filed a whistleblowing report to the chain’s senior management that Bennett was suspended. However, he was allowed to return to work shortly afterwards. Two weeks later, a review of CCTV footage showed him putting his hands down a boy’s trousers. The nursery suspended Bennett again and informed the council’s Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO). Police were alerted the following day and he was arrested. Prior to his arrest, parents had also reported Bennett’s behaviour to nursery management in the months leading up to his arrest after one mother described him as “overly physical” with children. Some of the concerns were not passed on to the LADO and Ofsted, despite the nursery being legally required to do so, the BBC found. As CCTV evidence was limited, many parents were left with uncertainty over whether their children had been abused by Bennett. He often worked alone in the mornings when children arrived, one mother said. Her child also told her Bennett had “tickled” him inappropriately under his clothes. She said: “I’ve got an image of seeing [my son’s] little face at the window, sometimes crying, and Nathan [Bennett] beside him waving.” During Bennett’s trial, staff described him as “territorial” over certain toddlers and their parents, while one nursery practitioner, Elizabeth Burton said he appeared to have a “jealous attachment” to five children and would “take control of them”. It was also said he would sit children on his lap for long periods of time and wore a pair of trousers with holes in the crotch area, the court heard. Partou said it “actively encourages” staff to report concerns and had implemented recommendations aimed at strengthening safeguarding and oversight across the organisation. The King Street nursery closed last December, but Partou remains one of England’s largest nursery providers and operates more than 100 sites across England. The BBC found Partou nurseries were more likely than the national average to receive official notices requiring improvements to safeguarding, safety or welfare following Bennett’s arrest. Partou nurseries were twice as likely to receive a WRN from Ofsted than the average nursery in the four years to March 2025, according to the investigation. That figure rose to more than seven times the national average in the 12 months following Bennett’s arrest. WRNs can cover a range of issues, including failures to report allegations of abuse, unsafe premises, poor record-keeping and inadequate staff vetting. Partou told the BBC the figures should be interpreted with caution, arguing that different providers may apply varying standards. It said safeguarding remained its “highest priority” and that it had provided affected families with the “fullest possible support”. The company added that an independent safeguarding review had identified failings by individuals at the Bristol nursery. Some no longer work for Partou, while others remain subject to ongoing internal procedures. The Mirror has contacted Partou for comment. In a statement issued on the day of his sentencing by law firm Leigh Day, which represents several of the families involved, they said: “We want answers. We want to understand how someone like Nathan Bennett was able to work with young children, what checks were made, and how the safeguarding systems in place at Partou King Street nursery failed so catastrophically.”