The parents of a little boy who died after choking at nursery have welcomed new safety eating measures implemented by the government.

Nine-month-old Oliver Steeper choked on chopped pasta bolognese fed to him by staff at Jelly Beans Nursery in Field View, Ashford, on September 23, 2021.

An inquest in May returned a conclusion of misadventure when it found Oliver, who was eating only pureed and finger food at home, died in hospital from brain damage after suffering a cardiac arrest.

Following the inquest, area coroner for central and south east Kent, Katrina Hepburn, sent a prevention of future deaths report to the Department for Education (DfE), which is responsible for early years education and training.

The report found it was not clear nursery staff appreciated the importance of mirroring weaning at home with weaning at nursery.

This is the process of switching a child’s diet from breast milk or formula to other foods and fluids.

It was also noted the nursery and its staff did not appear to ensure detailed and accurate information about a child’s individual weaning stage was elicited from parents, recorded, audited, reviewed and applied.

This was alongside nursery staff not appreciating the importance of eliciting and recording this detailed information from the family and circulating it to other staff members.

Despite the nursery staff members having Levels 1, 2 and 3 diplomas in childcare and education, there was limited evidence of any knowledge or training on the stages of baby weaning and the risk of a child choking on food.

As a result, the coroner felt it was not clear the content of those qualifications adequately covers stages of weaning and how to safely wean in the nursery environment.

She submitted her report to the DfE, which is responsible for the early years foundation stage statutory framework, and for diploma qualifications in childcare and education - both of which cover training for nursery staff.

Since their son's passing, Oliver's parents, Zoe and Lewis, have also campaigned for better safety measures around weaning babies onto solid food and emergency first aid provision for early years childcare providers.

Now, the DfE has announced it is to implement a series of new safeguarding measures following the family’s almost three-year campaign.

Part of the early years framework, they will come into effect in September 2025 and include a new section on safer eating.

They state early years' childcare providers must talk to parents about the stage of weaning their child is at without making assumptions about age.

Site managers should also obtain information about special dietary requirements, preferences, food allergies and intolerances through discussions with parents and carers to develop allergy action plans.

Food must also now be prepared in a way to prevent choking, with further measures declaring children must always be within sight and hearing of a member of staff while eating.

Additionally, a member of staff must be in the room with a valid paediatric first aid certificate while children are eating - not just on the premises.

All staff must also ensure they are aware of the symptoms and treatments for allergies and anaphylaxis while keeping a record of all choking incidents.

Lewis Steeper says he and his wife have welcomed the new measures.

He explained: "After Oliver tragically passed away in September 2021 from choking on penne pasta at the age of nine months, we are embracing these changes.

"These adjustments, effective from September 2025, aim to enhance the safety of our young children in early years settings.

"The investigations conducted after Oliver's death revealed certain issues that needed to be addressed.

"This update from the DfE will rectify those issues and improve the safety of childcare settings for everyone.”

The Steeper family’s solicitor, Leigh Day partner Jill Paterson, added: “Oli’s parents have campaigned since his death to do what they can to ensure that no other families have to go through the tragedy that they have.

"These new measures are a very welcome development towards safer childcare provision and a tribute to the tireless work of Oli’s brave parents.”

In the 20 years between 2001 and 2021, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) recorded 40 deaths due to choking in infants (children aged less than one year) in England and Wales.