The five men and five women gave their finding after two hours of deliberation today into the death of nine-month-old Oliver Steeper following the incident at the Jelly Beans Day Nursery in Ashford on September 23, 2021. Oliver Steeper died after choking on food at Jelly Beans Day Nursery in Ashford. Picture: Steeper family Before retiring to consider the evidence heard during the eight-day inquest at Oakwood House in Maidstone, coroner Katrina Hepburn advised jurors there was "no evidence which would show failures by nursery or its staff".
But Ms Hepburn says she will write to the Department for Education concerning some of the evidence heard to "prevent further deaths". She was concerned about matters of first aid, for example, some staff were not sure how firmly to slap the child's back to deal with the choking Ms Hepburn also offered her deepest condolences to the family adding: "I hope you have been able to understand events as far as it is possible." Speaking after the conclusion, Oliver's mum, Zoe Steeper, said: "We were shocked to hear various witnesses give evidence about the scene of total chaos that unfolded that day in front of many other little children.
"The nursery fed our nine-month-old baby chopped penne pasta bolognese. He choked and died. A significant amount of food debris was found blocking his lungs.
"Oli was still on milk, and we had started to move him on to pureed and appropriate finger foods at home, always under our watchful eyes. "He had only just .