Statement regarding safety of Dream Coracle
for babies under 12 months

On 18 June, the Department for Education (DfE) emailed some in the early years sector advising that “coracles” should not be used for babies under 12 months and referencing a fatal incident involving a "similar product."

We understand this may cause concern regarding our Dream Coracle, so we want to reassure our customers: no child has ever died or been seriously injured because of a Community Playthings sleep product.

The tragic incident the DfE is referring to involved a bedside sleeper and a 7-week-old baby in 2015. A bedside sleeper is a completely different product category and is not at all similar to the Dream Coracle.

The Dream Coracle is specifically designed and tested for babies between 6 and 20 months old, providing a safe transition for the age bracket when most Moses baskets and carry cots have become unsuitable. Many nurseries lack space for cots and need a product that supports the growing independence of children over 6 months of age while reducing the risks associated with lifting these children into cots.

The Dream Coracle meets the Safer Sleep guidance by providing a flat, firm and waterproof surface, and in addition is durable and easy to clean.

Since 2012, Dream Coracles have been safely used in around 3,000 settings across the UK. We are not aware of any incidents caused by this product across the full age range we recommend, and it has been independently tested to the applicable parts of relevant British Safety Standards.

We have had some questions from customers inquiring if the Dream Coracle is safe to use for babies aged 6-12 months (not just for babies over a year). We are in dialogue with the DfE to clarify to them the safety of the Dream Coracle and inquire if they have any new information which should lead us to re-evaluate our recommendations. Guidance on specific products would normally be made by the appropriate product safety bodies in line with established standards rather than in an ad hoc manner.

We will update our Sleep Products FAQ once we know more, but we remain confident that the Dream Coracle is safe for children aged 6-20 months when used in line with our product guidelines.

Please contact your account manager if you have any immediate questions.