Josh MacAlister said the Government would examine the “full details” of the case after the 45-year-old admitted sexually abusing young children in his care.
Chan had passed vetting and worked for nearly seven years at Bright Horizons nursery on Finchley Road, West Hampstead, before he was unmasked as a paedophile.
Speaking to broadcasters on Thursday, Mr MacAlister said a local practice review would “forensically” examine what had happened.
“It’s a really shocking episode, and my heart goes out to the families that are directly affected by this,” he told BBC Breakfast.
“Fortunately, the number of children that were directly affected is in the single digits, but for those families, it will be really life-altering and an appalling situation.”
Asked whether he could guarantee children being dropped off by their parents today were safe, he said: “Their children are safe, and parents should have confidence to send their children to these settings.
“Ofsted have ramped up their inspection of the settings … obviously concerned, but also the Government are taking action to make sure that those inspections take place quickly when a new setting is set up, and that we don’t have long gaps.”
Pressed on whether he could have assured parents that children were safe before Chan was caught, the minister said: “Well, the concerning part of what’s happened with this case is that there were some concerns raised and then not enough action was taken.”
He urged families and nursery workers to contact the regulator and report any concerns they have.
“And we need to make sure that follow-up action is being taken – that’s what the Government are supporting Ofsted and local services to do,” the minister said.
“But we do need to look through the full details of what happened in this situation, where things went wrong and what the future fixes might be, and that’s what we’ll be doing.”
Chan, of Stanhope Avenue, Finchley, north London, admitted his “calculated and predatory pattern of abuse” at Wood Green Crown Court on Wednesday.
The British national pleaded guilty to five counts of sexual assault of a child by penetration and four counts of sexual assault of a child by touching.
He also admitted 11 counts of taking indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs of a child, and six counts of making indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs of a child.
The families of the victims have been contacted directly and are receiving specialist support, while the NSPCC is running a helpline for all 700 families of children who attended the nursery during the time the paedophile worked there between 2017 and 2024.
Chan was first arrested in June 2024, after a member of nursery staff reported that he had callously filmed a child falling asleep in their food and set it to music, before showing the clip to a colleague.
He was initially held on suspicion of neglect and released on bail, losing his job at the nursery, which has since closed.
His devices were submitted for analysis by police in September 2024 and he was arrested in September this year on suspicion of sexual offences.
The families of the victims have questioned how Chan was able to carry out his horrific offending and are set to take legal action against the nursery.
A spokesperson for the nursery said: “We are shocked and appalled by this individual’s horrific crimes.
“Our thoughts are first and foremost with the children and families affected, and we are committed to offering support to them during this incredibly difficult time.”
They said the company has extensive safeguarding practices in place, including rigorous vetting and DBS criminal records checks. The company has also commissioned a review of its safeguarding procedures.
Chan will be sentenced at Wood Green Crown Court on January 23.
Anyone who wants to make a report to police about him can contact OpLanark@met.police.uk, or call 101 from within the UK, quoting the reference CAD3697/1DEC.
