SA’s childcare watchdog, the Education Standards Board, reveals rise in serious incidents at childcare, OSHC centres

Serious incidents at South Australian childcare centres are continuing to rise, as children are reported missing, locked out or taken home by the wrong person.

Serious incidents at childcare centres, including children being locked out or taken home by the wrong person, are rising.

But fewer centres are seeking exemptions because they cannot recruit enough qualified staff and more than a quarter are exceeding national standards.

The childcare watchdog has revealed there were 2541 serious incidents reported in early-childhood education and care centres across South Australia last financial year.

That is up from 2415 the previous year and 2148 in 2022-23.

Serious incidents can include injuries or illnesses that require medical attention and children who are missing or unaccounted for, locked in or out of a centre or taken from a centre “without authorisation”.

Serious incident reports continue to rise in SA childcare centres. Picture: iStock

The latest annual report from the Education Standards Board (ESB) shows injuries were most common (1759), followed by children going missing and incidents which required attendance by emergency services (278 cases each). There were 87 children locked in or out of a centre, and seven were taken away without authorisation – more than in either of the previous two years.

Individual childcare or out-of-school-hours care (OSHC) services are not named in the report. The ESB is responsible for monitoring, compliance, training and unannounced inspections at centres run by private companies or those located on public school or preschool sites.

Since August 2023, the state government has committed almost $29m more to the ESB’s budget to increase scrutiny amid some horror revelations.

Former Victorian childcare worker and alleged pedophile Joshua Brown, who is facing charges.

In Victoria, the arrest of alleged pedophile childcare worker Joshua Dale Brown sparked a review of the sector there and recommendations for national changes to safeguards.

Centres across SA have faced consequences for failures including children injured while being held by educators, young children left unsupervised, children escaping from centres and staff being ordered to remove rat baits or replace cots or mattresses that do not meet safety standards.

Currently, centre operators are only required to inform parents if the watchdog imposes certain conditions on a centre.

But Education Minister Blair Boyer has put a proposal to his federal counterparts to require centre managers to tell parents about any incidents that prompt the watchdog to take action, such as being ordered to clear obstacles, review policies or increase staff numbers.

Education Minister Blair Boyer has put proposals for more childcare safeguards to his national counterparts. Picture: Emma Brasier

The ESB report shows there were 567 requests from centre managers for an exemption to staffing requirements because they could not recruit enough qualified staff.

This was down from 691 two years ago.

Centres are also assessed against national quality standards. The latest data shows 54 per cent of all SA childcare, preschool and OSHC services are meeting those standards.

Another 28 per cent are exceeding them but 18 per cent are not meeting expectations. That is double the national rate of 9 per cent.

Originally published as SA’s childcare watchdog, the Education Standards Board, reveals rise in serious incidents at childcare, OSHC centres