Girl, 3, left alone on locked bus at daycare formerly run by GWS Giants executive Adrian Fonseca

Staff at the AFL-themed childcare centre left a three-year-old girl alone inside a locked bus for 90 minutes in 30 degree heat – then tried to cover it up.

A childcare company run by GWS Giants deputy chairman Adrian Fonseca has been hauled before a court on child endangerment charges after staff at one of its centre’s left a three-year-old girl alone on a hot bus for 90 minutes, then tried to cover it up.

Sovana Child Care Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of Mr Fonseca’s multimillion-dollar early education group Oxanda Education, admitted staff at its Little Giants Auburn centre took shortcuts and did not adhere to established protocol when they failed to ensure all children had exited the bus after an excursion on February 22 last year.

There is no suggestion of wrongdoing by Mr Fonseca.

The three-year-old girl, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was left alone inside the locked vehicle, still strapped in a car seat, in almost 30 degree temperatures.

Her whereabouts were only discovered some 90 minutes later when her aunt arrived and she could not be located inside the centre.

Nancy Reardon Fonseca and Adrian Fonseca. Picture: Ryan Osland

Mr Fonseca has since divested his interest in Little Giants Auburn.

According to documents tendered to Parramatta Local Court, the girl’s skin was red and flushed, her arms and legs were swollen and she was sweating profusely when found.

Defence barrister Sam Duggan said educators who found the child on the bus acted in a moment of poor judgment born of panic. Picture: Emily Barker

The court heard staff initially tried to cover up their mistake, giving the girl two bottles of water and re-dressing her before handing her over to her aunt.

Defence barrister Sam Duggan lamented the course of action during a sentencing hearing earlier this month after Sovana Child Care pleaded guilty to charges of not adequately supervising a child in its care and failing to ensure every reasonable precaution was taken to protect children from harm or hazard.

“Regrettably, at first the educators who found the child appeared to engage in some prevarication and were less than honest with the child’s aunt, a moment of poor judgment doubtless born of panic,” Mr Duggan said in written submissions filed with the court.

He told the court staff had cut corners that day and not followed the standard procedures in place for ensuring child safety, including carrying out roll calls and headcounts and thoroughly inspecting the bus.

Jeremy Cameron speaks to the media during a Greater Western Sydney Giants AFL media opportunity to launch their Little GIANTS early education service at Little GIANTS Learning Centre on February 20, 2018 in Sydney, Australia. The Little GIANTS Learning Centres are a partnership between the GIANTS and Oxanda Education. Picture: Mark Kolbe

He confirmed two educators had been fired as a result of the incident while another two were given written warnings.

Each of the letters, sighted by The Daily Telegraph, were signed by Mr Fonseca in his role as the executive director of Sovana. ASIC documents reveal Mr Fonseca is the sole director of the company.

Mr Duggan said Sovana’s parent company Oxanda Education had made several changes across its business to ensure greater child safety, including employing a full-time compliance training officer.

He also said company representatives had met with the child’s parents and offered to pay for any counselling the family might need.

Magistrate Greg Grogin imposed a total fine of $25,000, half of which is to be paid to the NSW Department of Education.

Meanwhile, the court heard Mr Fonseca had recently sold a dozen of Oxanda’s daycare centres, including Little Giants Auburn, to Affinity Education Group, in a deal rumoured to be worth upwards of $40 million.

The sale ends Mr Fonseca’s four-year experiment mixing child care and AFL under the Little Giants banner.

At its launch in 2018, Mr Fonseca said the partnership between his company and the club would “set a new standard in early childhood education”, while Giants CEO David Matthews welcomed the opportunity to provide education opportunities to families in western Sydney.

Plans for six more centres were unveiled at the time but only two eventuated. All the Little Giants centres will be rebranded as a result of the Affinity sale.