Blueberries Childcare Centre at Southport suddenly forced to close

THE sudden closure of a popular Gold Coast childcare centre has left fuming parents in the lurch.

PARENTS are fuming that a Southport childcare centre suddenly shut up shop overnight, leaving families with young children in the lurch.

Blueberries Childcare Centre, which was taken over by Hyun Mee Shin in June this year, suddenly shut due to “industrial unrest” that Ms Shin is blaming, saying it prevented her from being able to comply with “regulatory requirements for staffing”.

Ms Shin said a number of staff had called in sick on the same day.

She said the centre would reopen on December 4.

Blueberries Childcare Centre at the Meriton in Southport. Picture from Facebook

But parent Lucy Fisher is sceptical that was all there was to the closure, saying the centre had a high rate of turnover since the change in management.

“In the past month, every single time I went in I saw someone I didn’t know,” she said.

“Every time there would be a new face, someone I didn’t recognise.

“That was stressful because my son wouldn’t recognise anyone, so he would cry and become very distressed.

“It’s scary and it’s really upsetting, but I think with childcare you put a lot of trust into childcare businesses so it’s scary to not know what’s going to happen.”

The Gold Coast Bulletin contacted the federal Department of Education, which referred the case to the state department. The Bulletin approached the Queensland Education Department, which said it would not be able to respond in time for the Bulletin deadline last night.

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Jasmin Wheeler is angry at their childcare centre suddenly closing. Picture Mike Batterham

Parents say they have been “put through hell’’ over the past week, with the first email to families going out at 11.35pm on Wednesday last week saying the centre would not open the following day due to a “large number of educators on sick leave”.

The day after, at 4pm, parents received an email saying the centre would open on Friday, but “may not be able to accept all enrolled children”.

The correspondence also predicted the centre would operate as usual on Monday, but that did not happen.

Furious parents who say they were given next to no time to make alternative arrangements were left in the lurch, including Jasmin Wheeler, mother of an 18-month-old daughter.

Ms Wheeler said she is “stuck” trying to find a replacement centre for her child, who has a minor disability and epilepsy. She said it took trust to be able to leave a child in the care of others.

“I’m now carefully looking,” she said.

“My daughter has a small limb disability and I don’t want her lost in a sea of kids.

“But now I’m stuck trying to find somewhere close that makes us feel welcomed, that will work with us to encourage her to use her hand and that doesn’t want a week or two bond.”

Ms Wheeler said she also suspected there was more to the situation than sick staff.

“With so little information, how can you really know what went on?” she said.

“Whatever caused the centre to be shut would be a big deal, so to brush it off like it’s just some simple paperwork made my blood boil.

“It’s so wrong to not be clear with families whose children you care for.”

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