Children wander off from East Adelaide Primary School OSHC site during school holidays
An after-school care site and kindergarten face new security measures after safety breaches, including children wandering off and a stranger entering the premises.
An out-of-school-hours care centre has had strict conditions imposed on it after children left the site and had to be returned by police officers.
Two children managed to leave the East Adelaide Primary School OSHC on July 15, during a school holiday vacation care session.
Staff contacted police and the parents of the children involved immediately.
In a letter sent the following day to parents of all students who use the OSHC, deputy principal Anneleise Tollner said the children “left the site without permission” and were later returned “safe and well by the South Australia Police”.
It is one of three public school or kindergarten services to come under recent scrutiny by the sector watchdog, the Education Standards Board (ESB).
The ESB imposed immediate conditions on East Adelaide Primary School OSHC, including that staff conduct headcounts of children every 15 minutes for the following fortnight and roster on three extra staff.
Then, on August 20, the ESB imposed another set of conditions onto East Adelaide Primary – that must be followed until November 28 – including rostering two extra staff and conducting headcounts of children every half-hour.
Ms Tollner said the school was “complying with all directions” and reviewing procedures.
“Ensuring the quality and safety of our school’s education and care is of the utmost importance,” she wrote.
In a separate case at Klemzig Kindergarten it is understood a stranger entered the service while other adults were entering and went into the on-site bathroom.
Police were called and a letter was sent to parents.
On September 16 the ESB ordered the kindergarten to complete a security risk assessment of all entry and exit points and consider “enhanced security at each point”.
In a third case at Richmond Primary School OSHC a complaint from a parent following an excursion led to further investigations by the ESB.
On September 11 the watchdog ordered the centre to stop all excursions until September 25.
It also required the centre to, over the same time period, conduct headcounts of children every half-hour, roster extra staff and ensure medication is stored “in a locked, clearly labelled cupboard that is inaccessible to children at all times”.
ESB chief executive Benn Gramola said the organisation was publishing more information on its website about compliance at centres to deliver “increased transparency”.
So far this financial year the ESB has issued various childcare and after-school care centres across SA with at least 31 compliance or emergency action notices, or imposed other conditions.
The state government recently announced an extra $21.8m for the ESB to conduct more checks on centres over the next five years.
That included an immediate allocation of $900,000 and a promise of more unannounced inspections.
It follows a $7m funding boost in August 2023.
SA Education Minister Blair Boyer said, since then, inspections had increased 60 per cent and the number of inspectors had doubled to 39.
By the end of 2026 the ESB will have cleared a backlog of delayed scheduled inspections, Mr Boyer said, and would begin three-yearly inspections.
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Originally published as Children wander off from East Adelaide Primary School OSHC site during school holidays
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