FULL LIST: Frightening number of childcare centres failing safety standards

Shocking safety failures at Victorian childcare centres have been uncovered, with kids exposed to harm — and even cared for by crims.

More than one Victorian childcare provider a week is shut down or censured for serious failings in their care of children.

Children have escaped from childcare, been disciplined inappropriately, denied their dignity, cared for by criminals, housed in unsafe premises and exposed to harm.

More than 230 childcare providers were closed or issued with serious safety notices by the state government from 2018 to 2020.

This includes more than 110 family day care centres found to have an “unacceptable risk to the safety, health and wellbeing of children”.

The Herald Sun can reveal shocking incidents, including:

THE Werribee West Family Centre being prosecuted last October after two children left and ran across a busy road without the knowledge of staff;

THE owner of Sunshine’s Abiel Family Day Care having their licence revoked in 2019 after they were found to have a criminal history in another ­jurisdiction;

ADULTS who had not completed Working with Children checks were living at the same premises as Kare 4 Kids Family Day Care in Footscray;

INSPIRA Kids in Shepparton receiving a warning last September for “failing to maintain the rights and dignity of the child”; and

MARIA Montessori preschool in Thomastown was being issued with an emergency ­action notice for failures, including putting the safety of children at risk and a lack of supervision.

Overall, the risk to children was so great three services were immediately closed and emergency action notices ­issued to 11 providers.

Fitzroy North Childcare Co-op is setting a high standard. Director Alison Bradshaw is with Lukas, Odessa and Arlo. Picture: Wayne Taylor

The breaches are published but not publicised.

Community Childcare Association executive director Julie Price said it was hard for parents to choose quality care.

“Parents need to ask who owns the service and how it is run,” she said. “Many private centres make profits that do not go back into improving the quality of care.”

Family daycare providers, especially those in the western suburbs of Footscray, Tarneit, Truganina and Sunshine have been exposed as the source of a litany of serious health and safety faults.

But centres in up-market suburbs such as Kew, Sandringham and Brighton are also on Victoria’s childcare shame file.

They include Petit Early Learning in Kew, which charges $130 a day and had conditions placed on its operations in 2019 for inappropriate supervision of children.

Services flagged with authorities for posing serious risks to children have gone years without formal federal audits.

Some now have 20 or more serious safety breaches to their name, but are still operating.

Some big names in the field have been found at fault.

And outside school hours care and holiday care ­providers Team Holiday and Camp Australia have also been issued with compliance notices.

This includes a $15,000 fine for Camp Australia at Elwood Primary for letting children leave without authorisation.

Safety issues, discipline and supervision breaches have also been raised at a YMCA in Cranbourne North, a Guardian Early Learning Centre in Doreen and services attached to three schools.

A number of services were also found in 2020 to be disciplining kids in an inappropriate manner.

Victoria’s Education Department is responsible for regulating the services.

A number of centres have been closed because the risk to children was so great. Picture: Istock

Early Childhood Minister Ingrid Stitt said the vast majority of the state’s 4500 early childhood services did a fantastic job.

“But we want parents to rest assured action is taken if providers do the wrong thing,” she said.

Family Day Care chief executive Andrew Paterson acknowledged a number of services been removed or monitored but said there was “a lot of good work being done” to ensure compliance.

At the other end of the scale is the Fitzroy North Childcare Co-op which is rated as ­“exceeding” six of seven ­federal standards.

Director Alison Bradshaw said the centre was run by a committee of volunteer parents “who are all about supporting our families and supporting the staff to ensure a high quality of service”.

When asked about the alarming numbers on Wednesday, Business Precincts Minister Martin Pakula referred back to Ms Stitt’s comments.

“I’m kind of loath to just traverse on other people’s portfolios,” he said.

“But I think it would go without saying we would like to see as many childcare centres as possible remain open.”

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