‘Pretty appalling’: Fury as parents learn of childcare abuse claims through media

Parents’ frustration at a Brisbane childcare centre has been laid bare, with many learning of serious abuse allegations against a staff member through journalists and now weighing up if they should permanently withdraw their children.

Police confirmed early on Thursday they had arrested a 21-year-old man from Cleveland. He was charged with “indecent treatment” of a young person at Milestones Early Learning in Tingalpa on July 10.

When media arrived outside the centre before pick-up, irritated staff called police and told reporters they could not take photos of the building.

A father picking his child up from Milestones Early Learning in Tingalpa expresses his frustration at the lack of transparency.Credit: William Davis

They were still yet to let parents know what had happened a full week after the alleged offence occurred.

“It’s completely unacceptable for parents who put their trust into the centre to think that they’re going to be picking their kids up as usual and then find out about something so serious from reporters outside,” one mother – who asked not to be named – said.

A father said he “definitely” should have been provided more information, and was yet to decide if he’d ever take his daughter back.

The centre is one of a handful of for-profit childcare centres in Tingalpa.Credit: William Davis

“I don’t really know what to say at this stage,” he told reporters while exiting the car park.

“I don’t know how I’m feeling, I don’t know what to do.

“They’ve got nothing to say.”

Minutes later a mother revealed she’d spent most of her day unsuccessfully trying to get answers from Affinity, the company that runs the childcare centre.

“It’s actually been a pretty distressing day. [They] haven’t given us any communication,” she said.

“It’s pretty appalling as a parent.

“Me and some others have been trying to get a hold of them all morning. We’ve called the head office, we’ve written to the CEO.”

Five others expressed similar sentiments while picking their children up, and screenshots of a thread on the centre’s parent communication app Storypark show many more were furious at the lack of information throughout the day.

Affinity eventually sent a letter to parents after 4pm, Thursday.

A father who learned of the allegations from journalists at Milestones Early Learning in Tingalpa.Credit: William Davis

“We know this news will be distressing, and we want to acknowledge the deep concern it may cause for you and your family,” it said in part.

“We are here for you, and we will continue to co-operate fully with the authorities as the investigation progresses.”

Police had initially advised the childcare company to not release any information at all, according to Queensland education minister John-Paul Langbroek.

Speaking to media on the Gold Coast, he confirmed he had been in contact with the centre operator on Thursday morning.

“The operator committed to me that they were going to work with police, whose original advice was that they should say nothing,” Langbroek said.

“If I was a parent in Tingalpa, and I didn’t know which centre it was, I would presume that … every centre in Tingalpa would be being inundated with parents and their concerns.

“So my going-in position is that I advised the operator, in conjunction with police, that they should be giving the advice as to which centre it was.”

A police spokesperson would not be drawn on what advice was given to the centre, but did not dispute the minister’s characterisation of it.

“Where investigations relate to a child as the victim, officers always consider the wellbeing of the child as their primary focus,” they said in a statement.

The allegations are the latest in what is being described as a “crisis” in early education centres across the country, after 26-year-old Melbourne childcare worker Joshua Dale Brown was charged with abusing children this month.

Brown worked at more than 24 childcare centres over his eight-year career as an early educator, including centres owned by the for-profit childcare giants Affinity Education and G8, both based in Queensland.

The allegations against Brown follow the case of Brisbane man Ashley Paul Griffith, who was jailed last year after committing hundreds of sex offences against children over the course of his childcare career in Queensland and New South Wales.

Childcare centres across the country – including those owned by Affinity Education – have promised to improve child safety and restore faith in the sector.

Affinity said it would fast-track installation of CCTV cameras across its more than 250 centres “to enhance supervision and safety” and allow “parental preference regarding who assists their child with toileting or nappy changes”.

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