Safety checks required before childcare centre can reopen after lead found in soil
By Noel Towell
A childcare centre that is closing after lead was found buried beneath its outdoor area will have to pass safety checks before being allowed to re-open, the state government says.
Goodstart Early Learning Flemington, in Melbourne’s inner north-west, will be shut for six months after heavy metals, including lead, were discovered under soil in an outdoor area.
The national childcare giant said the risk of contamination, either to children or workers, was low and that children at the site would be able to attend the company’s centres in nearby areas.
Goodstart also told parents it would try to keep Flemington’s group of kindergarten children together.
The Goodstart Early Learning childcare centre in Flemington.Credit: Luis Enrique Ascui
Survey work ahead of a planned renovation at Flemington in October had discovered heavy metals, including lead, about 10 centimetres beneath a chicken coop and a garden bed next to a fence in the centre’s kindergarten space.
Does your child attend Goodstart Flemington?
Contact us: email noel.towell@theage.com.au
The daycare was subsequently closed for two days for maintenance work.
It is now closing again for more extensive work expected to take up to six months. Parents have been given four weeks’ notice of the temporary closure.
“Goodstart takes safety for children and our teams very seriously,” parents were told by email. “Our team members will also temporarily relocate to support children.
“While the risk of contamination is low for any child or Goodstart team member, safety is always our highest priority.”
An Education Department spokesman told The Age that the provider was working with authorities.
“Goodstart has advised that it is working with affected families to find alternative local kindergarten places,” he said.
“Before children return in late 2025, the service will need to demonstrate to the Victorian early childhood regulatory authority that risks have been adequately managed.”
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