Hundreds of shocking incidents have been reported at SA childcare centres

The state’s childcare watchdog is cracking down on safety in the wake of hundreds of worrying incidents reported over the past year.

Children are going missing or being locked outside of childcare centres across the state, and latest data reveals a rise in reports of injuries and illness.

Last financial year there were more than 2370 incidents reported, including about 300 cases where children were taken from centres, locked in or out of rooms or could not be found.

• Download the app for your Apple iPhone

• Download the app for your Android

Ambulance, police or firefighters were called to centres 245 times, and there were more than 1820 reported injuries or illnesses.

The figures come in the wake of the temporary closure of a northern suburbs childcare centre over health and safety concerns.

A bin full of chairs, toys and other discarded items out the front of the Genius Childcare centre in Blair Athol. Picture: Sam Lowe

On January 31 Genius Childcare Blair Athol became the first South Australian childcare centre to be forced to close for 14 days to address risks posed to children.

Education Minister Blair Boyer said concerns revolved around hygiene, the state of the property, damaged fencing and the fire alarm “not functioning as it was supposed to”.

Mr Boyer said it was “imperative that safety is of the highest priority at centres and, when it’s not, we take serious action”.

A mother of two children who attended the Genius centre has since moved them to nearby Goodstart Early Learning Blair Athol – even though two children escaped last year from that site through a broken fence, which has since been repaired.

According to data released on Wednesday by the Productivity Commission the number of children reported missing, taken from or locked in or out of SA childcare centres, out of school hours care (OSHC) services or preschools has fallen slightly, from 347 in 2022-23 to 302 last financial year.

Emergency service call-outs increased from 200 to 245 while injuries and illnesses rose from 1542 to 1827.

Mr Boyer said the government had committed an extra $7m to the sector watchdog, the Education Standards Board (ESB), and it had increased inspection visits by more than 60 per cent.

He said the national data also showed SA had the second-highest proportion of childcare centres rated as exceeding quality standards.

Opposition education spokeswoman Heidi Girolamo said the data was “concerning for all parents” and called for more “transparency around what’s happening in our childcare centres”.

Centres must report incidents where a child requires medical attention, even if the injury was caused by something staff could not prevent, such as a child scratching their eye.

Operators are not required to tell parents about incidents, or notices issued by safety inspectors, only changes imposed on their conditions of operation.

The majority of incidents occurred in childcare centres, which are largely privately owned.

The next most-common location was OSHC services.

Originally published as Hundreds of shocking incidents have been reported at SA childcare centres