Childcare operator bans male workers from changing nappies after alleged predator exposed

Male workers will be banned from changing nappies in 16 Victorian childcare centres following a snap decision by an operator on Friday, days after Joshua Brown was revealed as an alleged predator.

Male workers will not change nappies in 16 Victorian childcare centres following a snap decision by Inspire Early Learning Journey on Friday.

The Montessori childcare provider has become one of the first in Victoria to change its policies around what male educators can do in the classroom.

In a letter sent to parents on Friday afternoon, chief curriculum and quality officer Eleinna Anderson informed families male staff will not be assigned nappy change or toileting duties.

But they will still play a “vital role” in the learning environment by assisting with activities, classroom preparation and cleaning.

“At Inspire Early Learning Journey, the wellbeing and safety of your children are at the heart of everything we do,” the letter said.

“We’re writing to share a few important updates to our guidelines around staff interactions with children and team responsibilities – changes made with careful thought and a continued commitment to maintaining a safe, inclusive and respectful environment for all.

“To ensure we remain sensitive and responsive to family needs, we have made an adjustment: male educators will not be assigned to nappy change or toileting duties.”

Other changes include staff seeking children’s consent to hug them or hold hands when needing emotional support.

Educators have also been told to refrain from kissing or engaging in unnecessary physical contact with children.

Joshua Brown has been charged with more than 70 child abuse offences. Picture Supplied.,

The shock decision follows days of frenzied debate about the role of men in childcare, following the arrest of childcare worker Joshua Brown, who has been charged with more than 70 child abuse offences. He has worked at 20 childcare centres across Melbourne since 2017.

Carolyn Smith, United Workers Union director of early learning, said the union did not support a total ban on male workers in the industry, which some child safety advocates have been calling for.

She said “everybody in the industry is upset and we all want to make the system safer”. She said stopping the “massive churn post-Covid” of staff members was a more important safety measure.

Louise Edmonds, founder of the Independent Collective of Survivors, has advocated for an “opt out” for parents wanting to stop men from caring for their children.

“Without, you know, staining all the good men who are in there wanting to be positive role models for the young boys who are in daycare centres, there are some measures that can be taken place,” Ms Edmonds said.

“We actually have to look at the safety first and foremost of our most vulnerable citizens, which are our children, and a lot of them are voiceless.

“All daycare centres can literally say to the parent, do you opt in or do you opt out at this very moment to actually have a male carer look after your child?”

Inspire Early Learning has banned male workers from changing nappies. Picture: Supplied

Inspire Early Learning was not one of the 20 centres where Mr Brown worked, but rather an independent childcare provider that follows the Montessori framework.

The provider has centres all over Melbourne, including in Camberwell, Chadstone, Moorabbin, Preston and Werribee.

But for some, banning male educators from toileting and nappy changing duties is still not going far enough, with a petition signed by more than 600 people calling for men to be banned from the classroom entirely.

The Change.org petition – which claims to “not be an attack on men” – is calling for male educators to be banned from the classroom until there are “stricter national vetting systems, surveillance protocols and transparency standards in place”.

“The safety and wellbeing of our children must be the highest priority in any childcare or early education environment,” the petition states.

“While abuse can happen regardless of gender, statistics consistently show that the majority of child sexual abuse cases are perpetrated by males.

“In positions of trust involving vulnerable children, extra precaution is not prejudice — it’s protection.”

For others, the restrictions on what male educators can do in the classroom has come as a “punch in the gut”.

Male educators have taken to social media to express how “devastating” the repercussions of Mr Brown’s alleged actions have been on them.

One male early childhood teacher said: “I work tirelessly building relationships ensuring all children feel safe, secure, supported, included so they get to experience a sense of belonging in this world”.

“To come home and read some of the thoughts and things people are saying regarding male educators … is so devastating to me.”

Another educator said the latest revelations were making it even harder for male students in training to secure placements in childcare settings.

“For men who are genuinely passionate about this field, it’s disheartening and isolating,” they said.

Well-known child protection warrior Hetty Johnson, who is set to pitch a national safeguarding training plan for childcare workers to state and federal governments, said she wouldn’t send her child to a daycare centre where a man was employed.

Ms Johnson, who has dedicated her life to protecting children from sexual assault, told The Saturday Courier-Mail that the risk with men is simply too high”.

“If I owned a childcare centre I wouldn’t hire males to work there. I know that is insulting to men and the majority of men are good men but until every worker is equipped to recognise warning signs of abuse and keep children safe then every risk must be minimised,” Ms Johnson said.

On Wednesday she will present her training plan for workers in childcare, aged and disability sectors. The training includes contributions from other leading childcare advocates including Australian E-Safety Commissioner Julie Ingman-Grant and Former Royal Commissioner Bob Atkinson.

“Eighty five per cent of sex offenders are men. The proposed training is a game changer that will teach staff to look deeper to allow no hidey hole in the centres,” she said.

Originally published as Childcare operator bans male workers from changing nappies after alleged predator exposed