A Figtree childcare centre that came under investigation when a toddler escaped its grounds will not be prosecuted, after authorities found a visiting tradesman largely responsible for the breach.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
A two-year-old girl was found wandering alone on Northview Terrace at Figtree the afternoon of June 15, after she slipped through an open gate at the centre across the road, the Little Peoples Early Learning Centre.
Centre operators apologised to parents and suspended supervising staff in the aftermath, as police reported a breach in safety standards to the regulatory authority, the NSW Department of Education.
This week a spokeswoman for the department confirmed the breach had been investigated, and the centre had been issued with a compliance notice.
"We have investigated an incident involving a two-year old child who got out of a centre in Figtree after a gate was left open by a tradesman working at the centre," the spokeswoman said.
"We acknowledge the seriousness of the incident and are working closely with the service and the family of the child.
"Following a full investigation, the service provider was issued with a compliance notice requiring a number of actions including additional training for staff and enhanced policies and procedures to ensure the safety of children at the service.
"A prosecution has not been initiated."
The unaccompanied girl was discovered by a neigbour, who took her inside their own home and entertained her with a video until police arrived. The Mercury understands she was unharmed and soon reunited with her parents.
The Figtree centre's director did not return calls when contacted for comment on Tuesday.
Breaches have been a costly business for Illawarra child care centres in the past.
In March 2018, Big Fat Smile was fined $24,000, plus $3500 in costs, over a June 2016 slip-up where a sleeping three-year-old boy was left undiscovered at its Wollongong centre for almost an hour after closing time. The centre supervisor lost her job and was personally fined $5000, but this was overturned on appeal.
In August 2016 the same provider was fined $13,000, plus $16,000 in costs, after a five-year-old boy went missing from a Bellambi-based respite program for children with autism in July, 2014. The boy was missing for more than an hour before his father arrived to collect him. The centre's then-director was personally fined another $6000.
We depend on subscription revenue to support our journalism. If you are able, please subscribe here. If you are already a subscriber, thank you for your support.