A childcare centre says it has bolstered physical safeguards following watchdog allegations a young child was discovered roaming near a busy road after wandering into a childcare centre lift unsupervised.
Woodlands St Kilda Road, located across three upper levels of a 13-storey inner city building in Melbourne, has been charged with 15 offences by the Victorian Early Childhood Regulatory Authority (VECRA).
The centre is accused of serious supervision and safety breaches across three separate incidents in which children aged between 22 months and five years were allegedly left unsupervised and exposed to risk of injury and harm.
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During one alleged incident, a young child left the centre via a goods lift which travelled several floors to the tower’s loading dock.
The child then left the building on the ground floor and wandered to the building’s forecourt, fronting St Kilda Road – a busy four-lane tram, bicycle and car thoroughfare in and out of Melbourne’s CBD.
A worker from a different business inside the building discovered the child and returned them to the centre.
Another child also allegedly entered the lift unsupervised and travelled to another floor of the building after straying from the centre’s rooftop playground unsupervised. They were found by administrative staff of Woodlands.
In a third alleged incident, a child became trapped in a male staff bathroom for 30 minutes after wandering in unobserved before the door closed behind them.
The child was found crying on the bathroom floor by staff.
In a statement, the business said it took the charges “extremely seriously” and has since strengthened physical safeguards and delivered additional supervision training to staff to ensure child safety.
“We know this news may be concerning for our families, and we are deeply sorry for any worry and upset caused,” a spokesperson wrote.
“We respect VECRA’s role and share its commitment to keeping children safe, and we will continue to work constructively with the regulator.”
Staff have been supplied with additional training in active supervision and the centre has updated its supervision plans for every area of the centre, it said.
An independent compliance and quality expert has been engaged by the centre to conduct ongoing safety audits.
If proven guilty of all charges, Woodlands St Kilda could face a maximum penalty of up to $1.4 million.
“These are serious charges against Woodlands St Kilda,” Early Childhood Regulator Wendy Steendam said.
“We allege they have failed in their fundamental obligation to keep children safe and away from potential harms ? requirements that are especially critical in multi-storey buildings with lifts and multiple tenants.”
The three-year-old centre, which is licensed to care for 140 babies, toddlers and kinder-aged children, boasts a rooftop playground fit with a real light aircraft which was craned into the top floor of the building.
In June, the centre was issued with an emergency action notice by the regulator after an unannounced visit by compliance officers found children could potentially get past a barrier to access the level 12 roof’s edge.
“Had any child gone through, over or under the fence on the 12th floor, the consequences for them could have been catastrophic ? it is unacceptable that the service was putting children at risk,” interim regulator Adam Fennessy said at the time.
Woodlands Childcare and Education operates eight childcare and kindergarten centres across Melbourne, according to its website, with plans for seven other locations.
