source : the age
A Logan childcare centre has been ordered to pay $20,000 after three unsupervised children climbed a fence and wandered 400 metres from the grounds.
The Brisbane’s Magistrates Court heard three children left Sparrow Early Learning Yarrabilba and had been outside the bounds of the centre for about 45 minutes on August 11, 2023.
Acting Magistrate Gary Finger said it was “by the grace of God” the children were not killed, given the centre’s location near a busy road.
The centre is on Combs Street, in Yarrabilba, about 50 metres away from Yarrabilba Drive, which is the main road into and out of the suburban area.
To leave the grounds, the children had passed through an unlocked gate leading to a small community garden area inside the centre and then climbed over the perimeter fence.
A passerby found them unharmed and returned them to the grounds.
The state’s childcare regulatory authority took Sparrow Early Learning Yarrabilba, owned by parent company Sparrow Nest Early Learning No 4, to court for failing to supervise the children, for failing to protect them from harm, and allowing them to leave the centre’s grounds.
Sparrow Early Learning pleaded guilty to the charges.
A spokesperson for the company said its Yarrabilba centre had the correct number of supervisors at the time the children left the premises, and the perimeter fence’s condition and height had “exceeded the legal and regulatory requirements”.
“Following the incident, we took all necessary steps to advise parents, reported the incident to the Department of Education, conducted our own internal investigation and worked collaboratively with government investigators,” they said.
The company was fined $20,000 and was ordered to pay the state’s legal costs of $1855.35, although no conviction was recorded.
The Education Department said the size of the fine indicated the seriousness of the childcare centre’s offences, and said the regulatory authority was continuing to ensure children were supervised properly.
Sparrow Early Learning said there had been building, procedural and training improvements at the Yarrabilba centre, including increasing the height of the fence.
The company also nominated to be included in the Australian government’s early childhood centre CCTV pilot program.
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