The National Quality Framework (NQF) is Australia’s system for regulating early childhood education and care. Photo: James Coleman.
The ACT’s Education Minister is “deeply concerned” about recent reports of serious incidents in Canberra childcare centres and has promised to find a way to stop providers whose first purpose is “to make a profit”.
Yvette Berry voiced her concerns at an event highlighting the success of the public preschool located at Evelyn Scott School, which has been awarded the highest rating under the National Quality Framework (the first ACT public preschool to achieve this rating).
“At the moment, anybody can pretty much apply for a registration and operate a service,” she said.
“We need to unpack that a bit more … Some of these services have a parent business, but then a range of other different businesses … and their purpose in early childhood education is … not about the children.
“We need to do more around our policy settings on who is appropriate and fit and proper to operate an early childhood centre.”
It comes off the back of a long-running ABC investigation into the state of the nation’s childcare sector.
Its most recent instalment turned its attention to Canberra centres run by Affinity Education Group. These included an incident where a Canberra mother picked up her 17-month-old son from an ACT centre and claimed she “immediately knew something was wrong”.
Hospital scans revealed a spiral fracture in one of the boy’s arms.
Former staff at another Affinity centre in Canberra told the ABC of a “serious incident” where they had to administer first aid to an eight-month-old who had rolled off a change table.
The baby’s parents subsequently took the child to a hospital emergency department, and the next day, to a doctor.
Affinity runs 250 childcare centres across the country, including eight in the ACT, under the brands of Papilio, Milestones and Kids Academy.
In comments to the ABC, Affinity said it had reported the baby-change incident to the ACT’s childcare regulator, Children’s Education and Care Assurance (CECA). It had also “conducted an internal investigation, terminated the responsible educator’s employment, and provided counselling and training to affected staff”.
The company also followed up with the baby’s parents “who did not report serious injuries”.
Affinity runs eight centres in the ACT, including Papilio Early Learning Yarralumla. Photo: Papilio Early Learning Yarralumla.
The ACT’s eight Affinity centres include Papilio Turner, Papilio Yarralumla, Milestones Macquarie, Papilio Barton, Papilio Bruce, Kids Academy Phillip, Kids Academy Rivett and Kids Academy Symonston.
Since the start of 2024, CECA has received 49 “notifications of complaint or incident” across these centres.
“Notified matters include those relating to supervision, educator interactions with children and handling of children, management of service, meeting of children’s medical and toileting needs, educator qualification and staffing concerns, and child injuries,” a spokesperson told Region.
“The nature or seriousness of the matter varies from case to case.”
Of the centres, those in Yarralumla and Macquarie received the most notifications (both nine), followed by Papilio Turner (eight) and Kids Academy Rivett (seven).
Papilio Barton received five notifications of complaint or incident, Kids Academy Phillip and Symonston received four each, and Papilio Bruce received three.
Since the start of 2024, CECA has taken action against one Affinity-run centre for failing to notify the regulator about a notifiable issue.
A former childcare centre manager who now runs a childcare consultancy in Sydney told Region “a sharp rise in investor interest” is to blame for the sector’s issues.
“That’s driving up costs for operators,” Cheyanne Carter said.
“As a result, they’re less inclined to invest in the things that actually keep children and educators safe: professional development, equipment upgrades, experienced staff and basic maintenance.
“Larger companies may be able to absorb those costs, but they often fall short by putting the wrong people in leadership roles. If execs genuinely listened to the educators on the floor and grew some balls and dealt with their toxic middle management, their existing systems would be enough to deliver high-quality care.”
Education Minister Yvette Berry meeting students at the Evelyn Scott School. Photo: James Coleman.
Minister Berry plans to meet with her counterparts in other states in June to “look at what more needs to be done … when we have organisations coming into the early childhood sector whose first priority isn’t the early childhood learning of young people, but to make a profit”.
She said wages and National Quality Standards for childcare centres would also be on the agenda at next month’s meeting.
In the meantime, she said CECA would continue to conduct regular visits at centres across the ACT and called for anyone who “feels they need to report” to contact the regulator.
“We’ll take all of those issues very seriously, and we’ll investigate them.”
Affinity Education Group was contacted for comment.
