Arabic version: مركز رعاية أطفال في راندويك يتلقى إشعار امتثال للسلامة

According to ABC News, a Sydney childcare centre has received a compliance notice after two preschoolers left the facility and were later found at a nearby shopping centre. The children, aged four and five, wandered away during an incident on July 2. A member of the public intercepted them and called police, who returned them to Randwick Creative Childcare. Staff were not immediately aware the children were missing.

The children, who were friends, had to cross four lanes of traffic twice to reach the shopping centre, parent Yasmin Bakshi said. Bakshi, whose three-year-old twins attended the centre two days a week, said she learned of the incident through an online parents’ message board. She said she was horrified and later withdrew her children, saying she no longer felt they were safe at the service.

The NSW Early Learning Commission investigated and found the centre had breached safety standards. A spokesperson said the approved provider was issued a compliance notice over a lack of supervision and a failure to protect children from harm and hazards. The commission is monitoring compliance to ensure there is no further risk to children’s safety. The centre was required to install CCTV cameras and strengthen security at entry and exit points.

In a message to parents, the centre’s director said it was reviewing safety measures and increasing headcounts during the day. When contacted, the director declined to comment, saying staff and the families involved wanted to put the incident behind them. Industry regulator data also showed 174 NSW services had their approval cancelled between April 1 and June 30, compared with 20 in the same period a year earlier, while 876 providers were fined or sanctioned.