‘Emergency’: Western Sydney childcare centre barred from having 2yos, to be shut

Children under the age of two will be barred from a busy western Sydney childcare centre overnight under an “emergency action notice”, as the state’s childcare regulator reports a surge in cancellations and fines following the passage of new laws.

Parents with children at the Tallawong Early Learning centre were informed in an email on Wednesday night that as a result of a probe by the NSW Early Learning Commission, the centre would have its service approval cancelled from June 25.

However, under an emergency action, the regulator ordered that no children under the age of two enter the facility as soon as Thursday.

While the regulator said there was no evidence children had been involved in an “specific incident which caused them harm”, it had been probing allegations of serious breaches.

“We do, however, have concerns about the level of risk that children are exposed to within the service which has resulted in the cancellation decision,” the email stated.

The regulator's concerns included allegations the provider and service failed to protect children from “harm and hazards”, maintain a safe and clean environment, ensure adequate incident and emergency management, and ensure safe sleep and rest practices for children.

The cancellation will mean the centre can no longer operate from June 25, with parents asked to find alternative arrangements.

“Until this cancellation decision takes effect the Commission will continue to monitor the service through unannounced monitoring and compliance visits to mitigate the serious concerns that have been identified,” the email stated.

In a statement, Tallawong Early Learning said it acknowledged the decision of the NSW Early Learning Commission regarding the Service Approval for the centre.

“The safety and wellbeing of children has always been our highest priority. We have cooperated with the Commission throughout the process and have undertaken a number of corrective actions and improvements at the service,” a spokeswoman said.

“We are currently obtaining legal advice in relation to the decision and, as the matter is ongoing, it would not be appropriate to comment further on the Commission’s findings or potential proceedings.

“At this stage, we have no further comment.”

It comes less than a year after the NSW government passed sweeping reforms in the wake of abuse scandals at childcare centres which rocked the country.

Under the reforms, the powers of the regulator were bolstered – including its ability to publish information – and penalties exponentially increased.

Providers were also required to display a range of information, with a blitz taking place late last year.

Statistics for the period since the Commission was established show significant increases in monitoring visits, compliance actions, and suspensions compared to the same time last year.

Visits by Early Learning Commission officers increased 10 per cent to 4837 services – of which69 per cent were unannounced.

Emergency action notices rose by 233 per cent to 80, while the number of providers cancelled increased to 217.

Deputy Premier and Education and Early Learning Prue Car said parents should have confidence their child will be safe when they drop them off at an early learning service.

“The regulatory regime we inherited was clearly not fit for purpose. The Minns Labor Government stepped in with nation-leading reforms that put child safety first, and other jurisdictions followed,” she said.

“We make no apologies for driving poor-quality operators out of the sector while supporting high-quality providers to expand. The NSW Early Learning Commission is doing its job – putting child safety first.”