Pilbara Preparatory fined $14,500 by the State Administrative Tribunal for runaway child

A Pilbara childcare provider has been slapped with $14,500 in fines after a four-year-old child was found barefoot by police about 170m away from the facility. The Bulgarra-based Pilbara Preparatory appeared before the State Administrative Tribunal on April 22, accused of failing to ensure that all children at its service were adequately supervised at all times. The tribunal heard the child attended the centre at 8.20am on August 22 and left after lunchtime, which finished at 11.30am. At 11.52am two police officers on patrol observed the child outside the service and appeared to be talking to children through the centre’s fence. The officers continued their patrol but noticed the child running from the service alone, and stopped her about 170m from Pilbara Preparatory. The four-year-old was barefoot, running alongside the main road in Karratha on a day with a maximum temperature of 29.7 degrees. When stopped by police, the child said she was going home. The officers then asked her father’s name and contacted him. The father told the police officers the child was supposed to be at the childcare service, and the officers returned the child to the service at 12:05pm. “The officers report that the educator who took back the child was unaware that the child had left the service,” the agreed facts stated. The tribunal was told the facility was operating at the minimum level of educators to children permitted under the National Law. “The service had a supervision policy but most of the educators at the service were not aware of what the policy said,” the agreed facts stated. The tribunal was told no one saw the child leaving the premises. Pilbara Preparatory submitted since the incident staff had received and completed external training for active supervision and monitoring. “There is now a requirement that head counts are to be conducted every 15 minutes and recorded daily,” the submission read. “Educators will now teach children about the dangers associated with escaping and incorporating such scenarios in emergency/evac drills so that other children can report this and alert the staff if they ever spot a child trying to escape.” The SAT ordered Pilbara Preparatory to pay the Department of Communities $13,000 and a further $1500 in legal costs. Pilbara Preparatory has 30 days to make the payment after issuing an invoice for payment or within such other time as agreed in writing within the 30-day period. Department of communities executive director regulation and quality Phil Payne said the department had zero tolerance to any violations of this nature. “This child was very lucky that officers from WA Police were driving past the centre at the time and noticed a child outside the fence,” he said. “Approved providers must ensure that, when children are outside, an adequate number of staff are positioned in the outdoor area to be able to effectively supervise all the children.” Mr Payne said it was equally important thorough induction training was undertaken for all new staff to ensure they are fully aware of the supervision procedures. “Supervision training should also be conducted on a regular basis to ensure all staff are aware of the roles and responsibilities,” he said. “It is incumbent on the Provider to ensure that regular audits and checks are carried out to ensure practices reflect the procedures.”