Little Peoples centres were among those that received notices in the last quarter. Photo: Region Illawarra.
A regulatory crackdown on childcare centres has seen some Illawarra providers hit with multiple enforcement action notices in a matter of months for failing to comply with laws and regulations.
Four Little Peoples Early Learning Centres in the region received enforcement actions between July and September this year. The Brooks Reach facility was issued three compliance notices over that period, and the Horsley centre received both a compliance notice and an emergency action notice.
The Horsley centre on Habeda Drive was also issued compliance notices in April and June.
The emergency action notice issued on 16 September, which requires the provider to take immediate steps to address serious risks at a service, was issued in response to a non-compliance offence relating to the protection of children from harm and hazards.
An emergency action notice can only be issued if the regulatory authority “is satisfied a service is operating in a manner that poses, or is likely to pose, an immediate risk to the safety, health or wellbeing of a child or children being educated and cared for by the service”.
Only 19 emergency action notices were issued across the state during the quarter.
Little Peoples in Oak Flats and Northview Terrace at Figtree also received compliance notices as did Oxford Multicultural Childcare in Wollongong, which is run by the same provider.
Little Zak’s Shellharbour and Your Kids Our Kids Unanderra both were issued compliance notices in September.
The Grove Academy centres at North Wollongong and on Marshall Street in Dapto were also issued compliance notices during the period.
The North Wollongong facility was flagged for an offence relating to the protection of children from harm and hazards; an offence relating to unauthorised persons on education and care service premises; an offence to inadequately supervise children; non-compliance relating to the records of educators working directly with children; and issues related to educator to child ratios for children aged 36 months or more but less than six years.
Both compliance and emergency action notices outline the steps the provider must take to rectify the breach within a specified timeframe of no more than 14 calendar days.
The regulatory authority can also suspend or cancel all services undertaken by the provider if it is deemed necessary.
As the NSW Regulatory Authority, officers from the Department of Education investigate reported or detected breaches of legislation to determine further compliance and enforcement action. However, there is no one-size-fits-all approach; each situation is evaluated separately.
“This involves assessing the level of risk to children as a result of the non-compliance as well as other factors such as the provider’s attitude to compliance, history of non-compliance, and whether the breach is intentional or not,” the Department website explains.
“If appropriate and where possible, on-the-spot guided compliance will be undertaken to support the service to rectify the matter immediately.”
In November, new transparency laws came into effect, requiring centres to display their compliance history and quality ratings to improve transparency for families.
Compliance records must also be made available upon request.
The Register of Enforcement Actions is published on the Department of Education website, with the compliance history of individual providers accessible through the Starting Blocks website.
Little Peoples Early Learning was contacted for comment.
