The childcare centre where three pre-schoolers ingested sleeping tablets has been found at fault – having breached national regulations around record keeping and staff failing policies set around children taking medication.
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The Conder Early Learning Centre was the subject of a childcare regulator probe in July after three children were found unsupervised with sleeping tablets.
After swallowing the sleeping tablets, two of the children were rushed to hospital by ambulance where they were admitted for observation. They were released after 24 hours.
Their families immediately withdrew them from the centre.
Meanwhile, the ACT childcare regulator has also sanctioned the Russell Hill Early Childhood Centre for leaving a child locked in the centre last year after all staff had gone home for the day.
Details around the incident were scant with the neither the regulator nor the centre operator, Mission Australia Early Learning Services, providing further details on how old the child was, or for how long they were locked inside.
But the regulator issued a compliance notice in July 2014, noting that not only was the child "left unattended at the service after all staff had left the premises" but that "in a separate incident, a written record was not completed and provided to the parents until four weeks after the incident."
The regulator noted that the Russell Hill centre had "proactively taken other steps in response to the non-compliance. The approved provider provided evidence of compliance with the notice on 28 July 2014."
Mission Australia said it had undertaken a thorough review of its centre following the incident "and made several improvements to our procedures and provided additional training to staff".
Meanwhile, G8, the national operator of the Conder centre, has refused to comment on its official sanction over the sleeping tablet affair, with its inquiry by the regulator uncovering a number of serious shortfalls.
A spokesman for G8 said last month that a preliminary inquiry into the sleeping tablet incident had shown staff acted "appropriately".
"Initial conclusions confirm that the regulator is satisfied that the centre and its staff had adhered to all required regulations in matters of supervision and protection and that no wrongdoing had been found," the spokesman said in early August.
But the ACT Education Directorate, which oversees the childcare regulator, said at the time that the inquiry had not been finalised and no comment could be made.
The regulator has subsequently found two national regulations had been breached.
In particular "A child with a diagnosed medical condition did not have a medical management plan in place, or up to date authorisations in the child's enrolment record."
The regulator further noted "the provider has not taken reasonable steps to ensure that the nominated supervisor and staff members at the service follow the policies and procedures, in that a number of employees have not completed the provider's induction modules or policies and procedures modules.
"The provider's policies and procedures have not been followed in relation to enrolment and orientation, medical conditions, delivery and collection of children, and medication."
The inquiry also found that "a child was released into the care of a person without written authorisation to collect the child".
The regulator said G8 had, within the last fortnight, provided evidence of compliance but it would continue to make regular and unannounced compliance checks into the future.
Following an investigation the regulator can request that policies and procedures are reviewed, staff receive more training, or in serious circumstances, it can close a centre down.
Both reports are contained within the Education Directorate website, under Compliance and Enforcement.
