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headline

More than 40 WA childcare centres sanctioned for safety breaches

More than 40 childcare centres in Western Australia have been sanctioned for serious safety breaches.

A 9News investigation can reveal the state government has taken enforcement action against 42 childcare or Out of School Hours Care centres since 2019.

The sanctions range from inadequate supervision of children, failure to protect from harm and hazard and contravening safety rules.

When Anthony Shipp went to pick up his son Tom from after school care in October last year, he expected him to at the very least be safe.

Four-year-old Tom had been forgotten, left on a bus for half an hour.

"You expect your child to be alive at the end of the day and taken care of," Mr Shipp told 9News.

"He said he couldn't get his seatbelt off… just looking dishevelled… really pale, really sweaty."

The four-year-old had been forgotten, left on a bus on a 32-degree day for half an hour.

Tom was only found by staff after Mr Shipp arrived to pick his son up and asked where he was.

Alarmingly, this incident is far from rare.

Other incidents include children escaping daycare in Bicton, burning their feet on hot days in the city and multiple instances of being left on buses.

Tom's father, Anthony Shipp.

At Nido Early Learning at QV1 three children sustained second degree burns to their feet during a fire alarm drill on a hot day.

A four-year-old with special needs who got out of Kids Active at Canning Vale was found by a member of the public standing next to a pond.

A five-year-old was also left on a vehicle outside Helping Hands in Inglewood.

Any information on incidents is very hard to find and not readily available. It took 9News hours to compile this list – and it is far from comprehensive.

Many of the most recent incidents at childcare centres are not listed and the less serious ones can't be found at all.

The Department of Communities website gives childcare services a general rating.

Parents say the information needs to be publicly and easily available.

"We think it's really important for parents to have peace of mind about their children and particularly from our point of view, their safety," KIDSAFE WA spokesperson said.

Childcare centres and Out of School Hours Care are the responsibility of the Education and Community Services Ministers Sue Ellery and Simone Mcgurk.

Neither agreed to an interview with 9News.

Instead they pointed us to the Department of Communities website and a nationally run site that gives childcare services a general rating.

On that website these same childcare centres (QV1, Canning Vale and Inglewood) were rated as either meeting or exceeding national quality standards but there was no reference to the safety breaches.

Tom and his father Anthony Shipp.

"Quite often one breach of protocol and safety is completely different to another type," KIDSAFE WA said.

"When you research where you want your child to go improvements have been made."

See below for the full list of childcares compiled by 9News that have been sanctioned for serious safety breaches.

  • Bluebird Busselton – Inadequately supervise children
  • Gummi Bears Child Care Centre – Interactions with children
  • Sparrow Early Learning – Offence relating to protection of children from harm/hazards
  • 4 BIG KIDS – A six-year-old child with additional needs left alone in a room and unsupervised
  • North Fremantle School of Early Learning – Two-year-old child sustained burns to her feet
  • YMCA Carnaby Rise – Two-year-old walked out, no staff noticed for 45 mins, found on a road 800 metres away
  • Nature's Atelier – Seven-year-old with ADD was not collected from bus stop
  • Great Beginnings Byford – Inadequately supervise children
  • Nido Early Learning QV1 – Three children (2nd degree) burnt feet
    Freo Kids Early Learning Port Coogee – Failed to protect child from harm/ hazard
  • Mosaic Early Learning Centre – Food allergies
  • Success Early Learning – Two-year-old child foot burnt while playing outside, treated in hospital
  • Bicton OSHClub – Three and four-year-old found by a parent outside on the side of the road
  • Waabiny Out of School Hours Care – Inadequately supervise children
  • ASILO Bilingual Childcare And Learning Centre – Premises/equipment safe condition contravened
  • KidsHQ Jacaranda – Inadequately supervise children and harm and hazard
  • Goodstate early learning thornlie – Inadequately supervise children
  • Jelly Beans Childcare Wellard – Inadequately supervise children
  • Nido Early School Byford – Failed to protect child from harm and hazard
    Helping Hands Inglewood – Five and a half year old girl left on bus for 10 to 15 minutes
  • Kids Active – Four-year-old with special needs found by member of public next to a pond
  • Goodstart early learning East Bunbury – Three-year-old left service, walked home 150m, no-one noticed child gone
  • CYC Camp Coolongup – Failed to protect child from harm and hazard
  • Buggles Child Care – Spearwood – Inadequately supervise children
  • ACE Early Learning – Inadequately supervise children
  • Kids Inn OSHC Club – Inadequately supervise children
  • Care for Kids OSHC North Woodvale – Six-year-old child left in bus for 17 minutes, found by school pastor
  • Wellard Early Learning – Inadequately supervise children and harm and hazard
  • Buggles Early Learning and Kindy – Atwell – Inadequately supervise children
  • Riverton Out of School OSHC – Inadequately supervise children and harm and hazard
  • Nido Early School Byford – Inadequately supervise children
  • Child Campus Karratha – Three children, aged four to six, were found in the middle of Dampier Highway
  • Buggles Early Learning and Kindy – Baldivis – Two-year-old child excreted 65 pieces of pea gravel
  • Kwinana Recquatic Vacation Care Program (City of Kwinana) – Inadequately supervise children
  • Mundarda Child Care Centre – Inadequately supervise children
  • Jellybeans Child Care – Warwick – Understaffed
  • Cuddles Childcare Centre South Lake – Premises/equipment safe condition contravened
  • Jelly Beans Childcare Wellard – Inadequately supervise children
  • Fun-A-Rama Halls Head – Ten and a half year old fell off a tree stump, needed surgery; was in wheelchair for two weeks
  • Buggles Child Care – Beckenham – Inadequately supervise children and harm and hazard
  • Little Beginnings Education Forrestfield – Four-year-old child severely burned by hot water on genitals, legs and buttocks
  • Nippers Vacation Care – Seven-year-old boy left on bus for three and a half hours
headline

Archaeologists discover 3000-year-old city

A group of archaeologists has found the largest ancient city ever discovered in Egypt, dating back 3000 years.

The city, named "The Rise of Aten," was discovered under the sand on the western bank of Luxor, lead archaeologist Zahi Hawass said in a statement.

It dates to the reign of King Amenhotep III, who ruled Egypt between 1391 and 1353 BCE, according to the statement.

"It was the largest administrative and industrial settlement in the era of the Egyptian empire," Hawass said.

READ MORE: Egypt parades royal mummies to new resting place

Archeologists say the city is 3000 years old.

Archaeologists found the "city's streets flanked by houses," with intact walls up to 10 feet high and "rooms filled with tools of daily life … left by the ancient residents as if it were yesterday," such as rings, coloured pottery vessels, casting moulds to make amulets, pots used to carry meat, and tools for spinning, weaving and metal and glass-making.

The team also found a large bakery, "complete with ovens and storage pottery," whose size suggests it was used to cater to a "very large number of workers and employees."

Other discoveries include the skeleton of a person buried with arms stretched out to the side and rope wrapped around the knees.

"The location and position of this skeleton are rather odd, and more investigations are in progress," according to the statement, which describes it as a "remarkable burial."

READ MORE: Egypt seeks settlement out of court for Suez Canal blockage

Skeletons were also found buried in the city.

"The discovery of this lost city is the second most important archaeological discovery since the tomb of Tutankhamun," Betsy Bryan, professor of Egyptology at Johns Hopkins University, said in the statement.

The team found an inscription dating back to 1337 BCE, which confirms the city was active during the reign of Amenhotep III's son, Akhenaten.

Historians believe that one year after the pot was made the city was abandoned and the capital moved to Amarna, 250 miles to the north, but the reasons for doing so remain unknown, according to the statement.

"The discovery of the Lost City not only will give us a rare glimpse into the life of the Ancient Egyptians at the time where the Empire was at his wealthiest but will help us shed light on one of history's greatest mystery: why did Akhenaten and Nefertiti decide to move to Amarna?" Bryan added.

'The Rise of Aten' is the largest ancient city ever discovered in Egypt.

The excavation, which began in September 2020, has unearthed most of the southern part of the city. However, the northern region is still to be unearthed.

A large cemetery and tombs, similar to those in the Valley of Kings, were also uncovered but have not been explored yet.

"Only further excavations of the area will reveal what truly happened 3500 years ago," the statement said.