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ABC News
22-05-2025
- ABC News
Former Affinity Education workers describe a 'toxic culture' with claims the childcare giant mishandled serious incidents in Canberra
Former childcare educators have revealed a serious incident in which a baby rolled off a change table at a Canberra childcare centre. The staff told the ABC the incident happened at a centre run by Affinity Education in November 2023. They join a growing chorus of former Affinity Education workers who are painting a picture of what went on inside the industry giant's centres. In responding to the incident, educators administered first aid to the eight-month-old, and the baby's parents took them to a hospital emergency department, and the next day, to a doctor. Affinity said it reported the incident to the ACT childcare regulator, conducted an internal investigation, terminated the responsible educator's employment, and provided counselling and training to affected staff. In a statement to the ABC, Affinity said it followed up with the baby's parents who did not report serious injuries. But educators who spoke to the ABC described it as "really horrific" and said they were left in the dark about how their employer had handled the fallout. "Their biggest concern was that they had no idea where to go from there, and they obviously didn't want anything like that to happen again," the educator said, speaking to the ABC anonymously. "The educators were never followed up with, no one was ever spoken to, it kind of just … nothing happened," they recalled. According to Affinity, the regulator, Childcare Education and Care Assurance (CECA), never followed up with any regulatory notice. CECA has been contacted for comment. Affinity Education is in the spotlight after a disturbing video was made public last week of a worker at its South Strathfield centre repeatedly slapping a child across the face. The for-profit company is one of the country's biggest childcare providers, operating 250 centres, including Papilio, Milestones and Kids Academy. Recent reporting on the company has prompted educators to come forward to the ABC. They have now left the industry but they want to remain anonymous. Another case, documented in an incident report seen by the ABC, describes how an educator "dragged/directed the child into the dining room and locked the door behind him". Affinity said the child was left alone for "approximately 15 seconds" and the educator's employment was terminated with the matter reported to the regulator and the child's family informed. "The department investigated the matter and Affinity did not receive any regulatory notifications as a result of the incident," an Affinity spokesperson said. But CECA said it never received a report. More recently, a 17-month-old boy suffered a spiral fracture after attending an Affinity-run centre in the ACT — an injury that can be caused by forceful twisting, which can snap the bone. Affinity said it notified the department and launched an investigation, but again, CECA did not enforce any regulatory notices or raise any concerns. CECA said it could not disclose information about the case. Do you know more about this story? Email CECA has confirmed that since the start of 2024, it took action against one Affinity-run centre in the ACT for failing to notify the regulator about a notifiable issue. Even when proper processes were followed, educators said parents remained in the dark about serious safety breaches. A centre was handed a show cause notice in February 2023 for failing to adequately supervise a trio of three-year-old children for six minutes. Affinity said its educators were counselled and an internal investigation resulted in a corrective training plan and revised supervision plan. But parents at the centre were never told. In a statement, Affinity said it took concerns from families seriously. "Detailed information about individual centre compliance histories, including any regulatory actions or notices, is maintained at centre level and is available to families," the company said in a statement. Since the start of 2024, CECA received 49 notifications of incidents or complaints about Affinity-run centres in the ACT. They ranged in seriousness from child illness, injury, and educator handling of children, to meeting children's medical and toileting needs, educator qualification and staffing concerns. Affinity said it takes breaches of its standards extremely seriously and has strict policies that require immediate action, and emphasises a culture of self-reporting. It requires logging incidents internally within 12 hours, mandatory reporting to authorities within 24 hours, contacting a child's families, standing down or terminating staff and conducting a full investigation with relevant authorities. Part of the reason some safety breaches went unreported, the educators said, was because some staff did not realise their legal obligations to do so. "These educators needed further training, and they needed to be supported and developed," said one educator, who held a leadership position at an Affinity centre. Affinity said that "where concerns are identified, staff may be placed on a formal performance improvement plan". "We have robust performance management and child safety protocols," the spokesperson said. But the educator said they had been "met with silence" when they appealed for help for under-performing staff. "So, all you would be doing is moving the issue to another service." Affinity denied that, saying it was not its practice to reassign employees who have failed to meet standards. "Particularly in matters relating to child safety, wellbeing, or conduct, Affinity will not hesitate to take decisive action, including termination of employment," the company said. The former Canberra educators said they have chosen to speak out about things they saw at Affinity so parents know the reality of the industry. "I would like for there to be a proper review of the childcare system," one educator said. "I've often had this conversation with first-time parents: they're taking their heart out and giving it to you, to trust you.
Daily Mail
21-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Childcare centre chaos as cops race to the scene and parents are urged to pick up their kids
A childcare centre was thrown into chaos after staff protested outside the building and cops were called to the scene with parents threatening to remove their kids. Orchard Early Learning Centre in Bradbury, southwest Sydney, had terminated seven employees' contracts on Friday after they refused to attend urgent training. Two colleagues resigned on the same day and some of the group proceeded to protest outside the building. 'There was a bunch of the staff outside along with police, and no parents were being called,' mother Nicole Lea told The Daily Telegraph. Ms Lea, whose toddler is enrolled at the centre, shared warnings on social media for parents to collect their children because of the reduced staff and police presence. Another mother, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, said she was considering pulling her kid out of the centre for good. The childcare centre said it has continued to meet staff ratios, but added that members from Austral and Kirrawee services were deployed to offer further support. NSW Police said officers were called to prevent a breach of the peace as the protest unfolded. 'A small group of protestors were in the carpark of the premises and were requested to leave, which they complied (with),' a spokeswoman said. The group firing followed ABC's 7.30 investigation into alleged staff misconduct at Affinity Education, which has no affiliation with Orchard Early Learning centre. It revealed a shocking video from 2023 of a NSW childcare worker slapping a crying baby in the face. Affinity CEO Tim Hickey said the 'safety, wellbeing, and development of every child' must be the first priority. Orchard is a separate company but the former director of its Bradbury centre previously worked at an Affinity centre investigated by ABC and brought staff members to Orchard. As a result, management organised urgent meetings for those employees to clarify any knowledge about the incident and restate child protection protocols. 'The urgency and topic of child protection was explained to staff,' a statement from Orchard said. 'The meeting was then rescheduled twice to accommodate staff, but on both occasions staff declined to attend and communicate with management.' 'As a result, Orchard took the decision to terminate the employment of the group,' it said. Two additional staff members then tendered their resignations. Orchard has not accused staff of any wrongdoing in relation to those incidents, nor does this publication suggest they knew of them. The centre said it was a decision 'not taken lightly' and was unrelated to any connection between staff and the Affinity incident.
Daily Telegraph
13-05-2025
- Daily Telegraph
‘Profoundly sorry': Horror as child slapped by worker
Don't miss out on the headlines from Parenting. Followed categories will be added to My News. A disturbing Snapchat video of a child being slapped by a worker for entertainment has been obtained by the ABC as part of an investigation into one of Australia's biggest childcare providers. The nine-second video, which was taken at Affinity Education centre in Sydney's inner west in South Strathfield, shows the child crying in a bouncer as they are slapped in the face multiple times by the worker. Want to join the family? Sign up to our Kidspot newsletter for more stories like this. The footage was reportedly posted to Snapchat with a laughing emoji in May 2023. The video was obtained by ABC's 7.30. The program gained access to a stack of internal regulatory documents following a parliamentary order obtained by Greens MP Abigail Boyd. Affinity Education, which is privately owned, runs 250 childcare centres across the country, and includes the brands Papilio, Milestones and Kids Academy. The worker has since resigned from the centre and was convicted of common assault. She was given a community corrections order and banned from working in childcare for 12 months. The colleague who filmed the video has also resigned. Affinity Education CEO Tim Hickey said the centre acted quickly after being notified of the incident by police. 'The safety, wellbeing, and development of every child must always come first,' Affinity CEO Tim Hickey said in a statement after declining an interview by ABC's 7.30. The childcare worker was convicted by police. Picture: ABC 'I want to express again how profoundly sorry I am that something like this could occur to any child in our care. 'These incidents are not representative of the dedicated, professional team who care for children every day across thousands of centres.' The ABC said that between 2021 and 2024, Affinity centres across NSW had received more than 1700 regulatory breaches, clocking up more than one a day. Despite this, they have been fined less than $2000. The ABC also obtained footage of a worker dragging a toddler by the arm at a centre in Elderslie, in south-west Sydney. Former Affinity employee Loretta Dodwell, who worked at a Queensland centre, said the culture at the education company was 'toxic'. 'The cost cutting and the lack of staff really caused serious incidents in the centre,' she told 7.30. 'They were also putting on lots of trainees, like young trainees that were cheap to employ and that put a lot of pressure on the qualified staff.' This story was republished with permission from Originally published as 'Profoundly sorry': Horror as child slapped by worker
Sky News AU
13-05-2025
- Sky News AU
'Every parent's nightmare': Worker at major childcare provider caught on camera repeatedly slapping baby in disturbing video
A Sydney worker has been caught slapping a baby multiple times at a prominent childcare centre, sparking major concerns for children's safety at one of Australia's largest childcare providers. In the shocking video filmed at an Affinity Education centre in south Strathfield, a staff member can be seen slapping a crying baby across the face multiple times while laughing during the cruel act. The worker behind the camera posted the ordeal to Snapchat in 2023 and can be heard laughing alongside her colleague in the footage. The video was obtained by the ABC's 7.30 program in a damning investigation into Affinity Education- one of Australia's largest for-profit childcare companies which has previously been hit with 1,700 regulatory breaches. The childcare worker in the video has been sentenced to a community corrections order and banned from working in childcare for 12 months. Her colleague who recorded the footage has resigned from her role. A former Affinity employee told the ABC the latest scandal at the childcare centre was a result of hiring the wrong people and not enough supervision, checks or balances. She further added Affinity prioritised keeping the costs down, including wages. "They were also putting on lots of trainees, like young trainees that were cheap to employ and that put a lot of pressure on the qualified staff," she told the ABC. "They [Affinity] are just not suitable to be in the childcare industry because they are just so greedy. "They cut staff, they put the staff under so much pressure … they're just a big company that wants to make money out of children." Another former educator said Affinity was more focused on business outcomes rather than children's safety. Affinity Education CEO Tim Hickey spoke on the disturbing video and said the business had acted swiftly after it was informed by police. "I want to express again how profoundly sorry I am that something like this could occur to any child in our care," he said. "These incidents are not representative of the dedicated, professional team who care for children every day across thousands of centres.'' The latest incident has ignited national outrage, Sydney radio host Ben Fordham on Tuesday morning labelling it "one of the most disturbing" acts he has seen in a long time. "It is sickening," Fordham said on his 2GB show. "It's every parent's nightmare, you think these people are looking after your little one, instead they are slapping your baby and sharing the video with their friends on Snapchat." Fordham further criticised the regulator's disciplinary action against the childcare worker in the video and suggested she should be "banned for life". Additional documents obtained by the ABC expose a concerning environment for children's safety at Affinity centres across the nation due to staffing and safety issues. According to the ABC, in another recent case a mother picked up her son from an Affinity centre in Canberra and immediately knew something was wrong. The child was acting unusually and lethargic at home, and the next day he was taken to hospital after his arms had swollen to twice their size. Hospital scans confirmed the child had suffered a spiral fracture, which can be caused by forceful twisting. Further, at a centre in Elderslie, in south-west Sydney, CCTV footage showed a toddler being pulled by the arm by a staff member and pushed across a room in 2023, according to the ABC. Affinity runs about 250 centres nationwide, including the brands Papilio, Milestones and Kids Academy. Despite recording over 1,700 regulatory breaches between 2021 and 2024, the company has been fined less than $2,000 over the period.
ABC News
12-05-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Shaken toddlers and slapped babies: Documents expose childcare crisis
Warning: This story contains distressing footage. Affinity Education owns more than 250 corporate childcare centres around the country. Their brands include Milestones Early Learning, Papilio and Kids Academy. The childcare operator tells parents it's nurturing a love of lifelong learning. But damning new evidence paints a very different picture. Continuing their investigation, Adele Ferguson and producer Chris Gillett bring you fresh revelations from inside Australia's childcare system — one that experts warn is in crisis. Full statement from Affinity CEO Tim Hickey.
