Blair Athol centre permanently closes following RA Emergency Action notice 

A long day care (LDC) service in Adelaide’s northern suburbs will close its doors for good following the issuance of an emergency action notice by the Education Standards Board (ESB) in late January. 

At the time the notice was issued, the ESB had concerns about the safety and wellbeing of children, ordering the centre to close until issues with cleanliness, fencing, flooring and a smell “that needed to be investigated,” were addressed.

The approved provider attended to the outstanding issues, and was given permission to re-open earlier this week, albeit with capped enrolments of a maximum of 39 children, and no capacity for the service to enrol any new children.

According to a statement from the ESB’s acting director of regulatory practice and operations, Ailsa Fahy, the conditions of reopening include professional development for responsible persons, with the ESB seeking to ensure that each person occupying that role in the service has “a strong understanding of their obligations.”

Other conditions include the Approved Provider supplying reports every three months from the “Mould Doctor”, the nursery room not being used until evidence of rectifications to the floor is provided, and a cleaning checklist implemented for the bathrooms.

Although the provider made efforts to address the concerns of the ESB, and was given the green light to reopen, the service quickly pivoted, sending out a letter to families saying the service would be permanently closing on 28 February 2025 due to ‘staffing challenges.’

“Due to restrictions which include capped enrolments, and ongoing staffing challenges, we are unable to sustain operations,”  the letter, seen by The ABC, reportedly said.

“Despite our commitment to providing high quality early childhood education and care, these limitations have made it unfeasible for us to continue.”

The closure comes as another service in the ACT, operated by the same approved provider, was temporarily closed on 20 February after “a spate of reports about child health and safety breaches,” from parents and the broader community.

Read the ABC coverage of this story here.