Goodstart investigates Payneham centre incident after child exits service

Goodstart Early Learning has confirmed an internal investigation is underway after a child followed a grandparent out of its Payneham centre last month.

The provider said the child was outside for less than 30 seconds and was “only a few metres away” from the centre entrance when brought safely back inside.

Goodstart said the child was present for a 10.48am headcount conducted by an educator, but shortly afterwards followed a family member who had just dropped off another child in the same room.

The educator noticed the child was no longer in the room at the same time as other families were arriving and using the centre’s main entrance and gate.

The child was spotted outside next to a centre window and returned inside at 10.50am.

“He had walked a few metres from the building and was not near the road,” Goodstart said in a statement.

“While outside he was also in view of two other parents.”

Goodstart said it had apologised to the child’s family, noting that “even a 30 second lapse is far too long”.

The incident was reported to the Education Standards Board in line with regulatory requirements, with the family and all centre families notified.

Since the incident, Goodstart said the centre had installed additional signage, conducted risk assessments and reviewed supervision policies, particularly around arrivals and departures.

The provider said it had also asked families to be extra vigilant about ensuring doors and gates are securely closed when entering and leaving the service.

“The safety of children in our care is our first priority, and we are always looking for ways to strengthen our robust processes and procedures,” Goodstart said.

Goodstart said each centre has a designated Safety Champion to support teams to keep safety top-of-mind and share learnings to drive continuous improvement.

Under the National Quality Framework, approved providers, nominated supervisors and educators must ensure that children are adequately supervised at all times children are in the care of an education and care service.

Supervision is considered a key component of maintaining children’s safety and wellbeing, with services required to consider factors such as educator positioning, visibility, transitions, arrivals and departures, and potential risks within the service environment.

Arrival and departure periods are commonly identified as times requiring heightened awareness, with services encouraged to regularly review procedures, physical environments and communication practices to support the safe movement of children.

The incident comes amid continued sector-wide conversations about child safety, supervision practices and the importance of embedding a strong culture of risk assessment and continuous improvement across early childhood education and care settings.