Child unsupervised for nearly an hour after school collection, agreed facts reveal

A five-year-old child was left unsupervised by a Western Australian outside school hours care (OSHC) service for nearly an hour after becoming separated from a group during an after-school collection, agreed facts published by the State Administrative Tribunal (SAT) reveal.

The matter involved an approved provider operating an education and care service in Manning, Western Australia, and contraventions of sections 165(1) and 167(1) of the Education and Care Services National Law (WA), relating to adequate supervision and protection from harm and hazards.

The provider admitted responsibility for the contraventions during the Department’s investigation.

The incident occurred on 30 October 2025, when two educators were responsible for collecting 15 children from two local schools.

One educator collected children from Manning Primary School, including the child involved in the incident, and signed them into the service’s care before taking the group to a designated meeting point.

A roll call revealed the child was missing, prompting the educators and school staff to search for them.

At approximately 3.30pm, another parent found the child standing alone at the corner of Paterson and Lockhart streets, approximately 500 m from Manning Primary School.

The child was returned to the service at 3.59pm.

“The child had been totally unsupervised by an adult for at least 25 minutes and had been unsupervised by the Service for nearly an hour,” the agreed facts state.

The parties also agreed that traffic presented “a real and not remote chance of injury” to the unsupervised child, with the route to where the child was found requiring access through a five-exit roundabout near Manning Road, which has a speed limit of 60 km/h.

The agreed facts identified several shortcomings in the service’s approach to supervision and safe arrival.

The provider did not take the reasonable precaution of ensuring at least two educators attended Manning Primary School when collecting 13 children.

The educators also failed to follow the service’s missing child process, including by not informing the school office that the child was missing. This caused confusion during the search and contributed to the length of time the child remained unsupervised and at risk.

Shortcomings were also identified in the service’s Safe Arrival of Children Risk Assessment and in the training, testing and monitoring of educators’ understanding of relevant procedures.

The provider had also not issued children with high-visibility vests or other visual aids to support supervision during school collections and road crossings.

In mitigation, the service’s director acknowledged the distress and concern caused to the child and family and expressed sincere regret about the incident.

The service subsequently undertook a comprehensive review of its training, policies, procedures and systems, with its policies, procedures and risk assessments reviewed and strengthened on five occasions.

Changes included strengthening missing child, safe arrival and child safe procedures, introducing high-visibility vests for school collections and formally incorporating designated meeting points into the Safe Arrival of Children Risk Assessment.

The service also increased educator training and introduced scenario-based exercises, knowledge checks and documented competency assessments for educators involved in school collections.

Daily operational reviews are now undertaken before school collections, alongside ongoing observations, audits and critical reflection.

Safety has also been incorporated into the educational program through age-appropriate discussions with children about risks during school collections and transitions.

The agreed facts emphasise that while children are encouraged to identify risks and consider ways to stay safe, responsibility for their safety remains with educators and the service.

The matter serves as a reminder for OSHC providers to ensure supervision and safe arrival procedures are not only documented, but understood, practised and consistently implemented during school collections and other transitions.

Access the WA eCourts Portal decision here.