Information for families about Little Blossoms Child Care Centre Werribee

The safety and wellbeing of every child in our care is our highest priority at G8 Education. Safety first and always is our number one value that we live each day and it is a responsibility shared by every member of the G8 Education team, and one that sits at the heart of everything we do.

A former G8 Education team member has been charged with offences involving children at Creative Garden Point Cook. Families of the children involved have been informed by the Police and the Victorian Government.

The dates the former employee worked in G8 Education’s Centres are:

• Creative Garden Point Cook: 28 October 2021 to 2 February 2024
• Leopold World of Learning: 9 February 2023 to 13 February 2023
• Greenwood Point Cook: 14 – 17 February 2023 and 10 March 2023
• Little Blossoms Child Care Centre Werribee: 14 August 2023 to 17 August 2023.

You can read more here.

The following child safe policies and procedures are already in place in all G8 Education centres, including:

• prohibiting personal devices in rooms in centres;
• delivering thorough and ongoing education and training with centre teams, including in respect of Child Safety and Child Safeguarding;
• ensuring that physical and online environments promote child safety and wellbeing, including investment in cyber security measures;
• ensuring that all required team member reference and background checks are performed, including ensuring that valid Working with Children Checks (WWCC) are in place during employment and that all Early Childhood Teachers hold state specific teacher registration;
• all team members are designated Mandatory Reporters and are legally required to report any disclosure, concern or reasonable suspicion that a child is experiencing or if they are at risk of harm; and
• we actively encourage the confidential and anonymous reporting of any concerns related to reportable conduct, in accordance with our Whistleblower Policy.

G8 Education is committed to continuous improvement in its policies and processes as well as improving its practices, and will be taking the following actions:

• Following the trial of CCTV in several of our centres, we will accelerate the rollout of CCTV to all our centres.
• Expanding individual learning plans (ILPs) to give parents greater choice over their child’s care. ILPs will now provide parents with the opportunity to provide preferences on who supports their child’s personal care routines, including nappy changes and toileting.
• Following the conclusion of the police investigation and criminal proceedings, G8 Education will commission an independent review into the incident to inform further changes and improvements to our child safety procedures within the organisation.

G8 Education is committed to working with Governments across Australia to urgently consider what more can be done to better protect children.

G8 Education continues to highlight the need for harmonising policies, regulations, systems and processes across governments and regulators in support of delivering the National Quality Standard Framework set out by the Australian Government’s Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) and further advocate for:

• A national registry for working with vulnerable people including, working with children, NDIS and aged care, with higher threshold.
• National Teachers registration and a national Educators registration.
• A national register of early childhood workers employment history.
• Alignment of all State regulations, prioritising those regarding child safety and protection, ensuring national consistency.
• Delivering on the Productivity Commission’s recommendations, in particular initiatives relating to improving quality and workforce and child safety and protection.

We understand that this news will be upsetting and distressing. Please know that support is available to our current and former families. If you need to speak with someone or require confidential counselling, please reach out to our provider AccessEAP on 1800 818 728.

The Victorian Government has also established services available to support children and families in recovering from traumatic events. Please visit: www.vic.gov.au/childcare-centres-investigation

On the website you will find:

• Information about support services
• List of services where the alleged offender worked
• Frequently asked questions
• Links to advice about talking to children about abuse.