An investigation is underway after a toddler went missing for several hours from a childcare center in Sydney’s south on Tuesday afternoon, in a situation described as a “nightmare” scenario.
The incident came to light when the little boy’s mother went to pick him up from Bangor’s First Steps Learning Academy, only to find he wasn’t there.
Panicked staff reviewed CCTV footage and contacted other parents to confirm they had the right child, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.
It was then that they discovered a grandfather had come to collect his grandchild, but had been accidentally given the wrong child and didn’t realize.
The grandfather’s wife told the publication that he arrived when the children were sleeping and the room was dark.
“He was asleep, and he’d got him out of the car,” she said, apparently through tears.
“He was struggling with the car seat. He didn’t really notice much difference because he doesn’t do the car seat that often, so his biggest thing was trying to (work out) the seat.
“When he got him home, he just snuggled him and went to sleep, and he didn’t realise. He has the same hair, and he had the dummy in his mouth, and (my husband) said, ‘He’s not well. He’s not himself.”
She added that the two of them had cared for him on Sunday, and he was teething and unwell that day.
The couple is said to be “distraught” over the incident.
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The NSW Early Childhood Education and Care Regulatory Authority issued a statement indicating it would conduct a “thorough investigation” into the “deeply concerning and serious incident.”
First Steps Learning Academy’s Trisha Hastie told news.com.au: “We sincerely apologise to the families directly involved in this deeply upsetting and isolated incident, and to the broader First Steps community for the distress it has caused. The safety and well-being of every child in our care is our highest priority.
“While we have always maintained strict protocols for drop-off and pick-up, in this case those processes were not followed correctly. The educator involved has been stood down.
“We have acted immediately to strengthen our procedures and ensure this never happens again.”
It is understood this has never happened before at Bangor, or at any of its other centers.
“We have made immediate and significant changes around the drop off and pick up protocols to ensure this never happens again,” she added.
