Drovers Little Learners: State Tribunal fines Wanneroo centre for failure to provide adequate supervision

A Wanneroo childcare centre previously shut down for breaching its capacity limit has been issued a raft of fines after staff failed to realise a five-year-old boy had been left behind at school pick-up. The State Administrative Tribunal ordered Drovers Little Learners owner Lisa Dwyer to pay more than $16,000 in fines for contravening several national guidelines on October 17 last year after a boy was found in his school classroom 45 minutes after being collected by the centre’s educators. During proceedings earlier this year initiated by the Department of Communities, it was revealed the centre only became aware the child was missing after a call from the school. The incident led the State regulator to argue there was “proper cause” for disciplinary action, with the tribunal finding the provider failed to ensure all children were adequately supervised at all times when in its care. The tribunal also found Mrs Dwyer’s service not only failed to conduct a mandatory risk assessment before pick-up that day, but that she also failed to notify the regulator of the incident within the mandatory time frames. The centre’s closure in June for the capacity breach came months after the incident, with a spokesman for the regulator at the time telling The West Australian the decision to close the centre for 30 days “was not made lightly”. “It’s really important for the department to be very clear on the protection, wellbeing and safety of children and the reduction of harm,” the spokesman said at the time. “Any decision the department takes to suspend a centre is not taken lightly. In fact, this action is only the fourth time in the past five years.” However, Mrs Dwyer rallied families who attended the centre in support of her and her staff, and said at the time she was shocked at the decision. Department of Communities regulation and quality executive director Phil Payne said the outcome served as an important reminder to providers to ensure their services had strong governance. In particular, Mr Payne said the importance of risk assessments could not be understated. Drovers Little Learners has been open since 2020 and caters for children living with disability.