00:02This playground should be teeming with kids, but today it's empty, shut down by the ACT's
00:09childcare regulator.
00:11I was quite shocked as a parent and I was quite upset about it to be honest because
00:13I was like, I didn't like the idea that I had potentially sent my son to a centre where
00:18he was not safe.
00:19The action stems from an event last month when EDGE Early Learning Higgins is accused
00:24of failing to respond to a serious medical incident involving a child.
00:29Seeker did their investigation and then took the strongest action that they could by closing
00:34the centre for a month up until the 13th of August.
00:37Families received an urgent email from the company last night advising them a staff member
00:43had been terminated and others were suspended pending the outcome of an investigation.
00:49While we are pleased that the child is okay, I want to be very clear that the educator's
00:54response to the incident was completely unacceptable.
00:57The centre's sudden closure has left families scrambling, but some saw the writing on the
01:03wall.
01:04I'm not surprised in the slightest.
01:06We've been having issues now for a couple of years with the centre, director after director,
01:10high staff turnover and obviously incidents with my daughter.
01:13It got to a point where I didn't particularly feel safe with her going to school each day.
01:17The centre was already failing to meet national quality standards and EDGE Early Learning has
01:23a history of safety issues.
01:25The day before the forced closure, the Higgins Centre announced it would soon be shutting
01:30for a few months, citing a review of its operating arrangements.
01:35EDGE Early Learning said it was disappointed the suspension notice had been issued, leaving
01:41families without access to care.
01:43The company said it was sorry for the immediate disruption.
01:48I feel like their hand has been forced to reveal an incident and that's the only reason
01:51that it's been communicated to parents now.
01:53They do better.
01:53They just, they've let an entire community down and I just think like it's appalling.
01:58The exact nature of the incident under investigation hasn't been revealed.
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