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The mother whose toddler was mistakenly handed to another child's grandfather at daycare claims she and her family have received no support since the shocking mix-up. Sophie Tilley has engaged lawyers following the bungle at First Steps Learning Academy Bangor in Sydney's south on September 1. She and her partner went to the centre to collect their two sons, only to be told by an educator that an 'older man in shorts' had already collected her one-year-old. After alerting police and reviewing CCTV, the centre realised that the boy had been collected 90 minutes earlier by another child's grandfather, who later returned the boy unharmed. After Ms Tilley broke her silence this week to the ABC about the harrowing ordeal, the centre claimed it has since repeatedly apologised to the family, provided extensive information via email, and offered 'every support available'. But the mother of two told Daily Mail on Wednesday that she doesn't recall any apology and insisted that no support has ever been offered by the centre. She also demanded to know why the centre is allowed to continue operating at a profit and advertise its vacancies during the ongoing NSW Department of Education investigation. Ms Tilley confirmed she received a call after the family returned home on the night of the incident, which First Steps Learning Academy claimed was from the centre owner. 'I can't remember who it was from, as my mind was elsewhere at the time,' Ms Tilley said. 'What I do remember is the person saying, "Once you've had time to sit down with a cup of tea in the morning, please have a think and let us know what we can do better". 'Since then, as a family, we have not been offered any form of support from them, which I think is disgusting. 'It's not a situation any parent would normally ever go through.' The only contact Ms Tilley claims she had from the centre was an email in response to her many questions, along with a care package personally sent by a staff member. Her eldest son had been attending the centre for two years, while her youngest had been going for six months. On the afternoon of the incident, Ms Tilley recalled her panic while trying to keep it together for her distraught three-year-old, who was running around the centre yelling that his baby brother was missing. 'I can't describe the feeling as I couldn't function,' she said. 'I was living through every parent's worst nightmare and something I don't wish upon anyone.' Ms Tilley's son spent two hours watching television with the grandfather until he was notified by the daycare and returned the boy to the centre later that afternoon. She has been in regular contact with the other family since and has never held any ill will towards them. She couldn't sleep for the first fortnight, going over what could have happened and every worst-case scenario. Ms Tilley has undergone therapy and remains on medication for anxiety and stress. 'I now have trust issues with others looking after my children and become concerned whenever I lose sight of them playing in the garden or if we're at the supermarket,' she said. 'The anxiety will always be there.' Her eldest son still gets upset every time he hears a police siren. 'The boys are as well as they can be, and are thriving in their new daycare,' Ms Tilley said. She solely blamed the centre for the failure of policies and procedures, which resulted in her son leaving without being signed out. She now urges other parents to ensure their children's daycare has a logbook for drop-offs and pick-ups. 'I don't want this to happen to any other parent,' Ms Tilley said. Two months on, she's still waiting for answers from the regulator. 'I don't why the investigation is taking so long,' she said. 'The regulator needs to act quicker during investigations. 'Why is the centre still allowed to make a profit? It needs to be held more accountable.' Daily Mail has contacted the First Steps Learning Academy for comment. A NSW Department of Education spokeswoman confirmed that its investigation is ongoing and is in regular contact with Ms Tilley to provide updates. First Steps Learning Academy, which operates 10 centres across Sydney, stood down the educator involved in the mix-up and has since overhauled its procedures. They include authorised collection cards, additional staff during peak pick-up times, photo ID cards for children and a two-step sign-out process for parents. 'First Steps Learning Academy's owner personally telephoned the child’s mother to apologise sincerely, inquire about how the child and family were doing, and offer every support available,' a spokeswoman earlier said. 'We continue to offer our support and again apologise for the incident. 'First Steps Learning Academy takes its responsibilities extremely seriously and proactively manages its sites and staff so we can consistently meet our own expectations of excellence. She confirmed the staff member involved is not working for First Steps Learning Academy while the regulator's investigation continues. 'We will continue to work in partnership with the regulator to ensure any further actions or recommendations made are promptly implemented in full,' the spokeswoman added.
