Copyright abc
A Sydney childcare centre that employed two workers charged with assault has announced it will close to rebuild its staff team "from the ground up". Two female childcare workers from Little Zak's Academy Doonside were charged with allegedly assaulting a toddler by NSW Police last week. In a note to parents on Monday, Little Zak's Doonside said it would "voluntarily suspend its service approval", describing it as a difficult but necessary decision. "Despite our ongoing efforts to lift and sustain high-quality standards within Little Zak's Doonside, we have continued to face significant challenges," the note said."We firmly believe that closing the service and rebuilding our educator team from the ground up ... is the only way to ensure that when we do reopen, we deliver an environment of exceptional care, education, and safety that reflects the true standards of Little Zak's Academy." Little Zak's Academy declined to provide further comment when contacted by the ABC. According to the company, both educators charged by police had valid Working With Children and criminal history checks. The women were issued court attendance notices to appear before Blacktown Local Court in December. In evidence given to a NSW parliamentary inquiry into the childcare sector last month, Little Zak's Academy chief executive Richard Bell said the company operated 47 early learning centres, employed nearly 1,600 early learning professionals and cared for 10,000 children every week. The company was scrutinised in hearings for breaching regulations at other centres, including a child being fed milk products despite being anaphylactic to dairy, another worker restraining a child on their lap, and a child being found in a washing machine cupboard after being "inadequately supervised".
