Children found by police after escaping from Canberra daycare
Posted , updated
The children went missing from Majura Early Childhood Centre and were later found by police. (Supplied)
In short:
The owners of Northside Community Service have apologised after two five-year-olds went missing from a childcare centre in Dickson and were later found by police.
Police contacted the boys' parents, and both were safely returned to their families.
What's next?
Northside says it has reported the incident to the ACT childcare regulator and appointed an independent external investigator.
A Canberra childcare provider has apologised to parents and launched an investigation after two children escaped from a centre in Dickson.
The two five-year-olds from Majura Early Childhood Centre were found by ACT Policing after members of the public saw the boys roaming the area about 1:30pm on Monday.
It is understood the pair used an upturned bench to scale a fence and jump outside.
Police contacted the boys' parents, and both were safely returned to their families.
The centre's provider, Northside Community Service, said it was in direct contact with the parents to respond to their concerns.
"Northside acknowledges the distress this incident has caused the children, their parents and other families and recognises the seriousness of the incident," chief executive Dan English said in a statement.
"We sincerely apologise for the incident."
It is understood the boys escaped from the Dickson centre by climbing an upturned bench and scaling a fence. (ABC News: Simon Beardsell)
Northside said it reported the incident to the ACT childcare regulator and appointed an independent external investigator.
"Following initial interviews held with some centre staff last night, Northside has taken appropriate action, while the investigation remains underway," Mr English said.
"Families at the centre have received a letter outlining the incident and the response and will continue to receive updates as information is verified."
Government monitoring investigation
ACT Child Development Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said the incident was "extremely concerning."
She said the centre contacted her office after the incident and that she would monitor the investigation.
"They've already taken some action in relation to considering appropriate responses for staffing."
"They've put in additional resources to the centre and of course, they will work very closely with the regulator to understand what happened," Ms Stephen-Smith told reporters on Wednesday.
She said the government will take on board anything that can be learnt from the incident.
The ACT Legislative Assembly last year made public thousands of never-before-seen documents after a powerful parliamentary motion compelled the government to release five years' worth of childcare breaches in the territory.
The cache revealed two children were unaccounted-for at the same centre in October 2020, with one escaping the centre.
At the time, the childcare regulator issued administrative action — a warning that is recorded on the service's file.
The service is currently assessed as "exceeding" national quality standards after an assessment in 2024 and does not have any conditions or enforcement actions imposed.
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