Teacher fired after toddler wanders away from GTA daycare
Posted August 24, 2017 6:00 pm.
Last Updated August 24, 2017 7:09 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A teacher has been fired and a Keswick, Ont., daycare says it is implementing new protocols after a toddler managed to open a door, leave, and make it all the way home.
The three-year-old was not hurt.
However, it could have been worse, as he managed to leave his daycare without anyone at the school noticing. A viewer contacted CityNews after seeing a Facebook post by the child’s mother on Tuesday. Katelin Deborah posted about the incident expressing her outrage at the daycare.
CityNews spoke to a supervisor at Little Red School House Daycare, who did not want her name used but did confirm the incident occurred. They said the incident was serious, and the daycare was very concerned about the situation.
“The incident of child leaving the site unsupervised yesterday has left many of us in huge shock, with mixed emotions and questions of the quality of the service we provide to the local community of Keswick,” the daycare said in a letter to parents.
“We deeply regret that this incident happened and we are doing everything we can to ensure the safety, security and quality of care are maintained — and that something like this is to never happen again.”
The supervisor said the teacher has been fired, and an assistant staffer has also been removed from the room.
The daycare has also changed protocols for their doors. All doors must be locked at all times. All exits now have magnetic sensors and beep if the doors are opened.
They’ve also notified the Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Societies (CAS) and the Ministry of Education.
“The ministry is conducting a joint visit with the local CAS of this centre to follow-up on this incident,” a ministry spokesperson said. “The centre has seven exits, two with magnet alarms. It is our understanding that the centre has ordered five additional alarms for the remaining exits.”
The centre has been licensed since May 1998 and has had three complaints since then.
Deborah said her child will be switching daycares on Monday.
