After school care provider OSHClub fined $33,000 after 5yo autistic boy left unsupervised on Samson oval

A popular after school care provider has been fined $33,000 after a five-year-old autistic boy was left unsupervised on an oval before a concerned member of the public found him. The incident occurred on February 20 last year at Samson OSHClub — located at Samson Primary School — and involved staff members tasked with monitoring 14 children on an oval. A decision published by the State Administrative Tribunal found that two staff escorted the kids to the school’s oval before the five year-old boy was left unsupervised and walked away from the group. The child, referred to as L, and who had complex needs including autism and ADHD, wandered towards another group of children on the other side of the oval. A concerned mother of another child then found the boy. “L walked away from the group at approximately 3.15pm when they arrived on the oval,” SAT documents said. “L sat with a group of children (not from the service) on the opposite side of the oval for approximately 10 minutes before one of the children told her mother L was lost. “The mother looked around the area for who L should be with before taking L to the school office at 3.30pm.” The boy’s parents were then alerted to the situation by school staff, before his mother arrived to pick him up. A Department of Communities investigation commenced after the incident, finding several failures by staff. Staff working at Samson OSHClub did a headcount of all children at 3.30pm, and despite their being one less child recorded, staff failed to notice he was missing. One of the staffers was working her first day for the service and was not provided an induction. That same staffer was tasked with monitoring the kids around the time the boy went missing. The service did not have a staff record for the same educator on the day of the incident, which would include proof or authorisation to carry out work with children. The Department of Communities later obtained this through another service. The boy was not wearing an identifiable vest at the time of his disappearance, as staff claimed he didn’t like wearing them. No alternative safeguard to help identity the boy was introduced on the day of his disappearance. News of the ordeal, categorised as “serious incident” was only passed to the regulator on February 24 by the child’s mother, despite law requiring the service to submit their report by 4pm the following day. In a statement following a total penalty of $33,000 against the service, The Department of Communities said the no support plans were in place to support the boy’s needs. Communities director of regulation and quality Angelo Barbaro said it was fortunate the boy was unharmed. “Services must ensure that their staff are prepared to actively supervise all children in their care, no matter their needs or circumstances,” he said. “Inadequate supervision within the education and care services sector is a significant concern of Communities. “Even a momentary lapse of supervision can significantly increase the risk of harm to children. It is incredibly fortunate that this child was located safely and unharmed. “We urge approved providers to ensure constant, adequate supervision to keep children safe and to avoid being penalised”. OSHClub provides before, after-school and holiday programs at Samson Primary School. The service is a part of Junior Adventures Group and provides similar care at schools around WA.