Three childcare workers have been sacked following an investigation into ‘inappropriate’ nappy rash images of children at an Adelaide daycare.
The female staff members were fired from the Little Shining Stars Early Learning Centre in Klemzig following an investigation by the Education Standards Board (ESB).
The ESB received a complaint of inappropriate discipline at the centre and three female workers were fired after an officer attended the site.
Minor injuries had been photographed and the pictures stored on physical devices, the investigation discovered, reported The Adelaide Advertiser.
These storage devices at were inspected and found to have contained what investigators deemed to be inappropriate photos of the children.
Although staff at the centre claimed to have only stored the photos for the purposes of documenting the injuries the ESB seized its devices regardless.
Families of the children who were pictured have been notified about the photos and the fact they were stored on-site at the facility in the city’s northeast suburbs.
The matter has now been referred to SA Police.
Education Minister Blair Boyer said he would ‘make no excuses for those in the industry who do not adhere to stringent national regulations’.
‘Let this be a warning to providers in South who do the wrong thing,’ Mr Boyer said.
Detectives from the sexual crime investigation section said the images had been an honest if misguided attempt to document rashes and other injuries.
ESB chief executive Benn Gramola said the matter was considered ‘an isolated incident’.
The investigation remains ongoing although it is not believed there is any evidence to support criminal charges.
Four emergency action notices have since been issued to other Little Shining Stars locations concerning their processes of taking and storing images.
These locations are located in Pooraka, Virginia, Wayville and Evanston.
A counselling service has also been established for families who attended the Klemzig location and all devices involved have been erased and reset