Some childcare centres failing: minister

(AAP) - Dozens of childcare centres are failing to meet safety standards and supervise children poorly, NSW Minister for Community Services Linda Burney says.

The Department of Community Services investigated 37 centres which parents had
complained about and found almost half had trees that children could use to climb
over fences and wander off.
Five were found to not have proper procedures in place for dropping off or picking
up children and 13 had fixtures or fittings that obstructed supervision of children.
Seven lacked procedures to ensure no child remains on the premises after the centre
closed for the day.
The department refused to name the centres involved.
"Every single parent who places their child in a childcare centre does so with an
enormous amount of trust that their child is being properly looked after and is
safe," Ms Burney said in a statement.
"There is simply no excuse for childcare centres to be breaching that trust and not
meeting regulations. It's just not good enough."
She said new laws would allow the government to immediately shut down failing
centres, suspend their licences or fine them up to $22,000.
The crackdown follows several serious complaints this year, including two incidents
when children were left behind after centres closed for the day.