Frankie thought her daughter was safe at daycare. Her child’s life changed forever

When Frankie Scott picked up her then-three-year-old daughter Stevie from daycare she says she was often in a soiled pull-up that hadn’t been changed all day, or had been changed back into urine-soaked pants instead of spare clothes provided.

Stevie, now six, has since been diagnosed with chronic kidney disease and will most likely need a kidney transplant during her teenage years. Medical notes show that recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs) contributed to the disease, along with issues with Stevie’s medication and congenital factors.

Stevie, 6, has been diagnosed with chronic kidney disease and will require a transplant in the coming years.

"She would end up holding her urine for so long at daycare because her pull-up would already be so full, and it's caused damage to her bladder," Scott said.

Stevie was enrolled at Spring Farm daycare centre in south-west Sydney between 2020 and 2023. In 2022, Affinity Education Group took over the centre.

Under Affinity's management, the centre was issued a swath of serious non-compliance orders, released as part of a cache of internal regulatory documents following a parliamentary order obtained by NSW Greens MP Abigail Boyd and sighted by this masthead.

On May 5, the NSW Department of Education's Early Childhood and Care Regulatory Authority suspended the Spring Farm centre's licence for three months.

The revelations about Stevie's care come days after an investigation by ABC's 7.30, which included footage of a worker at another Sydney

Affinity Education centre repeatedly slapping a baby.

NSW Greens MP Abigail Boyd used a parliamentary order to have childcare regulatory documents released which outlines serious instances of abuse and neglect.

Scott said Stevie would also come home covered in cuts and bruises, with one cut requiring hospital admission. She said she raised issues verbally and emailed the centre in December 2022.

"Stevie will frequently be picked up with soiled underwear (and it will be evident she had been in them for quite a while), which then causes rashes and UTIs with her ... This has been an ongoing issue [I have] raised to staff," she wrote.

"This is pure neglect of Stevie's basic needs and something that shouldn't happen to any child."

An Affinity spokesperson said the educator responded to her email but had no record of Scott's response.

In late 2023, Stevie was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease. Ultrasounds showed issues in Stevie's kidney and urinary tract, including scarring and signs of blockages, which a radiology report sighted by this masthead said were most likely due to UTIs.

Scott said Stevie has undergone several surgeries and would need an ostomy and stoma bag as well as a kidney transplant. Stevie was unenrolled from the centre in August 2023.

Scott, who was undergoing treatment for breast cancer at the time, wishes she had pulled Stevie out sooner and has lost all faith in the sector, saying: "Stevie still tells me how much she hated it there."

An Affinity spokesperson said the allegations were "very serious" and would need to be substantiated by medical evidence. They also suggested heat may have caused the disease, pointing to previous media interviews during which Scott discussed how heat exacerbated Stevie's existing kidney condition.

“We take al meaical conditions seriously and ensure they are managed appropriately in line with our regulatory obligations ... Our concern is always for the wellbeing of children, and we genuinely feel for any child in circumstances like these," the spokesperson said.

The scores of compliance notices issued to Affinity highlighted a litany of serious failures at the Spring Farm centre.

They found that a child was made to drink their liquid medication from a paint cup; that during one site visit there were 92 children in attendance and "nearly no childhood teachers"; that an educator dragged a child by both arms to a bed, leaving fingernail scratches in the child's arm; one mopped around a child, bumping the dirty mop against a child's legs and head; a child walked out of the centre towards the gate; and an educator failed to intervene when children were being kicked and punched by other children.

Issues were also raised around the "dangerous facilities", including exposed nails, blocked emergency exits, and a build-up of litter and rubbish.

An Affinity spokesperson said the regulator's decision to suspend Spring Farm's licence was "disappointing", given the centre's work with the regulator to improve compliance, including improving its National Quality Standards rating and reducing staff turnover.

"We have seen significant improvement in that time, which we are proud of," the spokesperson said.

"We recognise the distress and disruption this suspension will have on the families and team members at Spring Farm, and we are committed to doing all we can to support them at this time."

Speaking in parliament on Tuesday, Deputy Premier and Minister for Education and Early Learning Prue Car said the government would improve the "quantity and the quality of services" in childcare.

An independent review into the NSW Early Childhood Education and Care Regulatory Authority was launched in February, and an interim report is due later this month.

"We will not hesitate in acting on recommendations that ensure childcare in this state is safe and of a high quality," Car said.

NOTE: Original article is hidden behind a paywall & these horrific stories would not be public if the childcare regulatory documents were not released!

#AdamWhittington