Regulators made a surprise visit to kindy in crisis – weeks before parents told to pay for kids’ art

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Senior department officials made a surprise visit to a Brisbane kindergarten following revelations of a staff exodus and parents’ fury at the make-up of the committee running the centre.

The regulatory authority within the Queensland Department of Education visited the Craigslea Kindergarten on September 11 – a day after this masthead revealed claims a parent was being investigated for running the Chermside West centre on his own.

C&K, as the central governing body, cut funding to the affiliated kindergarten and launched a probe into the make-up of the management committee after its previous members stood down following a months-long bitter dispute.

Parents at the Craigslea Kindergarten fear the final term of kindy will be compromised by the ongoing committee dispute.

Thomas D’Souza, the parent at the centre of the claims, dismissed the concerns at the time, claiming the committee was legitimate and C&K did not have authority over the community-run kindergarten.

Tensions further escalated this week after this masthead revealed D’Souza, through the committee he leads, asked parents to pay $2200 for a portfolio of their own child’s artwork to help pay alleged debts owed by the kindy.

Following the extraordinary request, pressure has mounted on the state government department to intervene.

On Wednesday, federal cabinet minister Anika Wells, the local MP in the kindy’s area, joined a chorus of concerned leaders and wrote to state Education Minister John-Paul Langbroek to ensure the relevant regulatory authorities were being consulted.

D’Souza wrote to parents on the weekend to claim the kindy was insolvent and would be placed in voluntary administration, but the department says it is working extensively behind the scenes to resolve the crisis and ensure the once-idyllic kindy can resume operation in term four.

However, multiple attempts from senior department officials to meet with D’Souza this week have been ignored.

“The Queensland government and the Department of Education take the safety and wellbeing of all Queensland children in early childhood education and care services seriously and will continue to work with all involved to resolve all issues relating to this service,” a spokesperson said in a statement on Wednesday.

Numerous attempts from this masthead to speak with D’Souza this week have been unanswered.

The turmoil, which began this year and escalated after the previous president, vice-president and secretary resigned in August, has devastated parents and sacked staff.

Multiple exasperated and furious parents have told this masthead they were unwilling to send their children to the centre after the entire staff team was sacked by the committee and replaced with temporary workers.

They said they were uncomfortable with the sudden unfamiliarity of the centre and also raised privacy concerns relating to the children’s documents.

After this masthead revealed the committee was attempting to charge parents for their own children’s portfolio, which consists of their artwork and photos of them completing kindy tasks, unidentified individuals claiming to be from the management committee relented and handed over the portfolios to C&K.

The management committee, led by D’Souza, wrote to members on Tuesday notifying them of an upcoming general meeting to place the kindy into voluntary administration.

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