P.E.I. wraps investigation into child wandering from daycare
Last Updated: Thursday, June 26, 2008 | 5:12 PM AT
CBC News
A Charlottetown daycare that allowed a two-year-old girl to wander away from its playground in late May will remain open, but watched closely by provincial regulators.
'We have assigned some additional staff to be in the centre.'— Janice Ployer, childcare facilities board
The provincial regulator of daycare completed its investigation of the May 30 incident this week. The board ruled Sherwood Daycare Centre complies with provincial legislation, and so can remain open.
"Our investigation revealed that the most likely rationale for the situation was that when a staff member went outside to the garbage can, she left the gate to the playground unlatched behind her. And we believe that the child slipped out behind her," Janice Ployer, the chair of the childcare facilities board, told CBC News on Thursday.
The girl found her way to a nearby mall. Mall staff phoned the daycare, which had not noticed the girl's absence.
Ployer said the daycare owner has been extremely co-operative with provincial officials.
"We have assigned some additional staff to be in the centre throughout the summer. The board will be receiving an additional report in July, as well as a follow-up in September," she said.
The owner has taken a number of measures on her own initiative to ensure nothing like this happens again, said Ployer, including changing the locks. The board has also given the centre a number of safety strategies to put in place.
