G8 Education has today provided an update regarding its response to allegations against former employee, Joshua Dale Brown.

Managing Director and CEO Pejman Okhovat said the G8 Education team is horrified and appalled by the distressing nature of the allegations.

“These allegations are deeply disturbing, and our hearts go out to the children and families involved. I am deeply sorry for the unimaginable pain caused to our families and what they are going through,” he said.

“Our primary focus right now is on supporting all families who are impacted, as well as our team members in Victoria. My team and I have met personally with families in Victoria and will continue to be available. We have also provided confidential counselling and support through G8 Education’s dedicated provider.”

“We are continuing to work with Victoria Police, the Victorian government and other authorities as part of their ongoing investigation and are doing everything we can to give them the best chance of achieving justice for the children and families involved.”

Our commitment to safety – what we already have in place

At G8 Education, the safety and wellbeing of every child in our care is our highest priority. It is a responsibility shared by every member of the G8 Education team, and one that sits at the heart of everything we do.

The following child safe policies and procedures are already in place in all G8 Education centres, including:

• prohibiting personal devices in rooms in centres;
• delivering thorough and ongoing education and training with centre teams, including in respect of Child Safety and Child Safeguarding;
• ensuring that physical and online environments promote child safety and wellbeing, including investment in cyber security measures;
• ensuring that all required team member reference and background checks are performed, including ensuring that valid Working with Children Checks (WWCC) are in place during employment and that all Early Childhood Teachers hold state specific teacher registration;
• all team members are designated Mandatory Reporters and are legally required to report any disclosure, concern or reasonable suspicion that a child is experiencing harm or if they are at risk of harm; and
• we actively encourage the confidential and anonymous reporting of any concerns related to reportable conduct, in accordance with our Whistleblower Policy.

Our commitment to continuous improvement – additional actions G8 Education is taking

G8 Education is committed to continuous improvement in its policies and processes, as well as improving its practices, and will be taking the following actions:

• Following the trial of CCTV in several of our centres, we will accelerate the rollout of CCTV to all of our centres.
• Expanding individual learning plans (ILPs) to give parents greater choice over their child’s care. ILPs will now provide parents with the opportunity to provide preferences on who supports their child’s personal care routines, including nappy changes and toileting.
• Following the conclusion of the police investigation and criminal proceedings, G8 Education will commission an independent review into the incident to inform further changes and improvements to our child safety procedures within the organisation.

Broader Sector Reforms Needed – what we advocate for

G8 Education is committed to working with all levels of Government across Australia to urgently consider what more can be done to better protect children.

G8 Education continues to highlight the need for harmonising policies, regulations, systems and processes across governments and regulators, in support of delivering the National Quality Standard Framework set out by the Australian Government’s Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) and further advocate for:

• A national registry for working with vulnerable people including, working with children, NDIS and aged care, with higher threshold.
• National Teachers registration and a national Educators registration.
• A national register of early childhood workers employment history.
• Alignment of all State regulations, prioritising those regarding child safety and protection, ensuring national consistency.
• Delivering on the Productivity Commission’s recommendations, in particular initiatives relating to improving quality and workforce and child safety and protection.

Finally, as the situation in Victoria is the subject of an ongoing investigation, G8 Education is unable to comment on specifics of the case that might jeopardise the investigation’s outcomes.

For more information regarding the investigation, please visit the Victorian Government website: https://www.vic.gov.au/childcare-centres-investigation

To view G8 Education’s previous media statements regarding this situation, please visit:
https://g8education.edu.au/news/statement-on-former-employee-investigation
https://g8education.edu.au/news/g8-statement-former-employee-investigation