Little Scribblers Kindergarten - Beaconsfield

We withdrew both of our sons from Little Scribblers after ongoing and serious issues that were repeatedly dismissed by staff and management. Our eldest son was in the kindergarten room and was constantly sent home for being “sick” when he was not unwell. Every time we questioned this, staff became defensive. After the fifth unnecessary exclusion, we formally emailed requesting a copy of the centre’s health and exclusion policy. That email was never acknowledged or replied to. A week later, he was sent home again. We raised it in person, were told the policies would be sent, and once again — nothing was ever provided. This is not optional. It is a legal requirement, and they ignored it. The situation then escalated. We were demanded to pick him up again after being told he had “diarrhoea” because he had soiled his underwear on the way to the toilet. He is not toilet trained. We were told he had no spare clothes and WAS WAITING FOR US ON THE TOILET. We were both at work and this was very stressful thinking our child was sitting stuck on the toilet until one of us could arrive. When we arrived, he was not on the toilet and was already dressed in the spare clothes i had packed in his bag. When I pointed this out, staff effectively accused me of lying and claimed he was wearing clothes from lost property — as if I wouldn’t know what I packed for my own child. A few days later, he was sent home yet again. This time a voicemail was left stating he had no fever, no signs of illness, and was simply “quiet” or “not himself.” Being quiet is not an illness. This pattern made it clear the centre was using exclusion as a default response rather than providing care. We complied, but did some researching our rights that day, when returning later that day to collect our youngest. Our eldest ran in excited to see his brother and clearly NOT sick. As we walked in he saw Kierra coming towards the front desk, he stopped in his fast track down the hallway and hid behind me, letting out a wuiet uneasy growl/ groan.. that made all my mama instincts ring true. I had a bad gut feeling and so I let my partner and son go into the toddler one room whilst I shut the door behind them, waiting in the hallway silently.. as if I also left to enter the room. Abbi and Kierra were then whispering at the front desk, words like “she” “he” As the kids were coming back out, all chatter suddenly stopped. Hmm coincidence? We then informed them that our eldest was not sick. What followed was one of the most concerning and unprofessional conversations. Our son is diagnosed ASD Level 3. I explained that he is very capable of escape-maintained behaviour, which is extremely common in autistic children. The response made it immediately clear this centre is not qualified to work with vulnerable children or those with additional needs. We were told by Kierra that our son “should be an actor” and that he must be a “good manipulator.” Yes, Those words were actually used. In the same conversation, we raised bullying concerns. The interaction with Kierra was appalling. She was rude, dismissive, and showed absolutely no empathy or interest in supporting our child. We were made to feel like we were the problem for advocating for our son. And ultimately we were wrong, our son was lying. Even though we named names etc. That day I left and booked a tour at another local centre, giving our notice to leave little scribblers the next business day. There are also no cameras in the rooms, which only compounded our loss of trust given the repeated incidents and evasive responses. In this industry and all the bad things that come out about what happens behind closed doors at childcare centres, there is no room to take risks. We have since moved to an incredible centre just around the corner. They validated every single concern we raised and confirmed that what we experienced here is not normal. It is not going to get better. If you’re considering this centre — take your kids out. Now.