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Stuff
Pitte Patter Education Center manager Pauline Murphy has been removed from the Feilding center.
The director of a Feilding childcare center under investigation by officials has been removed from her post under the conditions set by the Ministry of Education.
Pitter Patter Education Center closed for three weeks in late November before reopening on Monday. The Ministry of Education suspended the center’s license after receiving serious complaints.
The suspension notice meant that the center’s owner, Pauline Murphy, couldn’t be there.
The children were unable to attend the center during the suspension. The ministry has referred the complaints to the police and the Teaching Council, but will not reveal what the complaints are.
READ MORE:
* Feilding daycare under investigation due to ‘serious complaints’
* Pitter Patter Education Center at Feilding under investigation after a series of allegations
* Former teachers at Auckland’s nursery chain denounce ‘unsafe’ practices
The ministry is still investigating and will visit Pitter Patter again on January 11.
The ministry sent a letter to parents Friday afternoon, in which the ministry’s undersecretary, Katrina Casey, said the center’s license was suspended after past and present teachers and families filed complaints about Murphy.
“The suspension notice required that Ms. Murphy exclude herself from the center while we investigate the complaints,” Casey said.
George Heagney / Things
Pitter Patter Childcare Center on East St, Feilding, has been investigated following allegations of bullying towards staff and children.
“Ms. Murphy has agreed not to have contact with any children at the center and not to enter the center facilities during authorized hours.
“With those conditions in place, and having satisfied the staffing ratio and management requirements, we made the decision that the center could reopen and the children could attend.”
Angela Bary has taken over as director of the center and will be responsible for all management, including teaching, enrollment, childcare and compliance.
Casey said suspending the license of an early learning service was not a decision the ministry took lightly and acknowledged that it may have affected some children.
The ministry had asked the center to inform parents about the provisional structure and who they should speak to.
An independent early childhood management consultant, Sue Kurtovich, is available for parents to talk.
Parents who spoke with Stuff alleged negative behavior and lack of professionalism in the center.
The Teaching Council is aware of the complaints, but its work begins after a police investigation is completed.
Police could not comment.
