The company will also roll out “personal device lockboxes nationally” where staff will be forced to store their mobile phones before commencing each shift – after the Victorian government announced such a ban as part of snap reforms last week in the days after Brown’s charges were announced.
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A source with direct knowledge of the details but not authorised to speak publicly told this masthead that Affinity will spend close to $10 million on the CCTV camera and phone lockbox rollout.
Also on Wednesday, the results of a survey of 2100 early childhood educators taken in June – before the allegations against Brown were revealed – said widespread understaffing and constant breaches of staff-to-child ratios were negatively affecting children’s safety.
In Victoria, there needs to be one educator to four children under the age of 36 months and one educator to 11 children before preschool age.
But the United Workers Union Early Childhood Education and Care Quality and Safety Census has exposed “systemic issues” that make it “impossible to deliver the required quality of care”, said UWU early education director Carolyn Smith.
Unions have raised concerns about widespread understaffing at centres run by for-profit operators.Credit: Marija Ercegovac
In the survey, 77 per cent of educators said they were operating below minimum staffing requirements at least weekly and 42 per cent said it was happening daily.
Scrutiny of for-profit providers has been heightened since the allegations surfaced.
G8’s major investors, including Wilson Asset Management, HESTA, Australian Retirement Trust and Tanarra Capital, have expressed concern to the company, such as requests for specific actions to bolster its child safety standards and employee checks.
