When parents make the decision to entrust child care workers with the care of their children, it’s not always an easy decision. Parents do their research, finding the best place based on things like location, price, and qualifications of the employees. So when it is discovered that those workers aren’t keeping your kids safe, it’s disheartening. Affinity Education, a for-profit child care company in Australia, is under investigation after a video of a child care worker slapping a baby made its way to social media.
The Australian Broadcast Company (ABC) did an in-depth investigation into Affinity Education, a private equity firm that runs around 250 child care facilities in Australia. The video was filmed in May 2023, at a Papilio child care center in Sydney. In the video, an employee repeatedly slaps a baby, who is strapped into a bouncer. Another employee is filming the video, and the assaulter laughs as she slaps the crying baby in the mouth.
The assault video was then uploaded to Snapchat by the person filming. They added a laughing emoji to the video.
Affinity Education was notified about the incident by the police. In a statement shared by the ABC, the company assured that it has zero tolerance for children being harmed. “The safety, wellbeing, and development of every child must always come first,” CEO Tim Hickey said.
“I want to express again how profoundly sorry I am that something like this could occur to any child in our care,” he continued, adding, “these incidents are not representative of the dedicated, professional team who care for children every day across thousands of centers.”
One of the employees was fired, while the other resigned. The assaulter was convicted of common assault. However, she wasn’t fined, nor did she face any prison time. Affinity Education also suspended the abuser from working in child care for a year.
A compliance notice sent to Affinity in August 2023, said that the workers “obstructed” officers. They gave false and misleading statements through internal documents. A former employee spoke with the ABC, telling them about how the company’s desire for profit led to this kind of abuse.
“I observed a lot of good, but also bad. Children were being hurt … noncompliance and maintenance just being ignored and a toxic culture being promoted,” Chey Carter said. “When workers tried to raise concerns, they were punished. Every time you tried to report something, you were penalized.”
