Families that use a local early learning centre have been advised they need to find alternative care for their children after a routine inspection found it was non-compliant in eight areas.

Kyabram Community and Learning Centre’s Early Learning Program was issued with an immediate 90-day suspension in late December last year, with Victorian Department of Education regulatory officers finding the service posed risks to the safety, health and wellbeing of children. The eight areas of concern were:

A Victorian Early Childhood Regulatory Authority spokesperson told the Free Press that despite the disruption to families, “nothing matters more than keeping children safe”.

“Children have been exposed to unacceptable risks at the Kyabram Community and Learning Centre, and we have taken action to address those risks,” they said.

“As our investigation is ongoing, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.

“VECRA won’t hesitate to take strong action to keep children safe.”

VECRA launched as Victoria's new independent early childhood watchdog on January 1 this year, following recommendations from the 2025 Rapid Child Safety Review.

The new independent regulator oversees safety, quality and compliance in early childhood services across Victoria.

KCLC is required to remain closed during the 90-day suspension, beginning from the immediate suspension on December 19, and can reopen on Thursday, March 19.

KCLC offers both kindergarten and long-day care services.

Parents using these services were informed of the impacts of the service suspension in late December.

Children cannot start kindergarten at KCLC when term begins on January 28, but the centre can accept enrolments for after the 90-day suspension ends on March 19.

KCLC has sought an internal review of the decision of the regulator.

KCLC representatives said they would be taking “immediate and decisive steps” and co-operating with VECRA to address the non-compliant areas, writing in an open letter sent to the Free Press:

“The health, safety and wellbeing of children are fundamental to our purpose as an education and care service.

“We recognise that, on this occasion, our systems and practices did not consistently meet the expectations set by the National Quality Framework.

“For this, we sincerely apologise to our children, families, and community.”

It stated a “comprehensive improvement plan” was being implemented and overseen by KCLC leadership and governance, with ongoing monitoring.

KCLC chief executive Jennifer Savage told the Free Press that the service would use this time to take steps to reflect.

Ms Savage explained investigators found maintenance problems, particularly delays in repairing broken equipment, premises and furniture that could pose safety risks.

She said to rectify this, KCLC was looking to hire a maintenance manager to be able to help get a “proactive maintenance plan”.

Regarding supervision failures, Ms Savage said while they met basic staff-to-child ratios, they couldn’t properly support individual children with special needs.

“Every service is required to assess the children that we have enrolled in our service and make sure that we've got enough (staff) for the needs of the children … and in our situation, (it exceeded) the state or the government required ratios,” she said.

“One of the benefits of this closure period is that we're having the time to have those really intentional conversations and going … how are we going to stay responsive and connected and open to children with those higher needs … and not exclude them because we can’t find adequate staff.”

She also said KCLC would be reviewing its learning program, in line with its non-compliance categorisation, to ensure individual education programs suited and engaged each child.

“As much as none of us like it when these moments occur, it is sometimes unfortunately important for us to understand there's been a significant shift in early (learning) years over 2025 and that will continue going forward,” she said.

“The burden of responsibility is now clearly on the adults within that environment — and we've taken that very seriously — but unfortunately, in this situation, we weren't able to deliver the high-quality standards that families and children have the right to expect.

“We are taking that literally and with great intent and passion to make sure that we are then meeting those standards.”

The Victorian Department of Education confirmed that representatives had met with the KCLC board to discuss future governance and operations of the service, as well as to help families find alternative kindergarten arrangements.

Twenty-five local children were enrolled for the 2026 school year when the centre closed in December.

“The safety and wellbeing of children is always our top priority, but we know that any closure can be challenging for local families,” a department spokesperson said.

“That’s why we are working with nearby services to help parents and carers understand what alternative kindergarten options may be available while the regulator continues its investigation.

“Every Victorian family deserves access to quality early childhood education and care.”

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