60 reports of maltreatment at childcare centres received in one year

The commissioner for children has reiterated its calls for childcare centres to be inspected periodically after the Directorate for Quality and Standards in Education received 60 reports of cases of maltreatment over the past year.

In view of the reports, the commissioner for children issued a statement reiterating its recommendation that inspections of childcare centres should be carried out periodically, and not solely on the basis of complaints or reports.

Such inspections, the commissioner said, would be conducted through spot checks which aim at ensuring that the centres are operating in accordance with the standards.

The commissioner said it was working in close contact with the responsible authorities to update the national standards on child day-care.

“This work has been guided by the principle that child care centres should provide child-centred care that protects children from harm and promotes their social, emotional and cognitive development,” the statement read.

The commissioner went on to say that further in-service training for childcare workers should be implemented with the scope of reinforcing their expertise and for the workers to be kept up-to-date with new research and innovative practices.

“Training could be supported by mentoring, thus enabling childcare workers to learn as well as be supported in their work,” the commissioner added.

The commissioner said that childcare centres should strive to be transparent in their activities, by allowing parents physical or visual access to their children. For this reason, the commissioner recommended that all premises hosting childcare centres should be covered by CCTV cameras, in order to safeguard the best interests of both children and carers.