A New Brunswick child-care facility says it has fired four of its employees after an “incident” in one of its classrooms.
Officials with Moncton Headstart held a press conference on Thursday to inform the public about their findings. Although they did not offer details on the incident, they said it had to do with “child guidance.”
Under New Brunswick’s child-care facility operator manual, the following actions are prohibited under child guidance:
- Striking a child
- Shaking, shoving, spanking or any measure that produces physical pain
- Repetition of physical movement
- Humiliation, belittling or degrading
- Verbal abuse
- Depriving a child any outing or group activity
- Physically restraining a child
- Withdrawing or threatening to withdraw physical necessities such as food, bedding, shelter, clothing or access to the toilet
READ MORE: New Brunswick’s social work system failed 5 children in Saint John neglect case
According to the organization, officials became aware of the incident late on May 22 and immediately launched an internal investigation to confirm what had reportedly occurred.
By the next day, the organization said officials had received an anonymous email from an individual who said they were aware of the incident and had contacted an inspector from the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development.
At that point, Moncton Headstart said it had been able to confirm details about the incident and formally reported it to the province’s education department on May 24.
Staff gathered information to determine if “incident” took place, then passed info along to Dept of Education and Early Childhood Development, who is now investigating along with Dept of Social Development. “Incident” took place that day, says Chad Peters pic.twitter.com/tJ3TWHtTdt
— Callum Smith (@smithc902) May 30, 2019
Two staff members were suspended without pay until further notice and were escorted from the facility that day.
Parents with children impacted by the incident have been informed, and Moncton Headstart says it has been co-operating with the education department.
WATCH (Nov. 28, 2017): Moncton Headstart short on teen toys for toy drive
On Thursday, the organization confirmed that the two individuals who had been previously suspended have now been fired along with two other employees.
The departments of education and social development are now investigating the incident.
Moncton Headstart says it is unable to provide more details on what occurred as a result of the investigation.
Sgt. Dan Poirier with Codiac RCMP told Global News that there are have been no files related to Moncton Headstart created in the last 24 hours and that he’s “not aware of any ongoing investigation.”
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