Hayley Kelleher: 'Flustered' childcare worker admits to grabbing and dragging 3yo boy

A childcare worker told police she assaulted a young boy after becoming “frustrated and flustered” when her senior colleagues ignored her requests to help manage the child’s behaviour.

Hayley Kelleher, 18, on Wednesday admitted assaulting the three-year-old while working at Jenny’s Kindergarten and Early Learning centre in Bathurst, central western NSW, on July 11.

The former assistant educator briefly appeared in Bathurst Local Court to plead guilty to one count of common assault.

Kelleher was trying to settle a group of three, four and five-year-olds for their midday nap, when the boy repeatedly refused to lie on his mattress, according an agreed statement of facts.

The court document said Kelleher asked a senior colleague for help, but was “ignored” and she decided to move the boy’s mattress away from the other children.

“Despite continued requests for assistance (Kelleher) received no support from other educators and became increasingly frustrated and flustered,” the document said.

Kelleher grabbed the boy’s right arm and lifted him off the ground, before dragging him three metres away to a different mattress.

“(Kelleher) released the victim short of the mattress then picked him up again by his right arm and placed him on to the mattress,” the document said.

The statement of facts was amended to say Kelleher placed the boy on the mattress, rather than an initial allegation made public by police that she “threw” him.

The incident was captured on CCTV.

“The action caused the victim pain and discomfort and resulted in his jumper being torn,” the court document said.

“The action of (Kelleher) was considered excessive of a reasonable amount of force to manage a child.”

The child’s mother complained to the NSW education department and the centre launched an internal investigation.

Kelleher was sacked soon after.

After the department showed the mother the CCTV footage, she reported the incident to police in late August.

During a police interview in mid-September, Kelleher admitted her actions.

“(Kelleher) expressed remorse and stated she did not intend to cause harm to the victim or damage his clothing,” the court document said.

“She admitted to feeling frustrated and flustered due to the lack of assistance managing the child.”

The conduct of childcare companies and workers has been under the spotlight for much of 2025, after a long-running investigation into the sector by ABC’s Four Corners program.

In a statement to the media, the Bathurst centre said it held a strict zero-tolerance policy towards any form of abuse, neglect or inappropriate conduct.

“We have worked closely with the relevant authorities to ensure that all necessary steps were taken, and that the concerns of the family involved were addressed respectfully and thoroughly,” the centre said.

Kelleher will be sentenced on December 10.