Toddler goes missing after childcare centre gives grandfather wrong one-year-old

A daycare worker has been stood down pending an investigation after a toddler was sent home with the wrong family.

In a nightmare scenario that unfolded on Monday, a mother arrived at First Steps Learning Academy in Bangor, southern Sydney, to pick up her one-year-old, only to be told he was missing.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Grandfather takes wrong toddler home from Sydney childcare centre.

Panicked staff reviewed CCTV and phoned parents before it was found that a grandfather who had not realised he was given the wrong child had taken him home.

“I can’t explain the feeling,” the mum told the Sydney Morning Herald.

“They couldn’t tell me his name, they couldn’t tell me who he was, they couldn’t tell me who he was meant to pick up.

“They couldn’t tell me what he looked like, apart from that he was wearing shorts and he was an older gentleman.”

She holds no anger towards the grandfather, and has pinned the blame on the centre.

The man’s wife said he was “devastated” over the mistake, and unable to eat or sleep.

The spouse said he had arrived at the centre when the children were sleeping and had been focused on making sure the toddler was safe in the car seat, which he had struggled to work out.

First Steps Learning Academy said “human error” was to blame and protocols had not been followed to the required standard.

It apologised to both families involved and said a worker had been stood down while the incident is reviewed.

The centre said it had since strengthened procedures around pick-ups and drop-offs.

The NSW early childhood regulator will investigate what it said was a “deeply concerning and serious incident”.

The mishap comes at a time when there is extreme scrutiny on the childcare sector, with plans for a CCTV trial and new staff register.