Inspire Early Learning bans male workers from changing nappies at their centres

Male educators will no longer changes nappies at Inspire Early Learning Journey’s 16 centres in Victoria.

In a letter to parents on Friday, chief curriculum and quality officer Eleinna Anderson announced male staff would not take part in nappy changes and will not be assigned to toileting duties.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Major childcare operators bans male educators from changing nappies.

Anderson said the adjustment was “to ensure we remain sensitive and responsive to family needs”.

But she said male staff “will continue to play a vital role” in activities, classroom preparation and keeping the environment safe and clean.

“The wellbeing and safety of your children are at the heart of everything we do,” Anderson said.

“We’re writing to share a few important updates to our guidelines around staff interactions with children and team responsibilities — changes made with careful thought and a continued commitment to maintaining a safe, inclusive, and respectful environment for all.”

Educators have also been told to refrain from kissing or any unnecessary contact with children, and will seek consent when comfort such as a gentle hug or hand-hold is needed.

It comes after childcare worker Joshua Dale Brown was charged with more than 70 sex offences after allegedly abusing eight children aged under two at the Creative Garden Early Learning Centre in Point Cook, in Melbourne’s southwest.

Victoria Police are also examining evidence of alleged offending at a centre in Essendon.

Inspire Early Learning Journey was not one of the centres Brown worked at.

A list of the 20 centres he worked at since 2017, with dates ranges, has been made public.

The parents of 1200 children have been told to get them tested for sexually transmitted infections as a precaution.

Brown, 26, had a valid working with children check and was not known to police or subject to any complaints before his arrest in May.

Independent Collective of Survivors founder Louise Edmonds was among voices calling for a ban on male workers in intimate childcare spaces including nappy changing rooms, sleep quarters and toilets.

“This is a controversial topic but I also know that I’ve been voicing concern that many, many parents are saying,” she told 4BC Brisbane.

Edmonds said there were outstanding male staff in the childcare industry, yet there remained a serious issue with abuse in the sector.

“We actually need to do something a little bit more drastic than has been happening in the past,” she said.

She said that could mean parents being able to opt-in or opt-out of allowing male carers to provide certain physical duties.

“This is a very easy step to implement into the daycare system now and that allows the parents to breathe, it allows them to have a choice, while the government are putting in other measures to put a safety framework around the children,” she said.

An online petition with more than 600 signatures has called for male workers to be restricted from childcare and kindergarten settings.

“Until we have stricter national vetting systems, surveillance protocols, and transparency standards in place, we must err on the side of caution,” the Change.org petition reads.

“This petition is not an attack on men, nor does it claim that all male workers pose a threat.

“Rather, it acknowledges patterns in data, prioritises prevention over reaction, and calls for a reconsideration of staffing policies where safety must outweigh ideology.”

‘Banning men is not right’

The United Workers Union said it does not supported a total ban on men in the industry, telling the Herald Sun “we all want to make the system safer”.

Former broadcaster and long-time anti abuse campaigner Derryn Hinch, who went to jail for calling out sex offenders, said childcare centres need more security cameras, better monitoring and even guards.

“The idea of banning men from childcare centres is not right,” he told 7NEWS.

Former child sexual abuse detective Kristi McVee said it was important that men call out the “inappropriate and unsafe behaviours” of their peers.

“I don’t want to gender this issue because in my experience, I’ve seen female offenders and male offenders,” she told 7NEWS.

“I call for men who are upstanding and care about kids and are safe adults to call out their peers on their inappropriate and unsafe behaviours because, unfortunately, women like myself and mums ... we’ve been doing this for forever, trying to call out these behaviours.

“But it’s not until other men stand up to men and say, ‘no, this is not good enough’, because I really believe we’ve got to make it so that these people can’t hide in these spaces, these education spaces.

“That’s what’s happening here. And other men need to stand up and show that there is safe men in the world.”

On Friday, former SA Premier Jay Weatherill was picked to lead an inquiry into Victoria’s childcare sector.

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan said Weatherill was “the best person for this work”, but the choice was controversial.

“The former premier was the leader when there was the worst child protection issue in that state’s history,” Victorian Liberal MP Jess Wilson said.