Shocked and deeply saddened at news of child's death

18 November, 2016

Early Childhood Council shocked and deeply saddened at news a child has died at Auckland childcare centre

The Early Childhood Council is ‘shocked and deeply saddened’ at the news a child has died in an accident at a childcare centre in Takapuna, Auckland today (18 November).

Council CEO Peter Reynolds has described the death as ‘one of those things that sends a shiver down your spine’.

He described the event as ‘very, very sad’.

He said there would be a Police investigation, and a WorkSafe investigation. And very probably an investigation by the centre itself.

‘We send our love and support to the child’s family and friends, to the parents of other children at the centre, and to those who manage and teach at the centre.

‘We can only imagine their shock and their grief.’

Mr Reynolds said he did not know what happened or why, and was not in a position to comment on the specifics of the incident.

He said the Early Childhood Council would be reading publicly-available reports that investigated the accident to see if there might be lessons for other centres.

‘But right now all we are doing is feeling very, very sad for all involved, and especially for the family of the child.

‘The thoughts of all early childhood centre owners, managers and teachers will be with them tonight.’

The Early Childhood Council is the largest representative body of licensed early childhood centres in New Zealand. It has more than 1100 member centres, about 30% of which are community-owned and about 70% of which are privately owned.

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