KU Cheltenham Memorial Preschool

We made the difficult decision to withdraw our daughter from KU Cheltenham after repeated incidents that raised serious concerns about her emotional and physical safety—and more importantly, how those incidents were handled by the centre’s leadership. Our daughter was physically hurt by another child on multiple occasions and excluded based on her skin colour. When we raised this formally via email, their first response was not focused on our daughter’s safety, but rather on expressing disappointment that we had emailed instead of speaking in person. They mentioned that they had to report the email to the Department of Education—as though the reporting burden was the issue, not the incident itself. What concerned us most was the centre’s unwillingness to take meaningful accountability. When we asked what steps would be taken to protect our daughter, we were told that it was up to our 4-year-old to “stand up for herself.” and all they can do was help her do that.The director further implied that we, as parents, should set the tone by how we respond—suggesting that our reaction to the situation was part of the problem. She also stated that such incidents “can’t be prevented,” just like they can’t prevent people on streets saying unkind words to us. I believe there should be an expectation that something that happens to a child under somebody’s care is different from something that happens on the street. Even more worrying was that the second incident, where our daughter reported being hurt, was not escalated at all even after reporting to the teacher. The centre director explained that student teachers “do not have a practice” of reporting such incidents—something we were never made aware of, and something we would have expected to be addressed immediately. Yet there was no indication from the team that processes would change or that the situation would be brought under control. While some individual educators showed kindness, the overall response from leadership lacked the empathy, transparency, and accountability that parents should be able to rely on in a childcare setting. We hope this review encourages serious reflection within the centre. Every child deserves a safe, inclusive, and supportive early learning environment—and every parent deserves to be heard when those things are at risk.