A 41-year-old woman has been formally charged following an incident at a Melbourne early childhood education center, where she allegedly slapped a three-year-old boy.
Shakila Nasseri was dismissed from her position after the alleged incident involving neurodiverse toddler Kayce Barber at First Early Learning in Pakenham on October 17.
Nasseri, a resident of Narre Warren, is facing charges of aggravated assault and unlawful assault.
Reports suggest that on the morning of the incident, young Kayce was exhibiting challenging behavior, including kicking and spitting at staff, when Nasseri attempted to intervene by picking him up to soothe him.
During the interaction, Kayce reportedly slapped Nasseri, who then allegedly retaliated by slapping him back.
This incident has sparked concern among child psychologists, who caution against the use of physical force as a disciplinary measure.
“The research is there. We know that you know these impacts of physical harm in early adulthood and childhood have significant impacts,” psychologist Brittany Wadford said.
Kayce has settled into a new family daycare with just one or two children after he was kicked out of the Pakenham facility due to his physical behaviour, which mother Jaymie believes could be sparked by sensory processing issues.
“He kind of melts down, so we just didn’t feel we were getting a lot of support from the [managers] and everything was being put back on us, so I moved him to see if it was an environmental thing,” Jaymie said.
“I’m trying my hardest as, you know, I can as a mum to try and get him the help that he desperately needs.”
Due to privacy reasons it’s unclear whether Nasseri’s working with children check is still valid or if it has been cancelled.
Child safety advocates say an earmarked overhaul to the working with children system is desperately needed.
“The ability for employers to be able to look up workplace history and things like that, it is a fair way down the track,” Australian Childcare Alliance vice president Nesha Hutchinson said.
That means Nasseri is banned from working in Victoria but could still apply to work interstate and in other vulnerable sectors like aged care.
“There’s lots more that needs to change further, but this kind of information sharing is what we need in order to keep children safe,” Hutchinson said.
A new national childcare employee database is set to be rolled out in the coming months following urgent reforms to the childcare system.
9News has been told Nasseri worked at the centre for around two years and has never been in trouble with the law before.
Parents from the centre said her behaviour was out of character.
“From every encounter I had with Shakila she was very nice, so I would never expect that to occur,” one parent told 9News.
She’s been bailed to appear at Dandenong Magistrates’ Court in January.
