The whistleblower claims that on one occasion, a child wandered onto a main road but no report was filed, and the parents were never told.

The woman, who asked to conceal her identity, said she repeatedly raised her concerns but they were never addressed.

“I dreaded going to work every day,” the childcare worker told 9News.

The educator, who’s been working in the childcare sector for over a decade, worked at three different Edge Early Learning centres.

She’s since left – which she says was due to issues surrounding child safety and supervision – staff have been actively discouraged from raising issues, the woman claims.

“The educators would voice out that they needed help, and help never came, which was very disturbing,” the worker said.

Internal emails between the educator and all three centres, outlining concerns around child safety and care, have been seen by 9News.

They include examples such as concerns over staff holding down children.

“Toddler staff would hold down their children on their bed for over an hour,” the worker claimed.

“Patting them so hard, one child actually had a handprint on their back.”

When the claims made by this worker were put to Edge, they told 9News they have a “robust reporting culture” and will terminate the employment of any employee who breaches their safeguards.

Earlier in the week, Edge Early Learning at Plympton was closed by the Education Standards Board for a further 90 days after an initial two-week shutdown, due to safety concerns.

But Edge isn’t the only childcare company in hot water right now.

The Education Standards Board has issued 21 emergency actions to childcare centres across SA in the first three months of this financial year.

That’s compared to 20 for all of the year before.

“It’s important they are properly regulated, thoroughly oversighted,” acting education minister Kyam Maher told 9News.

“The safety of children has got to be a paramount concern for any government, for any society.”