Court battle hurts kids
Childcare centre shuts leaving parents in lurch
WHEN a popular Gold Coast childcare centre’s teachers ended shifts on Thursday, none knew it would be the final time with their kids, due to an operator-landlord court wrangle.
For two years the Kids Academy Hope Island operator Scott Hookey and its landlord John Whitelaw have been battling in court, which has resulted in an abrupt end to the lease.
After a court ruled Mr Hookey’s business would be forced to vacate the Halcyon Way premises, families were suddenly left without daycare and staff were left jobless. Both parties were only informed the night before last week’s closure of the centre, which had 25 kids a day and 40-plus staff.
A message from centre management was sent to families late on Thursday evening stating the landlord had terminated the lease as of midnight the following day.
“Dear families, we are writing to formally advise you that as of midnight on Friday night 19th June our landlord terminated our lease, which meant that we can no longer occupy the premise and operate the service,” the statement reads.
“There has been a substantial legal battle which we have endured over the past two years with the landlord, and despite our very best efforts, we have been unsuccessful in this fight.”
The statement went on to say an appeal would be heard in September but negotiations with the landlord were unsuccessful for a “smooth” handover to a new operator.
It was also confirmed staff were now out of work due to the abrupt closure.
A lengthy post on the centre Facebook page from someone purporting to be the operator explains the operator and landlord had been best friends but fell out over terms of a deal which had originally been a 50-50 partnership. The resulting court battle followed.
Alyson Faulkner, whose granddaughter Ava, 3, attended the childcare, said teachers rushed in on Friday morning to save belongings of students, including artwork, sleeping bags and toys, before a removalist entered the property.
On Saturday the children’s belongings were returned at Paradise Point by the teachers, who Mrs Faulkner said were all “in tears”.
Mrs Faulkner, 49, looks after her granddaughter with husband John and said she doesn’t know how to break the news to Ava, who had already been through a lot of change in her short life.
“I just don’t know what to say to her, for the first time in her life she has some stability, a routine with my husband and I, her friends and her teachers.”
“I know if I tell her she’ll cry, and that’ll break my heart. We aren’t the only family struggling, many guardians have been required to stop work or find a compromise with their boss because no one was told about the closure until the last minute, and we need to find another option to take care of the children.
“I’ve spoken to some teachers and they were in the same boat as us, and now they have been made redundant and don’t know their next move.”
Children, guardians and staff from the daycare centre will meet today. Kids Academy Hope Island administration and teachers were contacted but were unable to comment.