Childcare centre couple’s struggle
‘‘We were in tears . . . We’ve invested so much into the community for 10 years.’’
Tim Powell, ACE childcare centres
A parent has described an incorrect statement that children were illtreated at an early childhood service her children attended as the unfortunate end of a ‘‘tough run’’ for a Nelson couple.
Tim Powell and his wife were devastated when they read an article suggesting that children at their early childhood centres were ill-treated.
‘‘We were just absolutely floored,’’ said Powell, recalling when he read the story in a community newspaper. It reported that the Nelson centres had closed after the Ministry of Education suspended their licences for reasons including ill-treating children.
The ministry told The Nelson Mail it had found no evidence, or allegations, that children had been harmed or ill-treated at the centres in Stoke.
‘‘We were in tears,’’ said Powell, who set up the ACE Nayland and ACE Titoki centres with wife Paula a decade ago, and who has since been diagnosed with prostate cancer.
‘‘We’ve invested so much into the community for 10 years.’’
The centres closed after the ministry cancelled their operating licences in April. The ministry said the services failed to meet some conditions of provisional licences it had imposed, after the ministry briefly suspended the licences late last year.
In a written statement, deputy secretary sector enablement and support Helen Hurst said the ministry visited the centres following a referral from the Education Review Office, and found issues that ‘‘presented an immediate risk of harm to children’’.
‘‘Eight days later, both services were able to demonstrate they had met the immediate risk of harm obligations, and we lifted the suspensions,’’ she said.
‘‘There were, however, other issues regarding health and safety, and in areas such as premises, governance and curriculum, so we placed both services on provisional licences.’’
Powell said the ‘‘immediate risk of harm’’ at the ACE Tikoki centre related to an artificial floor surface that was being replaced.
Staff had ‘‘worked really hard’’ to meet the ministry’s requirements, but couldn’t meet all of them for reasons including anxiety among leadership staff and Powell’s illhealth.
Powell – a psychologist and consultant on developmental issues – said one of the reasons the couple set up the centres was to help children who couldn’t access other early childhood centres, and the centres attracted children with autism and disabilities.
Parent Emma McCashin said she was shocked when she read the suggestion of ill-treatment, which flew in the face of her experience.
‘‘I just wanted to let all the staff who were working there, and Paula and Tim, know that we know that [ill-treatment] didn’t go on, and to thank them, I guess, for everything that they’ve done, because they did a great job.’’
McCashin’s three children went to the ACE Titoki centre, when aged between nine months and three years, until 2020.
‘‘There was an abundance of love and cuddles for the kids, but also support and practical advice for parents,’’ she said.
While the service’s paperwork ‘‘may not have been great’’, with things like invoices coming ‘‘quite late’’, the children were loved and cared well for, she said.
‘‘It felt like you were dropping off to a family member who genuinely cared about your child.’’
The couple had had ‘‘a really tough run,’’ McCashin said.
‘‘It’s really unfortunate. At the end of the day, in my view, they were doing the right thing.’’ Powell said they had learned from the experience and were trying to move on.
The couple have sold the ACE Nayland centre, which they built with a developer, while the lease on the Titoki centre runs until June.