My son's daycare was calling.

I wasn't panicked at first. After all, there was hardly a week that went by without some sort of communication about lost property, a new project or the latest rash doing the rounds.

Nevertheless, I answered quickly - just in case.  And I'm glad I did.

'I'm calling about Stanley,' the daycare manager said. 

Stanley, the youngest of my four children, had not long turned five. He was in his last term before he'd be leaving to start 'big school' and we had been excitedly counting the days.

But now it felt like everything around me went into slow motion as the daycare manager explained that while checking the CCTV regarding an unrelated matter, she had noticed an educator looking around suspiciously in the presence of my son.

'It was as if to check she wasn't being watched...' they went on.

What the manager described next made my blood run cold.  

When Jonica got a call from her son's daycare, she wasn't concerned. Until the daycare manager revealed what she'd seen on the CCTV

As the children around the educator, including Stanley, had played a game that involved running up and down, she had stuck out her foot, trying to trip the kids over.

Not once, not twice, but three times, before she finally succeeded in tripping one of the children over.

And it was my son poor Stanley who was the unsuspecting victim. He'd taken a tumble, cutting his elbow.

Now I remembered that days earlier my son had come home with a large graze on his elbow but he'd brushed it off.

I was relieved when the daycare manager told me she'd taken swift action and fired the woman in question immediately.

She had also reported her to the Department of Education which was launching an investigation.

But talking to Stanley that night, as I checked the graze on his elbow to make sure it was healing okay, it didn't feel like enough.

I had to know who had done this to my son. Luckily, Stanley was able to give me her name, so I launched an investigation of my own.

Jonica's son Stanley came home from daycare with a grazed elbow but initially brushed it off

CCTV footage showed one of the daycare educators sticking her foot out in an attempt to trip the children, not once or twice, but three times

And when I found her smiling in a family photo on Facebook, my jaw dropped.

It's not that I had a preconceived idea of what someone like that should look like - but a sweet, middle-aged lady with a neat little bob and a smart blouse and skirt was not what I had expected.

Out of curiosity, I also searched the local mum groups for her name and felt sick to my stomach when I saw she was brazenly advertising herself for private babysitting, stating she had a full 'working with children check' (WWCC).

I couldn't believe it. I was so worried for all those parents inviting her into their homes to be alone with their children.

Taking a deep breath, I reassured myself the correct authorities were investigating and she would be struck off any registers in no time. They had CCTV. It was a clear case of misconduct.

Before long it was summer holidays and, to their credit, the Department of Education kept me updated throughout every step of their investigation. 

They told me that when they had interviewed the woman in question, she had initially claimed it was an accident.

But eventually, she had admitted to tripping Stanley over on purpose to 'teach him a lesson'.

She said she had warned the children that running can be dangerous and when they didn't heed her words, she decided to show them exactly what she meant.

It was a ridiculous explanation and I felt certain it wouldn't wash.  

But then the final decision came through in January and I learned she wouldn't lose her WWCC.

I was told given her long history in the industry, they had decided to give her another chance.

I was floored. How was this possible?

There was CCTV, an admission of guilt, and an injured child. How was that not enough? 

Stanley (pictured on Jonica's lap) is the youngest of her four children, and was looking forward to starting 'big school' when he suffered an incident at daycare

I also didn't believe this was the first time it had happened.

Furious, I went straight to the police to report her but I was greeted by a worn-out officer who looked to be a couple of years off retirement. Things didn't go as expected.

He spent a good hour trying to talk me out of making a statement. 'Your child will have to go to court,' he warned.

'Are you prepared to put him through that?'

The man kept sighing and looking at his watch.  

'What I'm not prepared to do is have blood on my hands if she hurts another child,' I said. 

Sure, in the scheme of things it may sound minor - a graze to his elbow, nothing more - but how do we know what has gone on before or what she might do next? 

When he suggested maybe I should try the ombudsman, I was close to tears. 

According to data obtained by the Guardian under freedom of information laws, the NSW ECEC regulatory authority has launched investigations into nearly 2,000 incidents alleging physical or sexual abuse of a child at childcare centres by an educator since 2020, including 414 in the first 10 months of 2024.

'When child safety has been found to be compromised, I have not hesitated to bar people from the sector, suspend or cancel services or providers, as well as prosecute for the most serious matters,' said Sharon Gudu, the NSW ECEC regulator.

And with this in mind, I'm still fighting for something to be done.

I have made a statement and if I have to go to court, I will. And if Stanley has to take the stand, he will.

Kids are supposed to feel safe with adults and she has betrayed that trust for both of us.