Cash-strapped childcare centre forced to hand over children’s artwork after bid to charge $2200 for portfolios

A financially strapped childcare centre has been forced to hand over children’s art portfolios after it suggested parents pay $2200 to bail it out of $45,000 worth of debt.

Parents of Craigslea Kindergarten and Preschool, which closed three weeks ago, will not have to pay the money after parent company C&K and the Education Department stepped in.

On Wednesday, a C&K spokeswoman said with the support of the Department of Education, the children’s portfolios had been safely recovered.

Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today

“These important records are now available for families to collect, free of charge,” the spokeswoman said.

They will be available for collection at the C&K office at 257 Gympie Rd, Kedron, from Monday to Friday, 9am to 4pm.

The Craigslea centre, located in Chermside West, is affiliated with C&K, meaning it operates independently and is usually run by volunteer management committees usually made up of parents.

A report lodged with the charity regulator at the end of last year showed it was nearly $45,000 in the red, the Courier Mail reported.

On Monday, parents received a form by email stating: “If you are opposed to the committee using the portfolios as a $2200 per piece fundraiser to make up for the $40,314 owing to teachers, please complete the below.”

A cash-strapped childcare centre has been forced to hand over children’s art portfolios after attempting to charge parents $2200 for them. Credit: SevenCraigslea Kindergarten and Preschool. Credit: Seven

On Tuesday, an anxious parent — named only as Alex — spoke to Sunrise reporter Georgie Chumbley.

“Obviously we are trying to shield our children from it, but I think there would be no denying they are picking up on all the parents’ anxieties and fears around what is going on,” Alex said of the ongoing issues with the centre.

Chumbley said: “It is a precious time for the kids to get ready before they go to big school.”

“We do understand the parents are currently in conversations with the education department, hopefully this will get sorted soon.”

Under Education and Care Services national regulations, parents can request certain documentation pertaining to their child at no cost.

The Courier Mail reported the committee member had previously said the portfolios — in which teachers collated and analysed students’ artworks — were “intellectual property of the association”.