Revealed: 321 children escape from New Zealand early childhood centres in five years

The Ministry of Education has received 259 reports of complaints and incidents about children escaping from early childhood education centres between 2020 and 2024. Photo / 123rf

More than 300 children have escaped from early childhood centres in New Zealand in five years, Ministry of Education data shows.

It comes after NZME reported six children escaping from daycares in three separate incidents in the Bay of Plenty last year.

target="_self">Four children were found “running around on the road” in Tauranga by a grandfather driving nearby in December. Nearby centre, Kids on Nineteen, apologised for the “deeply distressing” incident.

A two-year-old boy escaped from a Rotorua daycare and was found near a state highway by a motorist in August. The boy’s mother withdrew her son from the centre after the “shocking” incident at Harakeke Early Learning Centre.

The centre – which has since changed ownership – increased the height of the fence after discovering it “wasn’t quite at regulation”.

Learning Adventures Te Puke also increased the height of its fence after a child climbed over it in November.

The six children were found by members of the public.

Figures received from the ministry under the Official Information Act showed 259 reports of complaints and incidents about children escaping from early childhood education (ECE) centres between 2020 and 2024.

This equated to 321 children escaping.

A regional breakdown showed the Canterbury/Chatham Islands region recorded the highest number of incidents with 38, the Bay of Plenty/Waiariki region with 33, and Taranaki/Whanganui/Manawatū with 30.

The Nelson/Marlborough/West Coast region recorded the fewest reports, with six.

Gate left open by construction worker

The Bay of Plenty Times asked for a summary for reported escapes in the Bay between August 1, 2024, and January 31, 2025.

The ministry declined to release the names of ECE services but said there were six incidents during this time, three of which NZME had already reported on.

The other incidents included:

• August 21, 2024 – a 2-year-old child ran through a temporary barrier on the side of the building and out a gate left open by a construction worker. The child was never out of the sight of a teacher and the service reviewed and strengthened its procedures and practices.
• October 22, 2024 – a 4-year-old child left the centre “possibly following another adult out of the building”. The service provider investigated and identified areas where they were not complying with standards and “immediately addressed” these.

The ministry was still acting on an incident involving two children aged two and 21 months on November 4, 2024.

No mandatory reporting requirement

The ministry’s network and regulatory general manager Stephanie Ramirez said generally there was no mandatory reporting requirement if children left an ECE premises without an adult knowing.

The exception was if the ECE had to notify a specified agency such as Oranga Tamariki, the police, WorkSafe, the Ministry of Health or the Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand.

Ramirez said most incidents were resolved with no external agency involved.

Any variation in reported incidents over time did not necessarily indicate an increase or decrease in overall incidents – it could also reflect a variation in voluntary reporting or complaints from other sources such as whānau, she said.

When an incident was reported, the ministry followed up to ensure the risk to children had been managed appropriately.

Megan Wilson is a health and general news reporter for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post. She has been a journalist since 2021.