The Discipline Committee hears matters regarding allegations of professional misconduct and/or incompetence which have been referred by the Complaints Committee following investigation.
The College is mandated to publish a summary of its disciplinary decisions and reasons when the Discipline Committee makes a finding of guilt. These disciplinary decisions are then published on the College’s website, on our blog and on CanLII, the Canadian Legal Information Institute’s website.
Fatima Sahara Sidibe, RECE # 07350
Facts: The Member pled not guilty to professional misconduct. Following a contested hearing, the Discipline Committee made the following findings of fact:
The Member and her two colleagues were preparing the children in the Centre to go for a walk. One of the Member’s colleagues marked all children present but had not conducted a proper headcount. The Member saw the colleague incorrectly complete the form and did not address it. Neither the Member nor her colleagues conducted a visual check of the infant room before taking the children outside. Once outside, neither the Member nor her colleagues conducted a headcount. The Member and her colleagues left for a walk with the children, not realizing they had left one behind in a rocker in the infant room. They did not become aware until another colleague phoned, approximately 40 minutes after they had left the Centre.
Finding: In its decision, the panel found that the evidence supported findings of professional misconduct.
The Member was found guilty of several acts of professional misconduct (Ontario Regulation 223/08), including failing to supervise adequately a person who was under her professional supervision; failing to maintain the standards of the profession; acting or failing to act in a manner that, having regard to the circumstances, would reasonably be regarded by members as disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional; contravening a law, which contravention caused a child or children under the Member’s professional supervision to be put at or remain at risk; and conducting herself in manner that is unbecoming a member.
The panel stated: “Maintaining a safe environment by ensuring the proper supervision of all children under an RECE’s care is fundamental to the trust placed in early childhood educators by parents and the community. When a child is left unattended at risk of physical harm, this calls into question the public trust and integrity of the profession. This behaviour also falls short of meeting the professional standards required of the professional of early childhood educators.”
Penalty: Following a penalty hearing, the Committee directed the Registrar to suspend the Member’s certificate of registration for four months and to impose terms, conditions and limitations on the Member’s certificate of registration, including meetings with a mentor. The Committee also required the Member to appear before it to be reprimanded and ordered the Member to pay $21,000 to reimburse the College for a portion of the prosecution and hearing costs.
The full decision can be found here, linked under the heading “Special Notices.”
William George De Wit, RECE # 46164
Facts: The Member did not attend the hearing and was presumed to plead not guilty to professional misconduct. Following a contested hearing, the Discipline Committee made the following findings of fact:
The Member intervened in an altercation between two children, and redirected one child to their cot as it was nap time. The child perceived this to be a time out, became upset and began hitting and kicking the Member and a bookshelf.
The Member remained engaged with the child and sat on the floor near the child between the child’s cot and the bookshelf. The Member did not de-escalate the situation. The Member grabbed the child’s left arm and leg to reposition the child on the child’s cot with enough force to cause bruising to the child’s upper left arm. The Member did not report this or log the child’s behaviour, but only mentioned it to his colleague.
Finding: In its decision, the panel found that the evidence supported findings of professional misconduct.
The Member was found guilty of several acts of professional misconduct (Ontario Regulation 223/08), including physically abusing a child who was under his professional supervision; psychologically and/or emotionally abusing a child who was under his professional supervision; acting or failing to act in a manner that, having regard to the circumstances, would reasonably be regarded by members as disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional; and conducting himself in a manner that is unbecoming a member.
The Panel noted that the Member had shown through his unwillingness to communicate regarding the discipline process and his conduct demonstrating that he is not willing to be governed by the College and that he is not interested in rehabilitating himself or in continuing to practise the profession under the mandate of the College.
Over and above the question of ungovernability, the Panel concluded on a balance of probabilities that the Child was physically abused by the Member. The combination of the physical abuse and the Member’s governability led the Panel to conclude that the revocation of his registration was an appropriate penalty.
Penalty: The Committee directed the Registrar to revoke the Member’s certificate of registration. The Committee also required the Member to pay $5,000 to reimburse the College for a portion of the prosecution and hearing costs.
The full decision can be found here, linked under the heading “Special Notices.”
Jennifer Mesaric, RECE # 64012
Facts: The Member pled guilty to professional misconduct. Following an uncontested hearing, the Discipline Committee accepted the following admissions as facts.
The Member did not conduct a headcount or check the attendance sheet to ensure that all the children were present. While it was getting dark and the temperature was -5 Celsius, a three-year-old child remained in the fenced playground alone and unsupervised for 15 minutes until a person of the public found the child crying, cold and scared.
Two weeks prior to this incident, the Member failed to conduct a headcount, resulting in two children remaining outside unsupervised. Following this incident, there was a reminder conversation with the Member about the importance of headcounts. On another occasion, the Member turned away from a child she was supervising on the playground and propped the door to the Centre open to bring something from the Centre. She was not supervising the Child for a short period of time and was reminded she could not do that.
Finding: In its decision, the panel found that the evidence supported findings of professional misconduct.
The Member was found guilty of several acts of professional misconduct (Ontario Regulation 223/08), including failing to supervise adequately a person who was under her professional supervision; failing to maintain the standards of the profession; acting or failing to act in a manner that, having regard to the circumstances, would reasonably be regarded by members as disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional; and conducting herself in a manner that is unbecoming a member.
The Panel took note that if the Member had taken appropriate action and followed procedures, the situation could have been prevented. Similarly, if the Member had communicated more effectively with her colleague, the length of the time that the Child was left alone unsupervised might have been significantly reduced. The Panel also was concerned that the Child was left in the vulnerable position of having a caring stranger return them to the Centre, which may not have otherwise been the case.
Penalty: The Committee directed the Registrar to suspend the Member’s certificate of registration for six months and to impose terms, conditions and limitations on the Member’s certificate of registration which included seven meetings with a mentor. The Committee also required the Member to appear before it to be reprimanded and ordered the Member to pay $1,000 to reimburse the College for a portion of the prosecution and hearing costs.
The full decision can be found here, linked under the heading “Special Notices.”