An eight-year-old boy was left alone at a school for up to three hours when school holiday program co-ordinators charged with his care accidentally abandoned him while taking a group of students on an excursion.

The child was on a program run by Team Kids at Dingley Village Primary when he was left behind at the campus for between one and three hours on Wednesday last week.

A Team Kids staff member realised a head count had not been carried out and that a child had been left behind. The staff member returned to the school, where they found him lying on the grass. The child was not distressed and did not leave the premises.

Four Team Kids staff members running the program that day were stood down and the Victorian Education Department is understood to have launched an investigation. The co-ordinators include one qualified teacher and three student teachers.

Team Kids’ chief executive James Taylor said he takes child safety very seriously. His organisation was investigating the matter and disciplinary action is expected to be taken once the probe is resolved.

Taylor said he had alerted the Australian Children’s Education & Care Quality Authority immediately and the Education Department has launched its own investigation.

“Policies and procedures weren’t followed such as a head count,” Taylor said.

“Child safety is paramount to us, hence why we took the actions to immediately make sure that the child was safe. We’ve been in close contact with the family during this time.”

The family has returned the child and his siblings to the school program, he said.

The Age has approached the Education Department for comment.

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