Family farewells Cairns toddler who was found dead on childcare bus

A funeral service has been held for the toddler who died after being left behind on a childcare bus for six hours in Cairns.

Family members have gathered for an emotional farewell for the three-year-old boy who died after being left on a daycare minibus in Cairns.

Family members have gathered for an emotional farewell for the three-year-old boy who died after being left on a daycare minibus in Cairns. Source: Matthew Karstunen/7 News Cairns

A funeral service has been held in Cairns for a three-year-old boy who died after being left on a childcare bus for six hours.

Some 500 mourners attended the service following the young child's death on 18 February.

Two staff members from the Goodstart Early Learning kindy in Edmonton have been charged with manslaughter following the boy's death.
Police allege the boy was collected from a Mount Sheridan address and was meant to be taken to a local daycare centre, but was reportedly left inside the vehicle and found dead outside Hambledon State School in the southern suburb of Edmonton that afternoon.

Officials from the learning centre said the child would have been strapped to the vehicle's seat as per company policy.

Following the tragic discovery, Goodstart Early Learning chief executive Julia Davison said the company would be doing "anything (it) possibly can to reach out and support the (boy's) family."

“It is every family’s worst nightmare that something might happen to their child and it is every educator’s worst nightmare something might happen to a child in their care,” she said.

All children who normally attend Goodstart Edmonton have been offered alternative placements in nearby centres.


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