{"id":72514,"date":"2026-08-15T08:17:39","date_gmt":"2026-08-15T08:17:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/72514\/"},"modified":"2026-08-15T08:17:39","modified_gmt":"2026-08-15T08:17:39","slug":"four-year-old-excluded-from-early-learning-centre-in-nsw-due-to-his-disability-related-needs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/72514\/","title":{"rendered":"Four-year-old excluded from early learning centre in NSW due to his disability-related needs"},"content":{"rendered":"

June 30 seemed like an ordinary day for four-year-old Tommy Schumacher.<\/p>\n

That morning, his parents packed his bag and sent him off to his early learning centre in Milton, on the NSW south coast.<\/p>\n

However, a few hours later, the family received a phone call and an email from the centre’s management in Canberra.<\/p>\n

“I am writing to inform you that unfortunately we are no longer able to support Thomas’ place at Budawang, effective immediately,” the email said.<\/p>\n

\"Tommy<\/p>\n

Tommy lives with Perthes disease and uses a wheelchair. (Supplied)<\/p>\n

The decision had “not been made lightly” and it followed legal advice received that very day, the email stated.<\/p>\n

His belongings would be handed over when Tommy was collected that afternoon.<\/p>\n

His mother Jessica said the sudden nature of the decision was hard for Tommy to comprehend.<\/p>\n

“They just basically pushed him out the door. There was no transition for him,” she said.<\/p>\n

“It’s not OK.”<\/p>\n

\"Tommy<\/p>\n

Tommy’s mother Jessica feels let down by the centre. (ABC News: Timothy Ailwood)<\/p>\n

When he was two years old, Tommy was diagnosed with Perthes disease, meaning the blood supply to the ball of his hip was lost.<\/p>\n

“[The] femoral head in his hip died. It lost blood supply,” Ms Schumacher said.<\/p>\n

“The bone went from a ball to a little pancake and was slowly growing back.”<\/p>\n

Tommy’s condition means he should not put weight on his legs, so he uses a wheelchair and needs to have his nappy changed.<\/p>\n

The nappy-changing process is what ultimately led to his exclusion from Budawang.<\/p>\n

“The early learning centre [said] that their change area now isn’t big enough to facilitate him,” Ms Schumacher said.<\/p>\n

\"Tommy<\/p>\n

Tommy pictured with his brother Jackson and their family dog Bear. (Supplied)<\/p>\n

Centre says Tommy was ‘loved’<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for Budawang said the centre was “truly saddened” by the experience of Tommy and his family.<\/p>\n

“Thomas has been a very loved member of our community and we tried our best to care for him safely as long as we possibly could,” the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

The centre said it implemented measures to meet his needs, including changes to the playground and furniture to improve accessibility and inclusion.<\/p>\n

\"Tommy<\/p>\n

A Budawang spokesperson says the centre is “truly saddened”. (Supplied)<\/p>\n

According to Budawang, an occupational therapist’s review determined there was not enough physical space to safely change Tommy.<\/p>\n

It followed a nappy-changing incident earlier this year in which Tommy was mistakenly removed from his wheelchair and showered.<\/p>\n

Budawang said it needed to create a “private and hygienic area large enough to fit a portable hoist, a suitable changing area, bath, Thomas’ wheelchair, Thomas and two educators”.<\/p>\n

“We had been working with our landlord to explore how the changes required could be accommodated, but we are a very small community centre and creating such a space would require significant building modifications, planning permissions and capital works,” they said.<\/p>\n

The site is owned by the NSW Department of Education.<\/p>\n

Tommy visited parliament\"Inside<\/p>\n

Tommy and his family visited state parliament and watched question time. (ABC News)<\/p>\n

The Schumachers believe Tommy was treated unfairly and cannot see a world in which they would send their son back, even if necessary works were carried out.<\/p>\n

They have not been able to find an early learning centre that can accommodate his needs.<\/p>\n

And the NDIS has denied the family’s request to fund support workers during the day.<\/p>\n

“Tommy is just falling through the gaps of the system with no supports in place for him,” Ms Schumacher said.<\/p>\n

Both Tommy’s parents work full time, so the four-year-old’s grandparents are caring for him five days a week.<\/p>\n

Last week, Tommy and his family visited state parliament and watched question time, during which Shadow Early Education Minister Felicity Wilson raised his case.<\/p>\n

\"Tommy<\/p>\n

The four-year-old’s case was raised by the shadow early education minister. (Supplied)<\/p>\n

Ms Wilson said it was “disappointing” the four-year-old’s disability was preventing him from accessing early childhood education.<\/p>\n

“Tommy, like any other child \u2026 really needs access to quality early learning. It’s the foundation of the future of the rest of their lives.”<\/p>\n

She said Education and Early Learning Minister, Prue Car, should intervene.<\/p>\n

“We’d call on her to make sure that she finds a place for Tommy so he can get the education and care that he needs, just like any other child, regardless of their ability,” Ms Wilson said.<\/p>\n

Ms Car said Tommy’s case was “very concerning”.<\/p>\n

“The Department of Education owns the land that the early learning centre is on and manages the licence agreement,” she said.<\/p>\n

“But, obviously, this was a decision made by the provider.”<\/p>\n

\"Prue<\/p>\n

Prue Car commented on Tommy’s situation. (ABC News: Timothy Ailwood)<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, she vowed to explore potential solutions.<\/p>\n

“I will go away and ensure that we are doing everything possible we can do within our remit,” she said.<\/p>\n

However, funding for disability support in long day care centres was the responsibility of the federal government, she said.<\/p>\n

Nowhere to turn<\/p>\n

Tommy’s case highlights the barriers many children with disabilities face when trying to access early childhood education.<\/p>\n

In 2022, Children and Young People with Disabilities Australia (CYDA) surveyed 181 parents and caregivers about their experiences.<\/p>\n

One in five reported their child being refused enrolment, while nearly a quarter said they were offered reduced hours.<\/p>\n

\"Kids<\/p>\n

There are barriers many children with disabilities face when trying to access early childhood education. (ABC News: Ebony ten Broeke)<\/p>\n

Access to child care more generally is worse in regional areas of NSW.<\/p>\n

A 2024 analysis by the Mitchell Institute found there were 0.85 places per child in the Sydney suburb of Chippendale.<\/p>\n

However, in Ulladulla, where the Schumachers live, there were 0.47 places per child.<\/p>\n

In the region directly surrounding the town, that figure drops to 0.15.<\/p>\n

The Minns government is in the process of building 100 public preschools, but the closest will be at Sanctuary Point, a 45-minute drive away.<\/p>\n

Ms Schumacher said she hoped Tommy’s case would draw attention to the exclusion some children with disabilities face.<\/p>\n

“We just want change for kids with disabilities in early childhood education. They need to be included and it needs to happen now,” she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"June 30 seemed like an ordinary day for four-year-old Tommy Schumacher. That morning, his parents packed his bag…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":72515,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[22,21,102329,102333,27217,102327,102328,6991,102330,6020,102331,7747,13333,102326,102332,102321,102323,102325,102322,102324],"class_list":["post-72514","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-austrlia","tag-budawang","tag-children-and-young-people-with-disabilities-australia","tag-early-learning-centre","tag-education-minister-prue-car","tag-excluded-from-early-learning-centre","tag-felicity-wilson","tag-jessica-schumacher","tag-ndis","tag-nsw-department-of-education","tag-nsw-parliament","tag-nsw-south-coast","tag-perthes-disease","tag-shadow-early-education-minister","tag-tommy-schumacher","tag-tommy-schumacher-childcare-centre","tag-tommy-schumacher-disability","tag-tommy-schumacher-excluded","tag-tommy-schumacher-family"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72514","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72514"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72514\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72515"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72514"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72514"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72514"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}