A little boy went missing from a Sydney daycare centre for several hours after a grandfather accidentally took the wrong child home. 

The mix-up at First Steps Learning Academy in Bangor, in the city’s south, was only discovered when the boy’s mother arrived to pick him up. 

However, to the woman’s horror, she realised her son was missing. 

Panicked staff reviewed CCTV footage, which showed the grandfather being handed the woman’s child, instead of his grandson, and leaving the daycare.   

His emotional wife explained it had been nap time when he arrived to pick up their grandchild and the room had been darkened. 

‘He was struggling with the car seat,’ she told the Sydney Morning Herald. 

‘He didn’t really notice much different because he doesn’t do the car seat that often, so his biggest thing was trying to [work out] the seat. 

‘When he got him home, he just snuggled into him and went to sleep, and he didn’t realise. He has the same hair, and he had the dummy in his mouth, and [my husband] said, “He’s not well. He’s not himself”.’

First Steps Learning Academy’s Trisha Hastie told Daily Mail the educator involved in the mix-up had been stood down. 

‘We sincerely apologise to the families directly involved in this deeply upsetting and isolated incident, and to the broader First Steps community for the distress it has caused,’ she said in a statement. 

‘The safety and wellbeing of every child in our care is our highest priority.’

Ms Hastie said it was the first time anything like this had happened at the childcare centre and its procedures had been updated to avoid a repeat.  

‘We have acted immediately to strengthen our procedures and ensure this never happens again,’ she continued. 

‘This has never happened before at Bangor, or at any of our other centres.

‘We have made immediate and significant changes around the drop-off and pick-up protocols to ensure this never happens again.’

The centre has strengthened its protocols to include authorised collection cards, additional staff during peak pick-up times, and photo ID cards for children. 

Entry to the centre will also be controlled via a doorbell, while a dedicated staff member will be positioned in the foyer during pick-up. 

The NSW Early Childhood Education and Care Regulatory Authority confirmed it was investigating the incident. 

‘This is a deeply concerning and serious incident,’ a spokesperson told Daily Mail. 

‘We will not hesitate to act to protect children’s health, safety and wellbeing.’