You are the supervisor (Joan Dwyer) in a full daycare setting. Over the past months, you have noticed that Tom Murphy, aged 4 has attended the preschool service with dirty clothes. He has complained frequently of feeling hungry and displayed aggressive behaviors toward other children; this was not typical until now.

When Mum left him off he always arrived at 9 am. Tom’s Dad now drops him to your service and he is often late, he can arrive anytime between 10 am -12 am and Dad is often late collecting him and you have had to ring him several times this month.

The staff has noticed twice, bruising on Tom’s upper arms, and when brought to the father’s attention, Dad said he ‘knocked himself against the wall’. Staff recorded this and have spoken to Dad about their growing concerns with little response.