A childcare worker has been charged after allegedly slapping a three-year-old in the face in Sydney's north-west.

Officers attached to the Ryde Police Area Command this week began investigating a report that the 43-year-old woman had assaulted the child at a childcare centre in Dundas on Tuesday.

Police arrested the woman at a home on Dorahy Street in Dundas yesterday morning.

She was taken to Gladesville Police Station, where she was charged with assaulting a school student while attending school and common assault.

The childcare worker was granted conditional bail and will face the Burwood Local Court on December 8.

The early childhood education sector has faced national scrutiny over failures to keep children safe and meet standards.

It prompted the NSW government to introduce

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