Carer looking after drowned boy was in danger of being burnt out, court told Lachlan Leslie: drowned in a swimming pool. In the months leading up to the drowning death of a toddler in a Sydney foster home, the boy's case worker twice expressed concern that his foster carer wasn't taking time off, and was in danger of "being burnt out," the coroner's court has heard. The case worker also recommended that only children aged five or older live in the home because of the age and number of children already there. In my opinion, Leanne was coping. She had a tight routine ... I was finding it hard to fault her On April 19, 2011, the body of 21-month-old Lachlan Leslie was found lying on the bottom of the swimming pool at a residence in Oakdale - a foster home where seven children were being looked after by one carer. Leanne Hestelow: Lachlan Leslie died while in her care. The inquest into Lachlan's death has heard that it was likely he fell into the pool after walking through an open gate while playing unsupervised in the backyard. An inspection after the death revealed that the gate to the pool was not functioning, with the self-closing mechanism and the magnetic latch both not working. The inquest also heard that shortly before Lachlan fell into the pool, his foster carer, Leanne Hestelow, had asked one of the other children, aged 11, to put him to bed. Ms Hestelow had then allegedly gone to bed for a nap. On Tuesday, the inquest heard evidence that Lachlan's case worker from the Kari Aboriginal service, Francois Droillet, had twice expressed concern in reports that Ms Hestelow wasn't taking enough time off from her caring duties. "Leanne has shown herself to be a resilient and capable carer," Mr Droillet wrote in 2010. One problem is that she doesn't take some time for herself ... Children under five years will be a challenge for her as she has a number of children aged seven and up, which includes three teenagers, and works part-time. In March 2011, a month before Lachlan drowned, Mr Droillet wrote: "Leanne is a little battler who struggles at times with her self-awareness. She doesn't take respite ... Leanne may risk being burnt out if she doesn't take time to rest and recover from her busy daily routine. Under examination from counsel assisting the coroner, Mr Droillet said that he had repeatedly asked Ms Hestelow whether she wanted to take time off, but she had said she didn't need it. However, he said that he believed the foster carer was still doing a good job. She provided a high standard and a great level of care ... I was finding it hard to fault her. I'm not going to force her to take time off. The inquest also heard that a number of Ms Hestelow's relatives, including her mother and brother, assisted with caring for the children, and that this provided some respite. The court heard that Mr Droillet had checked the pool gate two months before Lachlan drowned as part of a general house inspection, and recorded in his report that it was working.