Incident, Injury, Trauma and Illness
The National Regulations require an accurate Incident, Injury, Trauma and Illness Report to be kept and stored confidentially until the child is 25 years old.
Under the national legislation, an education and care service must record details in the Incident, Injury, Trauma and Illness Report for the following occurrences:
an incident in relation to a child,
an injury received by a child
trauma to which a child has been subjected
an illness that becomes apparent.
Information and Communications Technology (ICT)
The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) environment is continually changing. Early childhood services now have access to a wide variety of technologies via fixed, wireless and mobile devices. ICT is a cost-effective, timely and efficient tool for research, communication and management of a service and an enriching addition to our teaching resources. ICT, however, also brings with it many legal responsibilities in relation to information privacy, security and the protection of employees, families and children.
Governance and Management
Governance is the system or process by which organisations are directed, controlled and held accountable to ensure that the right decisions are made. Our education and care service recognizes the importance of having a framework of rules, relationships, systems and processes within, and by which authority is exercised and controlled in the organisation. We view good governance and management as essential to our provision of quality education and care.
Fees Policy
To enable our Centre to provide high quality early education and care for children we need to ensure we are financially viable at all times. Prompt payment of fees allows us to plan with certainty. We have a commitment to ensuring our fees are as affordable as possible and that all families have access to any subsidies that are available to reduce these fees.
Our Centre’s financial health and access to our Centre will be maximised by:
ensuring families are aware of all fees and fee payment requirements upon enrolment;
keeping fee increases to a minimum;
ensuring the cost of administering fee collection is minimised;
following the appropriate priority of access requirements;
following all legal requirements required by our access to government funding;
managing fee collection to avoid bad debts;
families are notified as far ahead as possible and no less than 14 days of any changes to fees or the way fees will be collected; and
ensuring we issue receipts of fees on a regular basis.
Excursions
Our education and care service is committed to providing excursions that are well considered and planned, provide meaningful experiences and ensure the health, safety and wellbeing of children at all times.
Environmental Sustainability
As an education and care community, we can encourage and increase awareness of environmental responsibilities and implement practices that contribute to a sustainable future. Children can be supported to become environmentally responsible and show respect for the environment. Providing children with time and experiences in nature plays a key part in this, as we feel children need to ‘fall in love’ with nature before they will want to care for and look after it. Environmentally sustainable practices and time in nature should be embedded into the operations of the education and care service and involve educators, children and families in order to be successful.
Enrolment and Orientation
Enrolment and orientation procedures form the foundation for strong relationships between families and early education and care settings and promote a quality experience of education and care for children.
Good procedures include consistent information around service operation and authorisations promoting compliance and a safe and secure environment for children and families.
It is the Centre’s policy to ensure the following goals are met:
Enrolment and orientation processes are planned and implemented;
Due consideration is given to culture and language in undertaking these processes;
Appropriate documentation, including authorisations, are completed during the enrolment and orientation process;
A thoughtful process is planned in consultation with families, to orient a child and family to the Centre.
Dealing with Medical Conditions
This policy acts to ensure that:
Children are supported to feel physically and emotionally well, and feel safe in the knowledge that their wellbeing and individual health care needs will be met when they are not well.
Families can expect that Educators will act in the best interests of the children in their care at all times; meet the children’s individual health care needs; maintain continuity of medication for their children when the need arises.
Educators feel competent to perform their duties; understand their liabilities and duty of care requirements; are provided with sufficient information and training regarding the administration of medication and other appropriate treatments.
Collaboration with families of children with diagnosed medial conditions to develop a Risk Minimisation Plan for their child;
All staff, including casual staff, educators and volunteers, are informed of all children diagnosed with a medical condition and the risk minimisation procedures for these;
All families are provided with current information about identified medical conditions of children enrolled at the service with strategies to support the implementation of the Risk Minimisation Plan;
All children with diagnosed medical conditions have a current Risk Minimisation Plan that is accessible to all staff;
All staff are adequately trained in the administration of emergency medication.
Acceptance and Refusal of Authorisations
Authorisation must be obtained from parent/guardians or authorised nominees in the following circumstances:
administering medication to children (regulation 92)
children leaving the premises in the care of someone other than their parent (regulation 99) other than the case of emergency
children being taken on excursions (regulation 102)
Dealing with Infectious Diseases Policy
Our education and care service is committed to providing a safe and healthy environment for all children, staff and any other persons attending the service by:
responding to the needs of the child or adult who presents with symptoms of an infectious disease or infestation while attending the service;
complying with current exclusion schedules and guidelines set by the Department of Health; and
providing up-to-date information and resources for families and staff regarding protection of all children from infectious diseases and blood-borne viruses, management of infestations and immunisation programs.
Curriculum, Programming and Progress Policy
The Centre’s curriculum is described as ‘all the interactions, experiences, activities, routines and events, planned and unplanned that occur in our environment which are designed to foster children’s learning and development’.
The Centre’s curriculum is guided by The Early Years Learning Framework together with professional knowledge which enables each child’s learning in the five outcomes:
Children have a strong sense of identity
Children are connected with and contribute to their world
Children have a strong sense of wellbeing
Children are confident and involved learners
Children are effective communicators
A learning framework is an important tool for helping educators to work with children and their families to achieve the best learning and developmental outcomes for children.
Complaints Handling Policy
Our Education and Care Service affirms that people have a right to question and influence decisions made and services provided. We take complaints seriously and manage them in a confidential, timely, transparent and meaningful way. We achieve this by:
Maintaining the confidentiality of all parties in line with policy and legislative requirements.
Acknowledging that the common goal is to achieve an outcome acceptable to all parties.
Acting in good faith and in a calm and courteous manner.
Showing respect and understanding of each other’s point of view and valuing difference, rather than judging and blaming.
Recognising that all parties have rights and responsibilities which must be balanced.
Handling complaints objectively and in a manner where complainants will not suffer any reprisals as a result of making a complaint.
Administration of First Aid
The First Aid Policy, strategies and practices are designed to support educators to:
Ensure that ill or injured persons are stabilised and comforted until medical help intervenes
Monitor ill or injured persons in the recovery stage
Apply further first aid strategies if the condition does not improve
Ensure that the environment is safe and that other persons are not in danger of becoming ill or injured.
Animals in the Environment Policy
Educators are “encouraged to foster children’s capacity to understand and respect the natural environment and the interdependence between people, plants, animals and the land.” (NQS element 3.2)
Responsible ownership of pets, animals or birds that may reside at the Education and Care Service or visit the premises is vital. Role models of appropriate behaviours with animals and guidance in caring for the needs of animals is beneficial for children. This policy also considers the management of unwanted visitors such as pests and vermin.
Behaviour Guidance Policy
Behavioural guidance policy
The purpose of the centre’s Behaviour Guidance Policy is to:
encourage acceptable forms of behaviour by using strategies that build children’s confidence and self-esteem;
provide children with support, guidance and opportunities to manage their emotions and develop ways to appropriately control their own behaviour; and
promote collaborative approaches to behaviour guidance and support between the centre’s stakeholders and/or external agencies.
Child Protection Policy
Child protection
Our service is committed to providing an environment that fosters health, development, spirituality, self-respect and dignity, free from violence and exploitation.
Under the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998, children and young people must receive the care and protection necessary to ensure their safety, welfare and wellbeing. All educators and volunteers of our service are Mandatory Reporters and are required to report to the Child Protection Helpline (Phone: 132 111) if they have reasonable grounds to suspect a child or young person is at risk of significant harm and have current concerns about the safety, welfare or wellbeing of a child or young person where the concerns arise during or from their work.