contents page no 1. hume city council 1 · pdf file1. hume city council 1 introduction 1 our...

Next Review due: June 2013

1. HUME CITY COUNCIL 1 Introduction 1

Our Vision & Mission 2

Our Hume Values 3

Services contact list 4

2. SERVICE MANAGEMENT 6 Governance and management of the service 6

Confidentiality and privacy 6

Storage of records 7

Quality Improvement Plans 7

Enrolment and orientation 8

Waiting List 8

Priority of access 9

Enrolment process 9

Orientation 10

Payment of fees 12

Cancellation or change of bookings 13

Fee Assistance 14

Children’s services closure dates 15

Complaints 16

3. HEALTH AND SAFETY 17 Delivery and collection of children 17

Collection of children 18

Centre access 18

Excursions/Incursions 19

Refusal and acceptance of authorisation 21

Emergency and evacuation 23

Infectious Disease 25

Exclusion period for infection illness 25

Immunisation 27

Medical conditions 28

Medication 30

Nutrition 33

Active play 34

Sleep and rest 35

Toileting 35

Sun protection 36

Water safety 37

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Next Review due: June 2013 of 51 | Hume City Council Family & Children’s Services - Family Handbook Next Review due: June 2013

Incident, injury, trauma and illness 38

Child safe environment 40

Administration of First Aid 41

4. EDUCATION PROGRAM AND PRACTICE 42 Family involvement 42

Family grouping 43

Belongings from home 43

Money 44

Clothing 44 5. EDUCATORS ARRANGEMENTS 45 Code of Conduct 45

Educator qualifications 45

Determining the responsible person present 46

Volunteers and students 46

Visitor register 47

6. RELATIONSHIP WITH CHILDREN 48 Interactions with children 48

7. REFERENCES 50

8. APPENDICES 51

Copyright

All rights reserved. Australian copyright law and international treaties protect all graphics, textual, audio, and audiovisual material in this manual. You may not copy, distribute, or use these materials except as necessary for your personal, non-commercial use. Any trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

For more information contact:

Hume City Council

Tel: +613 9205 2200

Fax: +613 9309 0109

Email: [email protected]

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Disclaimer:

It is the responsibility of each educator and staff member to ensure that they are aware of changes and updates to policies. All employees must ensure that they have the most current version of the policy. Please refer to electronic policy for most current version.

Next Review due: June 2013 Hume City Council Family & Children’s Services - Family Handbook | Page 1 of 51

Hume City Council is one of the largest Local Government providers of early childhood programs and welcomes all families to our suite of Family and Children’s Services programs:

■ Preschool

■ Long Day Care

■ 3 Year Old Activity Programs

■ Occasional Care programs

■ Before and After School Care

■ Vacation Care

Hume City Council educational services aims to provide quality educational and care programs for all children and families in accordance with the National Quality Framework (NQF).

The National Quality Framework is a national legislative framework established through an applied law system, which applies to all of Hume City Council’s Family and Children’s Services and consists of:

■ Education and Care Services National Law Act 2010 (National Law).

■ Education and Care Services National Regulations 2011 (National Regulations).

■ National Quality Standards.

■ A quality assessment and rating system.

■ A regulatory authority in each state (DEECD).

■ Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA).

The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD) is the regulatory authority for Victoria.

The National Quality Standard is divided into 7 Quality Areas:

1. Educational program and practice

2. Children’s health and safety

3. Physical environment

4. Staffing arrangements

5. Relationships with children

6. Collaborative partnerships with families and communities

7. Leadership and service management

This handbook provides you with important information regarding our services and includes all relevant regulations policies and procedures in each area. Council’s policies and procedures are reviewed on a regular basis and we welcome suggestions and feedback from children and families.

All documents relating to educational services are available for you to access in the foyer of each service. The relevant websites are included in the reference section for your information.

Hume City Council recognises that families are the primary influence in their children’s lives, and have important beliefs regarding the education and care of their children and the experiences in which their children should be able to participate.

INTRODUCTION

1. HUME CITY COUNCIL

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Vision

Hume City Council will be recognised as a leader in achieving social, environmental and economic outcomes with a common goal of connecting our proud community and celebrating the diversity of Hume.

Mission

To enhance the social, economic and environmental prosperity of our community through vision, leadership, excellence and inclusion.

We Value

Our Citizens

We will promote democratic representation and genuinely engage our citizens to promote a sense of belonging within a healthy, safe, strong and diverse community.

We will lead the way to identify community needs and best practice service delivery models and advocate for an integrated approach to service provisions.

Our services and facilities will be high quality and we will pursue efficiency and continuous improvement through customer focus and innovation.

Our Staff

We will demonstrate this by encouraging, supporting and developing our employees to achieve service excellence and a sense of unity, pride and fulfilment.

Partnerships with the Federal and State Governments

We will work together to achieve the equitable provision of services and infrastructure to meet current and future community needs.

Our Community Organisations

We will work in partnership with them to build community wellbeing, resilience and capacity.


Respect

Customer FocusInnovation

Collaboration

OUR HUME VALUES

Respect

I will:

■ Actively listen and communicate with others

■ Value individual differences and the contribution of others

■ Treat people fairly and ensure others do the same

Customer Focus

I will:

■ Take responsibility for delivering services and solutions in a timely manner

■ Respond to internal and external customers professionally and respectfully

■ Engage with, listen and seek to understand the needs and expectations of the customer/resident

Collaboration

I will:

■ Support and assist others by sharing information, knowledge and resources

■ Cooperate with others to set and achieve common goals

■ Actively participate and contribute to the team

Innovation

I will:

■ Explore and act on better ways of doing things

■ Be open minded and encourage new ideas from others

■ Actively learn and develop to improve the work I do for the organisation


BEFORE AND AFTER SCHOOL CARE

Craigieburn South Before & After School Care102 Hothlyn DriveCraigieburn 3064 Phone: 9308 4744

Kismet Park Before and After School CareKismet Park Primary School9-19 McEwan DriveSunbury 3429 Phone: 9744 6524

Sunbury Heights Before and After School CareSunbury Heights Primary School Charter Road EastSunbury 3429 Phone: 9746 3264

VACATION CARE

Broadmeadows Vacation CareBroadmeadows Valley Primary School Dimboola RoadBroadmeadows 3047 Phone: 0417 352 208

Craigieburn Vacation CareCraigieburn South Primary School102 Hothlyn DriveCraigieburn 3064 Phone: 0417 595 026

Greenvale Vacation CareGreenvale Recreation Centre Barrymore RoadGreenvale 3059 Phone: 0418 377 091

Roxburgh Park Vacation CareYouth and Recreation Centre 70 Lakeside DriveRoxburgh Park 3064 Phone: 0409 199 462

Kismet Park Vacation CareKismet Park Primary SchoolMcEwan DriveSunbury 3429 Phone: 0409 184 280

Sunbury Heights Vacation CareSunbury Heights Primary School Charter Road EastSunbury 3429

LONG DAY CARE

Craigieburn Early Childhood Services 153 Craigieburn Road WestCraigieburn 3064 Phone: 9308 3747

Homestead Child and Family Centre15 Homestead RunRoxburgh Park 3064 Phone: 9308 9066

LONG DAY CARE (cont’d)

Sunningdale Avenue Children’s Centre Dornoch DriveSunbury 3429 Phone: 9744 2845

Westmere Children’s Services Centre 492 Barry RoadCoolaroo 3048 Phone: 9351 1544

PRESCHOOLCampbellfield Heights Preschool26 Waratah StreetCampbellfield 3061 Phone: 9359 6304

Westmere Crescent Preschool38 Westmere CrescentCoolaroo 3048 Phone: 9309 6041

Bank Street Preschool26 Bank StreetCraigieburn 3064 Phone: 9308 1129

Hilton Street Preschool20 Hilton StreetCraigieburn 3064 Phone: 9308 1562

Mitford Crescent Preschool14 Mitford CrescentCraigieburn 3064 Phone: 9308 2299

Malcolm Creek87-91 Grand BoulevardCraigieburn 3064 Phone: 9308 4843

Pembroke Preschool38 Pembroke CrescentCraigieburn 3064 Phone: 9308 3544

Craigieburn Child & Family Centre24-26 Cleveland DriveCraigieburn 3064 Phone: 9205 2712/ 2713

Farm Ridge Preschool9 Claredale AvenueGladstone Park 3043 Phone: 9338 6767

Taylor Drive Preschool91 Taylor DriveGladstone Park 3043 Phone: 9338 2009

Dawson Street PreschoolDawson StreetTullamarine 3043 Phone 9338 0060

SERVICES CONTACT DETAILS

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PRESCHOOL (cont’d)

Barrymore Road Preschool31 Barrymore RoadGreenvale 3059 Phone: 9333 3063

Bradford Avenue Preschool24 Bradford AvenueGreenvale 3059 Phone: 9333 1488

Homestead Child & Family Centre15 Homestead RunRoxburgh Park 3064 Phone: 9308 9117

Bluebird WayBluebird WayRoxburgh Park 3064 Phone: 9205 2720

Bellbrae Court Preschool19 Bellbrae CourtMeadow Heights 3048 Phone: 9309 7680

Tarcoola Preschool12-16 Tarcoola AvenueMeadow Heights 3048 Phone: 9305 3577

Westmeadows PreschoolArdlie StreetWestmeadows 3049 Phone: 9333 1696

Dobell Avenue Preschool35 Dobell AvenueSunbury 3429 Phone: 9744 2153

Learmonth Street Preschool49 Learmonth StreetSunbury 3429 Phone: 9744 5626

McEwen Drive Preschool9 McEwen DriveSunbury 3429 Phone: 9744 4715

Stewarts Lane PreschoolStewarts LaneSunbury 3429 Phone: 9744 3535

Sunningdale Avenue Children’s CentreDornoch DriveSunbury 3429 Phone: 9744 7462

Craigieburn Global Learning CentreCentral Park Avenue Craigieburn 3064 Phone: 9356 6148

3 YEAR OLD PROGRAM

Mitford Crescent Preschool14 Mitford CrescentCraigieburn 3064 Phone: 9308 2299

Craigieburn Leisure Centre127-149 Craigieburn Road WestCraigieburn 3064 Phone: 9308 2022

Farm Ridge Preschool9 Claredale AvenueGladstone Park 3043 Phone: 9338 6767

Taylor Drive Preschool91 Taylor DriveGladstone Park 3043 Phone: 9338 2009

Greenvale Recreation Centre27 Barrymore RoadGreenvale 3059 Phone: 0409 381 789

Roxburgh Park Recreation Centre70 Lakeside DriveRoxburgh Park 3064 Phone: 9308 0028

14-17 Bluebird WayRoxburgh Park 3064 Phone: 9205 2720

Westmeadows PreschoolArdlie StreetWestmeadows 3049 Phone: 9333 1696

Elizabeth Drive Child & Family Centre511 Elizabeth DriveSunbury 3429 Phone: 9205 2829

OCCASIONAL CARE

Craigieburn Global Learning Centre(bookings only)Central Park Avenue Craigieburn 3064 Phone 9356 6111

Greenvale Recreation Centre(bookings only)27 Barrymore RoadGreenvale 3059 Phone: 9333 6703

Roxburgh Park Youth & Recreation Centre70 Lakeside DriveRoxburgh Park 3064 Phone: 9205 2200

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INTRODUCTION

Hume City Council’s educational services have appropriate governance arrangements to support the effective administration and management of all children service programs including compliance and regulatory requirements.

CONFIDENTIALITY, PRIVACY OF RECORDS

Hume City Council is strongly committed to protecting an individual’s right to privacy and in compliance with the Information Privacy Principle 5.1 of the Information Privacy Act 2000 and Health Privacy Principle 5 of the Health Records Act 2001.

All information provided to Hume City Council regarding the child and the family is confidential and within the guidelines of the Information Privacy Act 2000 (Vic) and the Health Record Act (2001).

Information that is kept in a record as required by the National Regulations must not be communicated (either directly or indirectly) with anyone other than:

■ educators who require the information for the education and care of the child

■ medical personnel who require the information for medical treatment of the child

■ parents of the child that the record relates to (except for a staff record), or Regulatory Authority or an authorised officer (DEECD)

Hume City Council will only collect personal information that is necessary for its functions and activities.

Hume City Council collects information in relation to families and children. This information is used to:

■ register and enrol children into long day care and early childhood programs

■ ensure appropriate educators and associated resources

■ contact parents or appropriate people in the event of an emergency

■ comply with relevant legislation

Certain records are required to be kept until the child reaches 24 years of age.

Records services retained are:

■ attendance records

■ accident /injury/trauma/illness and medication records

Records will only be available to:

■ parents using the Hume City Council’s Parent/Guardian Consent Release form (see Appendix - Hume City Council’s Parent/Guardian Consent Release form)

■ appropriate council officers and/or authorised officers from Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD)

■ Child Protection (after consultation with DEECD Authorised Officers) and Hume City Council’s Family and Children’s Services management

2. GOVERNANCE AND SERVICE MANAGEMENTEducation & Care National Regulations 158, 168(2)(l)(k)(n)(o), 177–184Education & Care National Law: Section 115, 175Education & Care National Quality Standards 5.1, 5.2, 7.3.1, 7.3.5

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■ Victoria Police upon issue of a warrant form

■ solicitors and/or court upon issue of subpoena of records

■ Early Childhood Professionals (eg. specialist children’s services) to whom the child has been referred with parental permission

■ Hume City Council’s Licensee

■ information will not be disclosed to other parties except as required by law or without written permission

■ disposal/destruction of records will be in accordance with the requirements of the Victorian Public Records Office 2007

Information may be communicated if authorised or required under any Act or Law, or if the person who provided the information gives written permission. For example, a parent may give written permission for the service to share information about their child with a support agency such as Inclusion Support, Maternal and Child Health or Preschool Field Officer

Should any person wish to access their personal information, they may contact Hume City Council’s Privacy Officer by calling 9205 2200. Access will be provided except in the circumstances outlined in the Act; for example, where the information relates to legal proceedings or where the Freedom of Information Act 1982 applies

STORAGE OF RECORDS

All records remain the property of Hume City Council and family correspondence records are stored securely in the service. All records may be kept in hard copy or electronic form, provided that they are accessible as required.

In the event that a service approval is to be transferred, the transferring Approved Provider must obtain consent from parents to transfer their records listed in Regulation 171 to the new provider on the date that the transfer is to take effect.

QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PLANS

Quality Improvement Plans are prepared for each service as part of a continuous improvement process, through a range of strategies including consultation with the families and early years colleagues.

Quality Improvement Plans must:

■ describe a self-assessment of the quality of the practices of the service against the National Quality Standards and the National Regulations

■ identify areas for improvement

■ contain a statement of the approved service’s philosophy

The Quality Improvement Plan is updated at least annually or at the direction of the Regulatory Authority and be available at the service and submitted to the Regulatory Authority on request.

The National Regulations require the current Quality Improvement Plan to be kept at the children’s service with previous versions available to demonstrate the achievements and progress.




ENROLMENT AND ORIENTATIONEducation & Care National Regulations 102, 160-162, 168(2)(k),177Education & Care National Quality Standards: 6.1.1, 7.3.1, 7.3.5

INTRODUCTION


Enrolment and orientation procedures in all Hume City Council’s children’s services ensure a strong foundation for relationships with children, families and educators.

Families are encouraged to visit Hume City Council’s children’s services with their child prior to commencement.

Pre-enrolment orientation is encouraged from prospective families and children and visits to our services may include:

■ a tour of the service indoors and outdoors environment

■ service philosophy and play based curriculum

■ introduction to educators

■ policies and procedures

■ administrative procedures, costs and fee payments

WAITING LISTS

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Prospective families may wish to place their child’s name on a waiting list for Hume City Council’s educational services. A confirmation letter is posted following receipt of the request.

Children will remain on the waiting list until a placement becomes available. When a place becomes available, families will receive a phone call and a confirmation in writing, with information about the enrolment process and the collection of an enrolment pack.

Waiting lists for educational services are maintained in accordance with the date of application and Priority of Access guidelines. To ensure the system is fair, the Australian Government has “Priority of Access Guidelines” for allocating places equitably.

The guidelines only apply to approved childcare. They are used when there is a waiting list for a childcare service or when a number of parents are applying for a limited number of vacant places.

Please note that where demand exceeds places, a ballot based on Priority of Access Guidelines will be conducted to allocate places. Families will be notified in writing of the days and sessions that they have been successfully booked prior to the commencement of the program. Prior to each school holidays, families are asked to complete a booking request form, listing details for preferred service and days. Forms are available at www.hume.vic.gov.au

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Preschool registrations open on 1st March two years prior to the year of attendance. Registration forms are available at Council customer service offices, Preschools and Maternal Child Health Centres. Registration forms must be accompanied by the child’s birth certificate and the payment of the registration fee or a copy of a Concession card for exemption.

Preschool places will be offered in term 3 of the year prior, and families will receive a letter confirming their preschool session times and the time and date of the information session. During this session parents collect an Enrolment Pack, which contains information regarding interview times, orientation sessions and graduated starts timetable. Please refer to the Preschool Enrolment Policy for further detail, http://www.hume.vic.gov.au/Services_For_You/Children/Preschool_Kindergarten.

Preschool families will receive a letter confirming their preschool session times and the time and date of the information session. During this session parents collect an Enrolment Pack, which contains information regarding interview times, orientation sessions and graduated starts timetable.

Registration for the 3 Year Old Programs are available in the year prior to attendance.

■ Registration forms are available from 1 March (one year prior to the year of attendance)

■ Children who turn three prior to 30 April 2013 may participate in the program with their parents in attendance

Families will receive a letter of offer prior to commencing a preschool/activity program. The letter outlines the name of the service and the session times of the preschool.

Session bookings can be made by calling the relevant booking line for each service, as listed under the Service Contact Details in this book.

Families are required to collect an enrolment record from the service and complete it prior to commencement of care. Bookings are taken one week in advance for children already enrolled at the service.

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Families may register their interest by completing an application form for the specific centre they wish to attend. Applications must be accompanied by a birth certificate. Families will be contacted when a place becomes available.

Enrolments apply to a calendar year. Current families who require care in the following year are asked to enrol their child, following the enrolment procedures and submit a new application. Prior recognition will be given to those families who have current bookings to re-enrol for the following year. Enrolment allocations are prioritised by date and time of receipt, subject to availability

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PRIORITY OF ACCESS GUIDELINES

■ First Priority: a child at risk of serious abuse or neglect.

■ Second Priority: a child of a single parent, or of parents who satisfy, the work/training/study test under Section 14 of the ‘A New Tax System (Family Assistance) Act 1999’.

■ Third Priority: any other child.

Within these main categories priority should also be given to the following children:

■ Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families

■ families which include a disabled person

■ families which include an individual whose adjusted taxable income does not exceed the lower income threshold specified by Family Assistance, or who or whose partner are on income support

■ families from a non-English speaking background

■ socially isolated families

■ single parents

An educational service may require a Priority 3 child to vacate a place to make room for a child with a higher priority, provided:

■ the family is notified that the service follows this policy when their child first enters care

■ at least 14 days notice of the need for the child to vacate is given

Before and After School Care and Vacation Care is primarily for school aged children. However a service may ask a child not yet enrolled in school to leave care if an enrolled child applies for a place.

ENROLMENT PROCESS


Enrolment forms for all Hume City Council’s educational services programs is to be completed with all relevant information prior to your child attending the service, which includes: (A requirement of the Education and Care Services National Regulations, 2011)

■ the name, address and telephone number of each parent/guardian that the child resides with or has contact with

■ the name, address and telephone number of two emergency contact persons who can be notified of any incident, injury, trauma or illness involving the child

■ a printed copy of any court orders relating to the powers, duties, responsibilities or authorities of any person in relation to the child or access to the child

Enrolments apply to a calendar year. Current families who require care in the following year are asked to enrol their child, following the enrolment procedures and submit a new application. Prior recognition will be given to those families who have current bookings to re-enrol for the following year. Enrolment allocations are prioritised by date and time of receipt, subject to availability.

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ORIENTATION

Orientation programs for families and children beginning at Hume City Council’s educational services have a focus on building secure, respectful and reciprocal relationships between children, families and educators. Children and families are given many opportunities to familiarise themselves with the service both by spending time in the new environment and by having access to information about policies and procedures which underpin the entire program.

Families are strongly encouraged to participate in the orientation program in the first few weeks to help children to settle in, or to call the centre to enquire about their child during the settling in period or at any other time. When a family member stays to help a child settle in and the child experiences the trusted family member interacting with an educator, the child and educator begin to form a relationship. The orientation program forms a partnership with families to ensure a smooth transition for their child and families. Parents/guardians will need to stay within the centre building during the orientation process to comply with regulation requirements.

PROGRESSING ROOMS

Orientation is also offered when children move up to the next room in a long day care setting and families are strongly encouraged to support their child through this transition. Sometimes children become unsettled during these transition times or adjustment to a new situation, even though they have been at the service for a long period of time, so spending some time with your child to establish meaningful relationships with their new educators is strongly advised to aid a smooth transition.

Children will progress to the next group when developmentally appropriate, if a vacancy exists. When a vacancy in another group arises, parents and educators in each room will consult on the orientation process to the next room. Educators will consult with families about the child’s progress to determine the most appropriate transition.


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PAYMENT OF FEESEducation & Care National Regulations 168(2)(n), 177Education and Care National Quality Standards: 7.3.2, 7.3.5

INTRODUCTION

Payments are accepted at any of Hume City Council’s customer service centres upon presentation of a service invoice or statement. The official receipt must be presented at the educational service as proof of payment.

Hume City Council offers support for families experiencing financial difficulties and families are asked to contact their children’s service. It is the responsibility of the family to inform the service of any changed circumstances, which may require fee adjustments.

Families who are in arrears of fees will receive notice of Cancellation of Care. A financial statement will be forwarded stating the outstanding fees and cancellation date and this will be forwarded to Hume City Council’s Finance Department for debt collection.

Families listed as having an outstanding debt with Hume City Council, can negotiate a payment plan to clear the debt prior to enrolling their child into another Hume City council educational service. Bookings will be cancelled where a payment plan is not honoured.

Fees are payable on days where your child is absent from the service.

Hume City Council will provide families with a weekly fee statement as required by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR). Payment is required one week in advance.

Fees can be paid at the service during the designated times if payment. Any fee after 10.00am Friday will be considered overdue. Outstanding fees will be issued with an accounting levy of $20.00. An accounting levy will apply for each week that the account remains outstanding.

Where children are absent for any period (ie. holidays), fees must be paid in advance.

Fee payments cannot be made at preschool services.

Invoices are issued to families at the beginning of each term. Term fees are payable prior to commencement within the service. Fees are charged regardless of a child’s attendance during the term.

Concession Card holders are required to produce their card at the time of payment. Concession Card fee reductions are only available for the period of the time that the card is valid.

Council does not refund fees for any cancellation of a session due to educator absences/public holidays.

The session fee must be paid prior to the commencement of the session. Payments can be made through EFTPOS at the program or through Customer Service for the Craigieburn GLC program. CCB is available to families at the Roxburgh Park and Craigieburn GLC Occasional Care programs.

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Hume City Council will provide families with a weekly fee statement as required by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR). Payment is required one week in advance.

Fees can be paid at the service during the designated times of payment. Any fee after 9:00 am Friday will be considered overdue. Outstanding fees will be issued with an accounting levy of $20.00. An accounting levy will apply for each week that the account remains outstanding.

Statements are issued to families after bookings have been finalised through the Vacation Care enrolment process. Fees must be paid in full by the advertised due date; where fees are not paid by the due date the offer of enrolment will be withdrawn.

BPAY

Families are allocated a BPAY reference number upon request and are advised to keep a record of the reference number and details for each service use.

CANCELLATION AND CHANGE OF BOOKING

Two (2) weeks notice is required if you wish to:

■ cancel your child’s care, or

■ change your child’s booked days

Parents are required to submit the proposed changes in writing by completing the relevant form. Forms can be obtained from educational service.

Any changes made to bookings are on a permanent. Due to operational requirements changes will not be made on a temporary basis, ie. reducing days over holiday periods etc.

Cancellation of bookings and changes to bookings cannot be made after the advertised application due date. All requests for cancellations must be sent through in writing to the Team Leader. Cancellations and changes will not be accepted over the phone.

Requests for changes or cancellations will be considered based on number of places available, waiting lists, date received and the circumstances surrounding the request. Requests are not guaranteed and fees may still be payable following your request.

Refunds are not available for booked places where children do not attend the program.

Bookings can be cancelled prior to 8am of the day of the session wihtout incurring session fees. Cancellations made after this time will incur the full session fee, and for services where CCB is available, CCB will not apply to this session.

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NON–NOTIFICATION OF ABSENCE

Where a child does not arrive for After School Care at the allocated meeting place, the school and service educators will contact the child’s family and emergency contacts to confirm the whereabouts of the child

Where the service has not been notified of the child’s absence a $5.00 non-notification fee will be applied to the account, in addition to the standard session fee.

FEE ASSISTANCE

Child Care Rebate (CCR)

The 50% Child Care Rebate (CCR) assists families with the cost of childcare. The claimant must have passed the CCB work/training/study test for the purpose of the rebate and covers 50% of out-of-pocket expenses for approved child care with a maximum rebate per child of $7,500 (indexed per year).

Families have the option to receive the CCR paid directly to a nominated bank account, or through the child care service provider as a fee reduction. Families still have the option to receive the CCR paid quarterly or annually as a lump sum directly to their bank accounts.

Child Care Benefit (CCB)

Child Care Benefit (CCB) is a payment made to assist with the costs of child care. This can be claimed as reduced fees or as an annual lump sum at the end of the financial year.

For more information phone 13 61 50 or visit www.mychild.gov.au

Parents/guardians must advise the service of their Customer Reference Numbers (CRN), date of birth and correct spelling of their names.

CCB is only payable on absences of up to 42 days per financial year. Fees are payable for all absences beyond the first 42 will only be paid for ‘additional absences’ if parents/guardians provide evidence that the absence has occurred under a permitted circumstance.

Additional absences include:

■ an illness (with a medical certificate)

■ an outbreak of infectious disease when the child is not immunised

■ any other absences due to sickness of the child, a parent or sibling, supported by medical certificates

■ a temporary closure of a school or pupil free day

■ a period of local emergency

■ exceptional circumstances:

▪ rostered days off/rotating shift work ▪ shared care arrangements with supporting court related documents

Additional absences do not include public holidays. CCB will not be paid for public holidays if all 42 absences have already been utilised.

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Families are not eligible to receive CCB as a fee reduction in circumstances where either

■ the child has bookings, but does not attend for the first day at the start of the period

■ the child has bookings, and does not attend the last day of the period.

Jobs, Education and Training Child Care Fee Assistance (JET)

Fee Assistance is also available for eligible families through the JET program. For more information phone 13 61 50 or visit www.familyassist.gov.au or www.mychild.gov.au

SERVICE CLOSURE DATES

All Hume City Council’s children’s services are closed on the following days:

■ Australia Day

■ Labour Day

■ Good Friday

■ Easter Monday

■ Anzac Day

■ Queen’s Birthday

■ Melbourne Cup Day

Fees are payable on public holidays (excluding Before and After School Care/Vacation Care/Occasional Care).

All Hume City Council’s educational services are closed for the following:

■ All school holidays (with the exception of Vacation Care and Long Day Care)

■ One (1) day for Educator Professional Development (parents will be advised in advance)

Fees are not charged for Educator Professional Development days where the service is closed.

JANUARY HOLIDAY PROGRAM

Services will be closed each year over the Christmas/New Year period for a minimum of two weeks.

CURRICULUM DAYS

Where a school has a Curriculum Day and there is sufficient interest from families, the service will operate a Curriculum Day program.

The service will seek interest from families at least four weeks prior to the Curriculum Day and families will be notified if the day will run at least one week prior to the date.


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INTRODUCTION

Parents are encouraged to participate in children’s programs, to provide suggestions, feedback and reflection on program practice. Feedback may be submitted in the format that is most appropriate and comfortable for the customer, eg. letter, fax, email via Hume City Council’s website, face to face or by telephone.

When a parent has a concern or complaint regarding the care and education of their child, this complaint will be treated seriously and investigated within 48 hours. Children’s services must notify by telephone within 48 hours, followed by written notification as soon as practicable, after a complaint is made if the complaint alleges:

(a) the health, safety or wellbeing of any child being cared for or educated by the children’s service may have been compromised, or

(b) a contravention of the Act or these Regulations.

Families are advised to:

1. Raise the issue with room educators who will follow up the matter.

2. If the room educator cannot resolve the matter to the parent’s satisfaction, they may contact the Regional Team Leader on 9205 2200.

3. If the Regional Team Leader cannot resolve the matter to the parent’s satisfaction, they may contact the Regional Coordinator on 9205 2200.

Further information about Hume City Council’s complaints policy can be accessed on the Hume City Council’s website (see Appendix - Customer Feedback and Complaints Handling Policy).

Parents are also advised that they are able to discuss complaints with the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD). They can be contacted by telephoning (03) 9412 5333.

Families need to be aware that under the Education and Care Services National Regulations 2011, the proprietor is obliged to notify the DEECD Children’s Services Advisor of any complaint or issue relating to the health, safety or wellbeing of any child within 24 working hours.

COMPLAINTSEducation & Care National Regulations 168(2)(o), 173, 176Education & Care National Quality Standards: 7.3.4



3. HEALTH AND SAFETY

INTRODUCTION

It is policy of Hume City Council that all Council buildings and OSHC school based services be a smoke free zone.

Educators will ensure that children attending Hume City Council’s educational services have the right to experience quality education and care in an environment that provides for their health and safety.

Educators promote children’s health and wellbeing and support their growing competence, confidence and independence within their programs. Educators take reasonable care to protect children from foreseeable risk of harm, injury and infection.

Hume City Council has a responsibility to protect the health and safety of all children within early years services at all times consistent with legislative procedures and Division 2 & 6 of National Regulations.

It is the responsibility of educators and families to ensure the safe arrival and departure of children at the children’s service and the completion of statutory documentation. All children attending must be signed in and out of the service by their primary carer or authorised person, this is a statutory requirement.

It is the responsibility of parents/guardians to ensure their phone contact details and that of all emergency contacts are current at all times.

DELIVERY OF CHILDREN

■ Parents/guardians are required to sign the full name of the child and their name, enter the time of arrival and departure in the attendance book each day and record the name of the person who is to collect the child that day.

■ If the person other than the parent/guardian is to collect the child then prior written authority must be given to the service. (Parents/guardians can provide this information on their child’s enrolment record for authorised persons who may collect the child on a regular basis.)

■ Only adults listed and authorised on enrolment forms are able to collect children. Only authorised persons 18 years and over can sign a child in and out of the centre. Their name is recorded on the child’s enrolment record.

■ Educators are responsible for signing the children out of Before School Care programs and then sign them in to After School Care programs.

■ All variations to the normal attendance time, change of daily contact numbers or parent/guardian availability should be provided to educators and included in the attendance book.

■ Families are requested to notify the service if their child/children will not be in attendance by 10.00 am

Education & Care National Regulations: 72, 73, 99, 158, 168 (2) (f) Duration & Care National Quality Standard 2.3, 7.3.5




COLLECTION OF CHILDREN

A child may only leave the education and care service premises under any of the following circumstances:

■ a parent or authorised nominee collects the child

■ a parent or authorised nominee provides written authorisation for the child to leave the premises

■ a parent or authorised nominee provides written authorisation for the child to attend an excursion

■ the child requires medical, hospital or ambulance treatment or there is another emergency

■ parents/guardians are required to sign and enter the time of departure in the attendance book at the time of collection

■ parents/guardians who will be delayed in collecting their child/children should telephone the service to notify educators and the time they will arrive

If unforeseen circumstances occur and a person other than those listed on the enrolment record is collecting the child, the parent/guardian must contact the service and provide authorisation for the child to be collected. Two educators will need to be provided with this authorisation. Photo identification will be required on arrival if this person is unknown to educators and documented.

NON COLLECTION OF CHILDREN

■ if a child/children has not been collected by the service closing time, educators will implement a procedure to arrange for the child to be collected by a designated emergency contact person as recorded in the child’s enrolment record

■ if neither parents/guardians nor emergency contact persons can be located, Victoria Police and Department of Human Services (Child Protection) will be contacted to inform them of the situation. The child/children will remain at the service with two educators until Victoria Police/Child Protection arrives at the service

■ an SMS message will be left on the phones of parents/guardians and emergency contacts to inform them of their child/children’s location

■ the Hume City Council’s Regional Team Leader/Regional Coordinator and the Department of Education and Early Child Development (DEECD) will also be notified within 24 hours of the incident and provided with written documentation

■ an additional fee is applicable for late collection of children. This additional fee is set at $20.00 for the first five minutes and $1.00 per child per minute thereafter

ACCESS CODES TO SERVICES

All parents/guardians will be issued with the service’s access code (where applicable) at the time of enrolment. Anyone other than parents/guardians collecting the child/children will be required to seek access using the service doorbell and speaking with the service educators.

When entering and exiting the service please do not give the service’s access code to any other person.



LDC


INTRODUCTION

Excursions/incursions are valuable experiences for children, families and early year’s educators as they provide opportunities to enhance children’s learning, explore different environments and engage in meaningful ways with their communities. All excursions and incursions require appropriate planning, risk assessment and preparation to ensure safe and enjoyable experiences are achieved. A risk assessment is conducted which is consistent with Hume City Council’s Work Health and Safety Policy and Risk Assessment Hazard Identification Checklist (HWHS-312/1) (see Appendix) Using a matrix to determine and record the risk level, corrective action, person responsible, date and signed.

If an excursion is a regular outing and a risk management assessment has previously been conducted, a further risk management assessment is not required unless the circumstances of the outing has changed.

EXCURSIONS are defined as an occasion when children leave the premises of the children’s centre with an educator/s having written authorised permission of the person who has lawful authority in relation to that child. These occasions may be routine visits to the neighbouring school, community centre or local library. There may be larger excursions to the zoo for example.

INCURSIONS are defined as external organisations that come into the educational service premises and provide experiences for children to enjoy, as part of the educational program. These experiences may be a mobile farm for example.

RISK MANAGEMENT

Risk assessments identify and assess risks that the excursion/incursion may pose to the safety, health and wellbeing of any child being taken on the excursion or attending an incursion at the children’s service and includes strategies for minimising and managing those risks (see Appendix - Excursions/Incursions Risk Assessment).

Excursions/incursions risk assessments must be implemented before written and signed authorised permission has been sought from the parent/guardian or other person with authority for an excursion/incursion (see Appendix - Excursion/Incursion Consent Form)

Risk management assessments comply with Hume City Council’s risk matrix as outlined in the assessment form and includes:

■ preplanning, consideration and learning outcomes for children

■ communication with parents and permission authorisation

■ excursion proposal, benefits venue, activities, timeframes and plan

■ levels of supervision required

■ additional considerations for children with additional needs

■ number of adults and children attending

■ number of adults required (volunteers, parent helpers etc.)

■ proposed routes

■ modes of travel

EXCURSIONS/INCURSIONSEducation & Care National Regulations: 74 (1)(4), 100-102, 168 (2)(g) Education & Care National Law Section: 165, 167, 174Education & Care National Quality Standard 2.3.2, 7.3.5




■ equipment required (mobile phones, first aid requirements, medications, water, food etc.)

■ attendance sheets with all names –adults and children

■ emergency contact details

EXCURSION/INCURSION EVALUATION

Educators are required to record an evaluation assessment and rating scale for each completed excursion/incursion attended as part of the children’s learning assessment (see Appendix - Excursion/Incursion Evaluation Assessment).



INTRODUCTION

Education and Care services require authorisations for actions such as administration of medications, collection of children, and providing access to personal records. Having policies and procedures for authorisation ensures children are safe when being educated and cared for, and assists educators to be confident of meeting legal obligations.

This policy outlines what constitutes a correct authorisation and what does not and may result in a refusal.

There may be instances when the service may refuse to accept a written authorisation related to:

■ self-administration of medication/administration of medication (Regulation 92)

■ children leaving the education and care service premises in the care of someone other than their parent or approved person (Regulation 99)

■ authorisation for excursions (Regulation 102)

■ access to records

In these instances educators will abide by the content of the legislation in determining the appropriateness of the request. Educators will give consideration to the legislation, the wellbeing of the child and other children within the group, the parent’s wishes and requests, child protection legislation and staff safety.

If it is determined that the request cannot be accepted, the educator will discuss the reasons for this decision with the parents/guardians. Educators will work with the parent to amend the request so far as reasonably possible to allow for the request to be accepted within the constraints of the legislation.

In regard to children leaving the service, educators will monitor the persons collecting the children in line with the authority provided for on the child’s enrolment record. When an unauthorised person arrives to collect the child, educators will contact the parents immediately to discuss and receive authorisation. Educators also liaise with the Family and Children’s Services regional leadership team and Victoria Police where necessary in this instance.

The Nominated Supervisor will ensure that all documentation relating to authorisations must contain:

■ the name of the enrolled child at the service

■ the date

■ signature of the child’s parents/guardians or nominated contact person who is on the enrolment form

■ evidence that the authorising adult understands the circumstances for which they are signing

All authorisations must be kept in the enrolment record.

Examples of refusal of acceptance of authorisation examples:

■ exercise the right of refusal if written or verbal authorisations do not comply, eg. non signage of an excursion permission or a parent/guardian only provides a verbal authorisation. National legislation requires consent with a parent/guardian’s signature.

■ when a child needs to self-administer medication, such as ventolin or insulin. Consent must be authorised by the parent in accordance with the authorisation policy and the details recorded (Regulation 92).

REFUSAL AND ACCEPTANCES OF AUTHORISATIONSEducation & Care National Regulations 92, 94, 99, 102, 168 (2)(m) Education & Care National Quality Standards: 7.3



■ refusal of acceptance of authorisation may be waived where a child requires emergency medical treatment eg. asthma, anaphylaxis. The service can administer medication without authorisation in these cases, provided they contact the parent/guardian as soon as practicable after the medication has been administered.

■ refusal of acceptance of authorisation may be waived where a child requires continual treatment of nappy rash cream. The Educators and service providers may request that medical treatment is sought before further administration of topical creams is continued.


INTRODUCTION

Hume City Council has a critical incident management policy and procedure which outlines the requirements for the management of critical incidents at Hume City Council’s workplaces to minimise risks to health and safety and minimise the impact on people, infrastructure and the environment.

The policies and procedures are based on a risk assessment that identifies potential emergencies relevant to each children’s service and definitions and all procedural requirements for Hume City Council’s employees are outlined in this document (see Appendix - Hume City Council HWHS-502 Critical Incident Management Procedure).

All educators are familiar with frequent emergency/evacuation drills, evacuation floor plans and evacuation assembly areas for their individual services and instructions are displayed in a prominent position near each exit at the service premises. Appropriate and current emergency management training and information is provided to all employees and is explained during induction of all employees.

Emergency drills are scheduled to take place at all Hume City Council’s educational services at various times of the day and week during a three month period. In the event that any emergency situation/evacuation results in distress for some children or their families, support is available through KidsMatter Early Childhood developed in collaboration with Beyondblue: the national depression initiative, the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing, Australian Psychological Society and Early Childhood Australia (see - References).

In the event that any emergency situation/evacuation results in distress for educators, support is available through Hume City Council’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Hume City Council is committed to assisting employees who may be experiencing personal or work related difficulties by providing an Employee Assistance Program (EAP).

EMERGENCY PROCEDURES FOR EVALUATION

Each Hume City Council’s children’s service has a specific emergency and evacuation floor plan and primary evacuation assembly area with instructions displayed in a prominent position near each exit at the children’s service premises (see Appendix - Floor Plan example Bradford Avenue Preschool).

All emergency drill rehearsals are reviewed as critical emergency exercises with the aim of ensuring effectiveness and ongoing continuous improvement. Each children’s service must rehearse and document the emergency and evacuation procedures at least every three months that the service is operating. Evacuation drills are encouraged to practice alternative evacuations through each exit on the floor plan to familiarise the process. Documentation is recorded in the evacuation report form for Hume City Council’s educational services for all rehearsals and live evacuations (see Appendix - HWHS-501/3 Evacuation Report Form). Educators are required to complete an emergency evacuation assessment record which is forwarded to Hume City Council’s OHS team and is also stored at the service in a display folder in a prominent position near each exit (see Appendix - Hume City Council’s Children’s Services Emergency Evacuation Assessment Record).

EMERGENCY EVACUATIONEducation & Care National Regulations 97, 98, 168 (2)(e) Education & Care National Quality Standards: 2.3.2, 2.3.3




EMERGENCY EVACUATION DOCUMENTATION

Recommended steps for evacuation:

1. The nominated supervisor on site, or the certified supervisor in her absence is responsible and makes the appropriate decision as per Hume City Council’s procedures.

2. Contact emergency services (Call 000) as soon as it is safe to do so and inform them of the nature of the emergency (ie. “There is smoke in the building”), your location and your assembly area.

3. During evacuation, use all available educators/staff/volunteers and calmly move/carry/walk the children out of the building to your pre-determined outdoor assembly area.

4. Ensure the following items are taken to the assembly area:

■ children’s attendance list

■ staff roster

■ parent contact details

■ mobile phone

■ emergency kit

■ First Aid kit;

5. Once at the assembly area, check and document that all children and educators are safe and accounted for.

6. Call Hume City Council’s regional management team leader to inform of the nature of the emergency.

7. Focus on the safety and well-being of educators/staff and children.

8. Wait for emergency services to arrive or for further information.

9. Complete the emergency evacuation assessment record within 24 hours of the emergency/evacuation and forward to Hume City Council’s Occupational Health and Safety team.



INTRODUCTION

Educators take reasonable steps to prevent the spread of infectious diseases in educational services and ensure that both parent or emergency contacts of each child enrolled at the service is notified of the occurrence of an infectious disease as soon as possible. All services ensure that steps are taken to control the spread of infectious diseases and to manage injuries and illness, in accordance with the national guidelines.

The current Health Department of Victoria Infectious Disease table detailing the minimum period of exclusion from the children’s services is prominently displayed.

INFECTIOUS DISEASE

Parents/guardians are required to notify the children’s service immediately if a child or sibling of the child is diagnosed with an infectious disease. Some infectious diseases are notifiable to the Department of Health and will be reported to the Department of Health.

A doctor’s certificate is required to state that the child is well before the child can return to the service. Parents/guardians will be notified of any cases of significant infectious disease in the service.

EXCLUSION FOR INFECTIOUS DISEASES CASES AND CONTACTS

The minimum period of exclusion from primary schools and children's services for infectious diseases cases and contacts, regulated by the Public Health and Wellbeing Regulations 2009, protects public health by preventing, or containing outbreaks of infectious conditions common in schools/educational services.

A child attending the service with any of the conditions listed in the Infectious Diseases table should be kept at home for the period prescribed under the Public Health and Wellbeing Regulations 2009.

The information in this table is the minimum period of exclusion from a children’s service for infectious disease and contact. Contacts means that those people living (ie. parents) in the same house with the diagnosed child with the disease, must not attend the centre during the stated period.

Children who are not immunised will be automatically excluded from the service in the event of an outbreak of an infectious disease against which the child has not been immunised ie. measles, in accordance with the Public Health and Wellbeing Regulations 2009.

Children must be excluded from the service if they have any of the infectious diseases listed as exclusion in the Health Department of Victoria Minimum Period of Exclusions Table (see Appendix - Minimum Period of Exclusion from Primary Schools and Children’s Services Centres for Infectious Diseases Cases and Contacts)

Procedure

1. Contact parent and exclude child/children from the service immediately. 2. Team Leader to contact relevant Health Authority (if necessary). 3. Other parents are notified by signage on the front door. 4. Record illness in logbook for communicable disease outbreak. 5. Disinfect all equipment and toys and record on infection control checklist.

INFECTIOUS DISEASEEducation & Care National Regulations: 88, 168 (2)(c)Education & Care National Quality Standards: 2.1-2.1.4





ILLNESS

Educators are aware of infection control procedures to reduce the risk of infection in the service and procedures are in place to protect all children and educators from cross infection.

Children are required to stay at home and not attend the children’s services centre if they are not well enough to take part in daily activities including all aspects of the indoor and outdoor program. Cross infection is heightened when children who are unwell attend the service. The best place for children when they are unwell is at home.

Parents are required to inform educators of any ongoing health problems or recent illness, including hospitalisation.

Children who have experienced the following symptoms in the last 24 hours will be deemed to be unwell and should not attend the service until the symptoms disappear and/or a doctor’s clearance is provided:

■ Persistent cough ■ Breathing difficulties

■ Sore throat ■ Eye redness/and discharge

■ Excessive discharge from the nose (associated with other symptoms)

■ Temperature of 38o celsius or higher

■ Blood in urine or faeces ■ Headache or sore neck

■ Reaction to immunisation ■ Blisters or rashParents/guardians will be required to collect their children from the service if their child displays any of the following symptoms:

■ 2-3 loose bowel motions in a day (diarrhoea)

■ vomits more than twice in a day

■ has a temperature of 38° celsius or higher (associated with another symptom)

■ has a yellow/green discharge from the eyes (possibly conjunctivitis)

■ head lice

■ experiencing breathing difficulties

■ develops a rash

Children who leave the centre due to illness need to remain absent from the service for 24 hours or until a medical practitioner’s clearance/certificate is issued. The certificate must state that the child is not infectious to others and well enough to participate in the entire program.

The exclusion for vomiting and/or diarrhoea will be 48 hours after the last symptom, as recommended by the Victorian Government Department of Health Guide for the management and control of gastroenteritis outbreaks in children’s centres. (See References)

HYGIENE

High standards of hygiene are important in maintaining the health of children and educators are trained in infection control procedures to protect all children and educators from cross infection with effective hygiene practices in place to help control the spread of disease.

Procedures are guided by the Education and Care Services National Regulations to maintain practices and implemented to ensure each child’s health is promoted.

Educators will use all opportunities to teach children about hygiene and incorporate hand washing and hygiene practices into learning opportunities.




IMMUNISATION

Immunisation and regular boosters help to provide both children and adults with protection against some harmful infectious diseases.

Hume City Council encourages parents to maintain their child’s immunisation status, but acknowledges personal and cultural beliefs may prevent this.

A copy of the child’s immunisation record will need to be provided to the service at the time of enrolment and throughout the year when scheduled immunisations have been administered. All educational services require that immunisations be kept up to date while the child is at the service.

If there is an outbreak of an infectious disease or a suspected infectious disease then an unimmunised child/children will be excluded from the service during the period, as in accordance with Public Health and Wellbeing Regulations 2009.

�Cancellation�of�Childcare�Benefit�entitlement�will�occur�if�a�child’s�immunisation�is�not�maintained and kept up to date.

This will affect payable fees and is the parent’s responsibility to contact the Family Assistance Office to discuss.



MEDICAL CONDITIONSEducation & Care National Regulations 90-91, 168 (2)(d)Education & Care National Law: Section 173Education & Care National Quality Standards: 2.1

INTRODUCTION

Hume City Council has practices in place for managing specific health care needs, allergies, medical conditions such as asthma, diabetes, or for a child who has a diagnosis at risk of anaphylaxis. All medical conditions require:

▪ Medical Management Plan ▪ Risk Minimisation Plan ▪ Communication Plan

An Anaphylaxis Policy has been developed in line with the Department of Education & Early Childhood Development Anaphylaxis Policy.

MEDICAL ACTION PLANS

Parents are required to inform the services of a child’s medical condition either on enrolment or immediately after diagnosis of a medical condition. All children diagnosed with a medical condition must have a current medical management plan detailing the care of the child including signs and symptoms, medications and first aid management. The Medical Action Plan must also include a passport-sized photo and be signed by a medical practitioner.

All relevant medication for children’s individual Medical Action Plans must be at the service at all times whilst the child is in attendance and administered in accordance with this plan.

Educators, relieving educators, volunteers and students must be familiar with each child’s specific Medical Action Plan when required. Clear strategies must be listed in the Medical Action Plan to ensure prompt and efficient medical management of the care of the child’s symptoms.

Medical Action Plans must be reviewed in consultation with families following any activation of the Medical Action Plan or in response to a change in the child’s medical condition as indicated by the medical practitioner. Reviews of Medical Action Plans are aimed to maintain risk minimisation and ensure the health and wellbeing of the child.

RISK MINIMISATION PLAN

A risk minimisation plan is specific to each service that specifies practical strategies to minimise medical risks and who is responsible for implementing the strategies. The risk minimisation plan is developed in consultation with families of children at risk of a medical condition and is reviewed at least annually, or on enrolment or diagnosis of a child at risk of a medical condition (see Appendix - Risk Management Plan )

COMMUNICATION PLAN

A ‘medical condition’ means a condition that has been diagnosed by a medical professional. This includes asthma, diabetes, anaphylaxis, or other medical diagnosis. (Regulation 90 and Regulation 168 2(d)).

Under the Education and Care Services National Regulations, the approved provider must ensure the service’s Medical Conditions Policy sets out the requirements arising if a child enrolled at the service has specific healthcare needs, allergy, or medical condition requiring;

■ parents to provide a medical action plan






■ the medical action plan to be followed in the event of an incident

■ development of a risk-minimisation plan

■ development of a communications plan

If a service is made aware of a child’s health care need they must provide the parents with a copy of the Medical Conditions Policy (Regulation 91).The Medical Communication Plan outlines the responsibilities of educators, parents/guardians and management in the care of a child with a medical condition. It outlines the management of the medical condition in which a child presents.

PROCEDURES

Parents/guardians are required to communicate and:

■ inform educators of a child’s medical condition

■ provide an approved Medical Action Plan in consultation with a medical practitioner

■ ensure the Medical Action Plan is signed by a medical practitioner

■ include details of the condition, symptoms, treatment and medication, if required

■ include a colour photo of the child

■ provide an updated Medical Action Plan annually and when changes occur

■ bring prescribed medication to the service when the child is in care

■ inform educators and the leadership team of changes to the child’s medical condition and provide an updated medical action plan. This can be communicated initially through discussion with the Assistant Team Leader Room Educator

Where�foods�are�identified�to�cause�anaphylaxis,�families�and�educators�may�be�asked�to�prevent bringing these foods to the centre.

Leadership team are required to communicate to:

■ ensure there is a Medical Conditions Policy in place

■ ensure the Medical Conditions Policy is provided to all parents/guardians attending the service

■ ensure educators, support staff and volunteers are informed of the Medical Conditions Policy, each child’s Medical Action Plan and Risk Minimisation Plan

■ conduct a risk assessment of the exposure to allergens and develop a Risk Minimisation Plan in consultation with staff and families

■ ensure child prescribed medication for a medical condition is permitted to attend the service with prescribed medication

■ ensure a notice is displayed in the main entrance of the centre informing a child at risk of anaphylaxis is attending the service

■ ensure educators identify children at risk and document on the child’s enrolment record and ensure a Medical Action Plan is stored with the child’s enrolment records

■ display the Medical Action Plan in a key location in the room where the child is educated or cared for

■ ensure medication is stored as required by prescription, safely and is accessible to educators and other staff

■ ensure the ambulance and centre contact details are listed by all telephones to assist in providing 000 with correct information

■ educators are required to communicate with parents/guardians and educators regarding updates to the Medical Action Plan and Risk Minimisation Plan



MEDICATIONNational Law: Section 167 (Protection from Harm and Hazards)National Regulations: Regulations 92–96, 178, 181–184

INTRODUCTION

The Education and Care National Regulations (2011) states that medication (including prescription, over-the-counter and homeopathic medications) must not be administered to a child at a service without authorisation by a parent or person with the authority to consent. All medication is to be handed to an educator upon arrival at the service. Educators must be informed if any medication eg. Paracetamol (Panadol) or medication containing antihistamines has been administered to the child prior to their arrival the service.

PRESCRIBED MEDICATION

Medication that is only prescribed by a qualified medical practitioner.

Medication may only be administered to children at the service when:

■ it is prescribed by a medical practitioner

■ is in the original container labelled by the pharmacy with the child’s name

■ is within the expiry date

■ has clear dosage instructions

■ dosage is checked by another educator and witnesses its administration

■ accompanied by written authorisation from parent/guardian

■ details of the administration is recorded in the medication book

MEDICATION BOOK DETAILS

Details to be written in the Medication book must contain the:

■ parents’ authorisation and signature on arrival of child

■ name of medication

■ dosage to be administered

■ time it should be administered

■ method of administration

■ dosage actually administered

■ educator who administered the medication

■ educator who checked the dosage administered

■ time the last dosage was given

■ parents’ signature on collection of their child

Where a child has been prescribed any medication, the first dose must be commenced at home. (Educational services are unable to administer the first dose of any medication.)

�Where�a�child�has�been�prescribed�antibiotics,�the�child�must�remain�at�home�for�the�first�24�hours after the initial dose.





NON PRESCRIBED MEDICATION

Non prescribed medication is any medication that is not prescribed by a medical practitioner, ie. from a chemist. Non-prescribed medication may include eye/ear drops, decongestants, antihistamine.

Children may only be given non prescribed medication at the service when:

■ the non-prescribed medication is in the original packaging and labelled with the child’s name

■ the parent’s authorisation and signature on arrival at the centre

■ the individual medications and doses are recorded in the medication book

■ the period of time in which it is administered is within 48 hours and not carried over to the following week: ▪ Administration beyond the period of 48 hours will require a letter from a medical practitioner

advising the dosage, interval between dosages, and days of duration required.

PARACETAMOL/IBUPROFEN

Paracetamol/Ibuprofen will only be administered by educators when a medical practitioner’s certificate is supplied stating:

■ the dosage to be administered

■ at what intervals it is to be administered

■ indicators for administering the paracetamol/ibuprofen

■ that the child is not infectious and is well enough to attend the service

HOMEOPATHICA/NATUROPATHIC MEDICATIONS

As per procedures for prescribed medications.

TOPICAL MEDICATIONS

Topical medications such as nappy rash lotions and barrier creams may only be applied when:

■ the cream is brought into the service clearly labelled with the child’s name

■ permission has been given via the child’s enrolment record






SELF-ADMINISTATION OF MEDICATION

A child over preschool age may self administer medication eg. asthma medication (Ventolin) and pain relief, eg. Panadol under the following circumstances:

■ written authorisation is provided by a person with the authority to consent to the administration of medication

■ all details are documented in the medication book and signed by parent/guardian (as above)

■ educators document when the child self administers the medication

EMERGENCY MEDICATION

■ verbal authorisation must be given to two (2) educators

■ parents must sign the medications book, confirming their verbal authorisation on collection of the child

■ when children require medication in an emergency, the Medical Action Plan will be followed

BASC VC



INTRODUCTION

The early years are most important for establishing healthy behaviours and lay the foundation for lifelong health and wellbeing. Nutritious food and regular physical activity supports the normal growth and development of children and reduces the risk of developing chronic lifestyle related diseases later in life.

Hume City Council’s Nutrition Policy for children in early year’s services is guided by Get Up & Grow - Healthy Eating and Physical Activity for Early Childhood (Australian Government 2009). The guidelines have been designed so that they can be applied in a variety of early childhood settings are evidence-based and consistent with current thinking on early childhood development.

Educators are provided with training to ensure food safety procedures and standards are met and maintained in accordance with the standards of the Food Safety Act 1984, Education and Care National Regulations 2011 and Hume City Council’s Food Safety Program. Educators are aware of the need to implement appropriate health and hygiene practices and use safe food handling practices when preparing, serving and storage of foods.

Hume City Council’s educational services provide food and beverages that are nutritious and culturally appropriate and served to children in an environment that promotes good eating habits and social interactions.

Mealtimes are social occasions and children are encouraged in all our programs to help with the preparation of mealtimes or snacks. Generally both Long Day Care and Preschool settings have flexible routines for children at meal times and children are involved and participate in the learning routines surrounding mealtimes.

All Long Day Care services provide meals, including breakfast, lunch and morning and afternoon tea and a late afternoon snack which meets 50% of the recommended daily intake (RDI) per week for children in childcare in the form of a variety of healthy and nutritious foods. (See Appendix - Nutrition Requirements of Children in Long Day Care Centres.)

The centre cooks design the children’s menus around a 6-week cycle and takes into account the RDI, the age of the children, the family culture and expectation of children at mealtimes and children are given the opportunity to try new foods. They attend specific professional development training relating to children’s nutrition under 6 years of age and food safety handling updates annually. All food purchased follows guidelines for safe food storage preparation and handling.

Menus are readily displayed and accessible for families in all children’s settings and they are encouraged to provide feedback and discuss food suggestions with the Educators/Cooks.

Families are encouraged to discuss special dietary and cultural requirements for their children and modifications to support children with allergies, sensitivities or intolerances. (Special health food requirements require a medical practitioner letter).

Menu changes or substitutes are communicated to parents through the service’s usual communication process.

NUTRITIONEducation & Care National Regulations 79-81, 104, 168 (2)(a)Education & Care National Quality Standards 2.1.3, 2.2.1


LDC


Children in Before and After School Care collaborate with educators in discussions around nutrition and participate in food planning and contribution to healthy breakfasts and afternoon tea/snacks. All children have access to drinking water at all times, and have food and drinks available throughout the day.

Families are provided with information and strategies to provide healthy food choices for their children who bring their own food and beverages to the service. Educators support families in educating their children about healthy food choices and provide suggestions for healthy lunches, snacks and drinks on their days of attendance.

High-risk foods must be stored appropriately with an ice pack and in an insulated container to prevent spoiling. Families are asked to inform educators if their children’s lunch require refrigeration.

Educators will role model appropriate lunch box ideas to children by encouraging healthy choices and eating alongside the children.

FORMULA/BREAST MILK

Infant formula/breast milk is required to be brought to the service in a clearly marked container with the child’s name and date on it. An adequate amount is to be supplied for the child’s day. Two (2) bottles are to be supplied, clearly labelled and left at the service. Milk is to be placed in the formula/breast milk refrigerator in the child’s room upon arrival and warmed just prior to feeding.

All baby’s bottles are washed and sterilised between uses, up to the age of 12 months. The service will supply cow’s milk and soy milk for babies and children.

DENTAL HEALTH CARE

Early Year’s Services have an increasingly important role in promoting oral hygiene practices and reinforcing children’s learning of dental hygiene from home. Promoting good dental habits and high standards of dental health among children in care can be achieved through developing oral health policies and strategies in consultation with dentists, parents and educators.

Hume City Council’s educational services promote Dental Health Care through encouraging healthy food choices and offering water after meals. Babies from 8 months are offered a cup to drink from during mealtimes. Families are provided with information on appropriate oral hygiene, including tooth brushing for different age groups and promoting the importance of regular dental appointments.

ACTIVE PLAY

Hume City Councils educational services recognise the impact of active play/physical activity in early childhood on immediate and long term health term consequences. The services will provide opportunities for active play/physical activity within the program as per healthy eating for early childhood (Get up and grow) and dietary guide lines for children and adolescence in Australia

Children within our services will be provided with active play experiences every day regardless of weather. Educators will provide active play experiences for all children which encourages music and movement, drama, exercise, and education on healthy eating.

BASC

PS

LDC OCC




SLEEP AND REST

Children are offered the opportunity to rest in an appropriate area. Children who do not need a rest will be able to participate in activities. Children who rest will be supervised at all times.

Children will have their own individual sleep routines, which the service will implement in consultation with the child and their family. Rest will be documented in the daily information book and routines are flexible to meet the children’s individual needs.

Safety standards based on current information relevant to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) will be followed when children rest. This will be evaluated annually.

TOILETING

All educators display a sensitive and positive attitude to children’s toileting experiences. Educators consult with parents to determine the child’s individual needs for toilet training and to discuss strategies for home and childcare.

Educators aim to follow the child and parents lead regarding toilet education for children, this should occur concurrently at home and at the service. It is important that consistency in expectations between home and the service is maintained at all times for successful toileting. Educators will consult with parents regularly regarding each child’s progress.

Please ensure that an adequate amount of underwear and change of clothes are provided. When children commence their toilet training parents must continue to provide a disposable nappy for sleep time. To alleviate confusion, children should arrive and leave the service in underwear.

Toileting accidents are dealt with in a positive manner. Children are encouraged to practice good hygiene skills and dress themselves. Educators supervise and provide assistance where necessary.

All educators recognise, encourage and support all children’s attempts at independence and acknowledge their attempts with praise, which in turn enhances their self worth and confidence.

Older children will be given privacy in the toilet however appropriate, supervision will be given.




INTRODUCTION

Sun exposure can pose significant health risks for children, including sunburn, dehydration, eye damage and skin cancer. The need to provide adequate protection for the sun must also be balanced with the benefits of exposure to sunlight, which assists the body to produce vitamin D, which is important for healthy bone development and maintenance.

SunSmart protection information will be promoted to all educators, staff and families and visitors and is guided by the Cancer Council SunSmart policy which encourages positive sun safe behaviour role modelling.

Hume City Council will ensure there is sufficient shelter and trees providing shade within the grounds. Outdoor activities will be planned so that children are protected from the sun between 10.00am and 2.00pm, or 11.00am and 3.00pm throughout daylight savings.

The SunSmart Policy for educational services is effective from 1 September to 30 April each year. Outside these dates the UV radiation level will be checked on a daily basis, if the UV level reaches 3 or greater the SunSmart Policy will be enacted.

Babies under 12 months of age are kept out of direct sun when UV levels are 3 or above.

Outdoor spaces at educational services include shaded areas to protect children and educators from over exposure to ultraviolet radiation.

SUNSMART POLICY AND PROCEDURES

In addition to shaded area for outdoor play children are required to:

■ wear hats that protect the face, neck and ears

■ wear tops with sleeves and if possible, collars and knee length or longer style shorts and skirts. (Please note: singlets do not offer protection and are therefore not permitted)

■ have sunscreen applied 20 minutes before going outdoors

■ wearing sun safe hats

■ wearing sun safe clothing

■ applying SP30 + broad spectrum water resistant sunscreen 20 minutes before going outdoors

■ using and promoting shade

■ wearing sunglasses that meet the Australian Standard 1067 (optional)

■ children from 3 years of age are encouraged to apply their own sunscreen under supervision of educator

Children are encouraged to use available areas of shade for outdoor play activity and those without hats will be required to stay in shaded areas. The service will encourage the use of wrap-around sunglasses that meet Australian Safety Standards 1067.

Enrolment procedures will inform parents of the SunSmart Policy and requirements to provide appropriate clothing and a suitable hat for the children’s use that protects their face, neck and ears wherever they are outside. Families are also requested to apply sunscreen to their children prior to arrival at the centre and to also support and model the SunSmart Policy. (See Appendix - Cancer Council Victoria–Vic Health SunSmart Policy).

SUN PROTECTIONEducation & Care National Regulations 114,168 (2)(a)Education & Care National Law: Section 167Education & Care National Quality Standards 2.1.1, 2.3, 7.3.5




INTRODUCTION

Children’s safety and wellbeing with water is a high priority within Hume City Council’s education services. Educators are encouraged to provide water play experiences for children and to protect their safety through supervision and prevention principles.

Water safety involves both play experiences and water temperature in the educational services environment. Water play is subject to a play risk assessment.

PLAY EXPERIENCES

To ensure safety of children with any water play experiences, educators will ensure that children are supervised at all times when they are using and exploring through water play.

■ water troughs must only be filled with water when an educator is available to supervise the activity. (If the water play is unable to be supervised for any reason, the water needs to be emptied)

■ at the end of each water play activity, troughs are emptied and cleaned

■ water troughs are stored in an upright or upside down position and secured to prevent it falling on children

■ where wading pools are provided, children are closely supervised at all times and the pool emptied after it has been used

■ buckets used to carry water to refill the troughs or when used for cleaning are emptied when finished

■ educators involved with children in water play use the opportunity to teach children about staying safe in and around water

■ educators use water play experiences to assist children to learn and explore new skills, promotes sensory development, introduce scientific and mathematical concepts

WATER SAFETYEducation & Care National Regulations 168 (2)(a)Education & Care National Quality Standards 2.1.1, 2.3.1, 2.3.2, 7.3.5




INCIDENT, INJURY, TRAUMA AND ILLNESSEducation & Care National Regulations 85-89, 136-137, 168(2)(b), 174-176(2)(a)(b)Education & National Law Section: 174Education & Care National Quality Standards 2.3

INTRODUCTION

Educators have a responsibility for all children’s health and safety in Hume City Council’s education and care services. Educators develop education programs that support the wellbeing of each child in the service and have established procedures and practices that minimise the risk of harm to children. All Educators have first aid qualifications.

The National Law requires the Regulatory Authority (DEECD) to be notified of any serious incident at which may occur at an educational service.

A serious incident includes:

■ the death of a child while attending a service or following an incident while attending the service or any incident involving injury, trauma or illness of a child where medical attention was sought, or should have been sought

■ the death of a child

■ an incident at the service premises where the attendance of emergency services was sought or should have been sought

■ if a child appears to be missing or cannot be accounted for appears to have been taken or removed from the service premises in a way that breaches the National Regulations, or is mistakenly locked in or locked out of any part of the service premises.

INCIDENT, INJURY, TRAUMA AND ILLNESS RECORD

All serious incidents should be documented in the incident, injury, trauma and illness record as soon as it is practicable and within 24 hours of an incident. (See Appendix - Incident, Injury, Trauma and Illness Record)

The incident/injury/trauma and illness record, records all injuries received by the child or illness, which become apparent while attending the centre, and the action taken by educators.

PROCEDURES

Educators are responsible for reporting any injury/illness sustained by a child/children while on the premises or elsewhere, as required under the Education and Care Services National Regulations (2011).

The incident, injury, trauma and illness record must include details of any incident in relation to a child or injury received by a child or trauma to which a child has been subjected while being cared for or educated by the children’s service including:

■ the name of the child,

■ the circumstances leading to the accident, injury or trauma

■ the nature of the incident, injury or trauma, any products or structures involved

■ the time and date the incident occurred

■ the injury that was received or the trauma the child was subjected to as well as details of any illness that becomes apparent while the child is being cared for





■ the actions, including first aid treatment, that were taken by the educators

■ the date, time and name of the person notified

■ the name date and signature of the educator making the entry.

■ in the case of serious injury educators will contact 000 first, then the parent/guardians and advise that medical attention has been sought.

On collection of the child, the parent/guardians are required to record the following details on the incident, injury, trauma and illness record:

■ their name

■ the date and time

■ signature

Educators need to ensure that all telephone emergency contact numbers are and that parent permission is authorised to seek medical treatment on the child’s enrolment form.

The nominated supervisor has the responsibility to report a serious incident to Hume City Council’s Children’s Services regional management team as soon as it is practicable. The nominated supervisor has the responsibility to ensure that:

■ details of any incident, injury or illness is recorded as soon as is practicable, (see Appendix - Incident/Injury/Trauma and Illness Record)

■ ensure that regulatory and legislative responsibilities are met in relation to any incident, injury or illness

■ ensure that an evaluation has been completed and communicated to the regional management team (see Appendix - Evaluation, Prevention and Communication Plan)

Serious incidents are also to be reported to the Regularity Authority, Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD) using a Serious Incident Notification Form when medical attention is sought and when emergency services are called, within 24 hours of the incident occurring (Regulation 176(2)(a)) (see Appendix - ACECQA Notification of Serious Incident).

Medical attention includes a visit to a registered medical practitioner or attendance at a hospital. Emergency services may include ambulance, fire brigade, police and state emergency services.

Educators will ensure that all incidents pertaining to children are recorded on the incident, injury, trauma and illness form, as will all measures of first aid administration. Measures will be taken to prevent the reoccurrence of similar incidents in the future where applicable. Educators will provide parents/guardians with information regarding incidents verbally, via phone or upon pick up. Parents/guardians are to sign these records in the event of an incident.

If emergency treatment is required an ambulance will be called without delay. All parents/guardians are advised to sign a form that authorises educators to seek treatment at a hospital or to call a doctor and/or an ambulance so that emergency treatment can be commenced.

All educators will be responsible for maintaining a current First Aid Certificate including Anaphylaxis training. Educators are responsible for ensuring that first aid is administered by trained personnel in an appropriate manner. Educators are responsible for the monitoring of the First Aid kits at each educational service.


CHILD SAFE ENVIRONMENTEducation & Care National Regulations 84-87, 89, 90-96, 136 (1)(o), 168 (2)(h)Education & Care National Law: Section 166-167Education & Care National Quality Standards 1.4, 2.1-2.1.4, 2.3.4, 7.1

INTRODUCTION

Hume City Council’s Family and Children’s Services is committed to ensure the health and safety of children attending educational services. Educators have the responsibility to ensure that all children are protected at all times in accordance with the relevant Acts, Regulations and Standards that apply to educational services.

Educators are aware of the current child protection policy and procedures, and their legal and ethical obligations to act to protect any child in their care who is at risk of abuse or neglect. They are aware of their legislative responsibilities to be able to act when required and understand their obligations under law. This obligation is supported in collaboration with Hume City Council’s Children’s Services regional coordinators/team leaders in the event of reporting an incident to Child Protection. (See Appendix - Department of Human Services Child Protection Guide to Making a Report to Child Protection.)

DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES CHILD PROTECTION

The Education and Care Services National Regulations (2011), the National Quality Standards in particular Quality area 2, Children’s Health and Safety and other relevant legislation will guide educators in handling the health and safety of children and to take reasonable care to protect children from foreseeable risk of harm, injury or infection.

SUPERVISION OF CHILDREN

Supervision involves direct observation and engagement of individual and groups of children to protect them from hazards and to plan appropriate programs. Effective supervision occurs when every child at the centre is supervised constantly, actively and diligently. This includes educators positioning themselves to allow them to watch the maximum area possible and moving around to ensure the view of the area and avoid standing/sitting with their backs to children.

Educators are aware of the legislative requirements in providing adequate supervision at all times and ensuring that children’s safety is protected in the service environment.

Effective supervision requires educators to be actively involved with children and this requires knowing where children are at all times. Consideration is given to children of different ages and abilities whom need different levels of supervision. Separate indoor/outdoor plans outline appropriate positioning of educators to provided appropriate supervision.

A range of factors should determine the adequacy of educator supervision including, the number of children present, positioning of adults, each child’s current activity, the visibility and accessibility of areas, the educators knowledge of each child and each group of children, the experience, knowledge and skill of each educator and the need for educators to move between the indoor and outdoor areas.

Effective supervision occurs when every child at the service is supervised constantly, actively and diligently. Educators will need to ensure adequate supervision of children in both indoor and outdoor environments. Educators are required to know where each child is and be in a position to respond if necessary. This includes when the children are on the premises, including during outdoor play, toileting and sleeping, and when they are on an excursion away from the premises.

Educators will make decisions throughout the day about where they are best placed to adequately supervise each child.





PROCEDURES

■ child/staff ratios are maintained at all times

■ educators identify hazards in the indoor and outdoor environment through daily safety checks (see Appendix - Outdoors Play Areas Risk Assessment)

■ educators are made aware of individual health issues and implement relevant management plans accordingly

■ educators set up experiences and equipment to support effective supervision and minimise risks to children

■ educators position themselves appropriately to view all areas of the indoor and outdoor environment, including toileting, sleeping and meal areas

■ educators keep children within visual and/or auditory contact at all times

■ educators monitor the number of children in different areas and reposition themselves as required

■ educators communicate with each other prior to leaving a supervised area and make changes to positions accordingly

■ educators actively engage with children during their play and respond to their individual needs

■ educators immediately intervene in children’s play if the health and safety of a child is being compromised

■ educators monitor the number of children during transition times to ensure all children are accounted for by regularly counting the number of children present and cross referencing this information with the sign in sheet

■ educators direct the supervision of other educators, relief educators, students and volunteers as required

ADMINISTRATION OF FIRST AID

All educators have qualifications in First Aid - Level 2, Anaphylaxis and Asthma as required. First Aid and Anaphylaxis training occur every three years and yearly updates for administration of an adrenaline auto-injection devices and Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) are required on a yearly basis.

Each educational service is required to provide at least one educator with current approved first aid qualifications is in attendance and immediately available at all times that children are being educated and cared for by the service (Regulation 136 (1)(a)).

All Hume City Council’s educational services provide an appropriate number of suitable first aid kits that are easily recognisable and readily accessible to adults wherever children are in the centre. Rosters clearly demonstrate that a first aid qualified educator is on duty at all times.




4. EDUCATION PROGRAM AND PRACTICE

INTRODUCTION

Hume City Council’s Educators are guided in their children’s education programs and practice by Quality Area One of the National Quality Standards:

■ An approved learning framework informs the development of a curriculum that enhances each child’s learning and development.

The Early Years Learning Framework describes the principles, practice and outcomes essential to support and enhance young children‘s learning from birth to five years of age, as well as their transition to school.

All Hume City Council’s children’s education programs are linked to and designed around three curriculum frameworks endorsed by the National Quality Framework.

■ Belonging, Being and Becoming- The Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF)

■ Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework (VEYLDF)

■ My Time, Our Place Framework for School Age Care in Australia (MTOP)

Belonging, Being and Becoming puts children’s learning at the core and comprises three inter-related elements: Principles, Practices and Learning Outcomes.

The frameworks recognise the importance of communication and language (including early literacy and numeracy) social and emotional development and identify five learning outcomes for children as fundamental to the current and future wellbeing, engagement and success of young learners:

■ 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

Education programs reflect the educator/children’s centre statement of philosophy which has been developed in collaboration with the children/families and describes the service’s values, beliefs and understandings about children, families, the role of educators and the ways children learn.

The statement of philosophy must be consistent with the National Quality Standards and is used to guide all aspects of the service’s operations. Regular review of the philosophy against new research, against the approved learning frameworks, and against families’ views and expectations will support the service’s goals for continuous improvement.

FAMILY INVOLVEMENT

Regular communication is encouraged between centre educators and families. Educators are to maintain professional communication to families at all times ie. discussion/comments should be child, family or centre focused.

Education & Care National Regulations: 73–76Education & Care National Law Section: 168Education & Care National Quality Standard: 5.1, 5.2National Quality Standard (2012):1.1, 3.1, 3.2, 4.1,4.2




Families are invited and encouraged to:

■ participate in all aspects of their children’s program

■ talk about the values and expectations they hold in relation to their child’s learning

■ share their knowledge, skills and expertise and aspects of their family life and culture

■ contribute to plans for children’s experiences and the documentation of children’s learning

Educators observe and supervise the children at all times. Families who wish to discuss their child’s progress and/or the centre’s operations in detail are encouraged to make an appointment with the educator and/or Regional Team Leader. Educators may also request meetings with parents regarding their child’s needs and progress.

FAMILY GROUPING

Family grouping occurs within our LDC services every day from approximately opening time until 8:00 am each morning and from approximately 5:00 pm until closing time each afternoon. This allows opportunities for siblings and other children to interact with a variety of age groups in a calm, secure and relaxed environment.

BIRTHDAYS/SPECIAL OCCASIONS/CELEBRATIONS

Should you wish your child to celebrate an occasion, please liaise with educators to determine appropriate celebratory items one week in advance.

HOMEWORK

Educators will provide a quiet, safe area for children to undertake homework tasks; it is not the responsibility of educators to ensure the completion of homework. Educators can assist with homework tasks as part of the daily program of experiences.

TOYS AND BELONGINGS FROM HOME

Children learn about themselves and construct their own identities within the context of their own families and communities. This includes their relationships with people, places and things and the actions and responses of others. Identity is not fixed. It is shaped by experiences. When children have positive experiences, they develop and understanding of themselves as significant and respected, and feel a sense of belonging.

In consideration of this statement, Hume City Council recognises that:

■ belongings from home can be a comfort for children

■ belongings represent different meaning for individuals and that a child’s wish to share this meaning should be respected

■ belongings can contribute to the program in representing the child’s interest, culture and sense of belonging



LDC

BASC VC


MONEY

As children are not permitted to purchase items whilst at the service or on an excursion, money is best left at home as educators are unable to take responsibility for its security.

CHILDREN’S CLOTHING

It is very important for a child to feel comfortable, to be able to move freely while being protected from various weather conditions during play. Educators will respect each child’s clothing preference including cultural differences. All children should arrive at the service dressed for the day and changed out of their night ware.

Babies and toddlers are required to bring the following:

■ 3 full sets of clothing for each day

■ 6 - 8 nappies

■ 2 dummies (if applicable)

■ Minimum of 2 sterilised empty bottles and teats clearly labelled with child’s name (if applicable)

■ Enough pre made formula to meet the daily requirements of your child in a suitable container with the date and child’s name: ▪ remaining formula will be sent home with the child at the end of each day

Children aged over 3 years are required to bring the following:

■ Educators suggest that two full sets of clothing be placed in your child’s bag each day.

Families for children of all ages are asked to be mindful of the following requirements:

■ thongs/flip flops are a safety hazard and therefore inappropriate in our educational services. Safe active play require sturdy footwear to be work at all times

■ all clothing should be clearly marked with child’s name

■ clothing should be comfortable for a busy day of art activities and outdoor play. For messy play experiences, children are provided with protective clothing

■ wet or dirty clothing will be put in a plastic bag and placed with your child’s bag to take home

■ in warm weather, children are required to bring a sun hat that covers the face, neck and ears and clothing that protects the shoulders from the sun

■ in cooler weather, children are encouraged to bring a warm coat/rain coat, a warm hat, gumboots and an umbrella

BASC VC




OCCLDC


5. EDUCATORS ARRANGEMENTSEducation & Care National Regulations 118, 149, 168(2)(i), 173Education & Care National Quality Standards: 4.2

CODE OF CONDUCT

Hume City Council’s educators are guided by ethical conduct in their professional practice, behaviour and decision making within the care and education setting, with families and children and extended to the wider community.

Educators will display a duty of care to children, families, visitors, and professional colleagues and promote a respectful, safe and positive work environment in service delivery excellence.

Educators are familiar with the legislative and statutory documents that apply to their roles with children, families and other educators in the service and are accountable for compliance against the National Quality Standards from January 2012.

The Early Childhood Australia (ECA) Code of Ethics (2010), the United Nations Conventions on the Rights of the Child (1989), Service Philosophy and Hume City Council’s Our Hume Values guide educators in their ethical practice.

Parents and educators are required to treat and deal with each other with respect, courtesy and integrity at all times. All discussions between educators and parents and/or other persons must maintain appropriate standards of professionalism, courtesy, respect, and discretion. It is essential that appropriate language be upheld at all times.

Hume City Council reserves the right to restrict the movements of parents/families within their educational services if an educator identifies or is subject to any unacceptable or inappropriate behaviour and language.

Where a parent/family identifies any unacceptable or inappropriate behaviour they should immediately advise the Team leader who will address the issue appropriately and in accordance with Council’s policies and procedures.

EDUCATOR QUALIFICATIONS

The Education and Care Services National Regulations (2011) requires that all educators require a minimum requirement of Certificate 3 in Children’s Services by the year 2012 and by 2014, at least 50% of educators must have or be actively working towards a diploma level of Education and Care qualification.

Hume City Council employs appropriately qualified and experienced educators for the provision of children’s programs. Effective, transparent and equitable recruitment processes ensure the services attract and retain educators who can best meet the needs of children and their families.

In addition all children’s service programs has the additional support of an educational leader who is responsible for leading curriculum the development and implementation of educational programs.

All education services are supported and supervised by a Regional Leadership Team comprising:

■ Regional Assistant Team Leader

■ Regional Team Leader

■ Team Leader Out of School Hours Care

■ Regional Coordinator




These positions are responsible for supporting the development and provision of early childhood services that are innovative, sustainable and responsive to the needs of children and families.

All educators attend professional development and training programs throughout the year to enhance their skills. All educators attend training to update their Level 2 First Aid, Anaphylaxis and Asthma as required.

All educators are required to have a current Working with Children’s Check and a Police Check.

DETERMINING THE RESPONSIBLE PERSON

The Education and Care National Law Act (2010) determines that a responsible person must be physically present at a centre-based service at all times that an approved service operates. For a centre-based service a ‘responsible person’ can be:

■ the approved provider (or person in management or control)

■ nominated supervisor, or

■ a certified supervisor who has consented to be placed in day to day charge

Each of Hume City Council’s educational services has a nominated supervisor, whose name is displayed in the main entrance of each service.

A designated responsible person (Certified Supervisor) who has previously been assessed by the Regulatory Authority (DEECD) can be the Nominated Supervisor in the absence of the Nominated Supervisor. (This name is required to be displayed at the service during the absence of the Nominated Supervisor).

Hume City Council will have a responsible person available on the premises at all times and the name of the responsible person at any time will be clearly displayed for educators, families and visitors in the main entrance of each service at all times.

PARTICIPATION OF VOLUNTEERS AND STUDENTS

Hume City Council welcomes and encourages volunteers (including parents/guardians, grandparents and other family members) to volunteer their time at children’s services to provide a range of perspectives, skills and abilities to the children’s program. Educators will supervise students and volunteers at all times and these individuals are not identified in the staff ratio.

Hume City Council provides practical placements for students from TAFE, secondary schools and universities. All relevant administration documents are communicated between Hume City Council’s Human Resources Department and the relevant institution.

All visitors/volunteers and students are required to provide their name, entry and departure times, reason for visiting and signature in the visitor register at each children’s service.

Volunteers are also required to complete a Hume City Council’s Volunteer Engagement Form noting their full name, address and date of birth, date of visit, reason for visit and total hours of attendance (see Appendix- Volunteer Engagement Form).




Educators are required to inform volunteers/students about specific practices to support the safety and wellbeing of all children and in particular where an enrolled child has a specific health care need/medical condition ie. risk of anaphylaxis or other relevant medical conditions.

VISITOR REGISTER

All Hume City Council’s children’s services maintain a visitor register and sign in book.



6. RELATIONSHIPS WITH CHILDREN Education & Care National Regulations: 155 & 156, 168(2) (j) Education & Care National Quality Standard: 5.1, 5.2, 7.3.5

INTRODUCTION

Hume City Council’s children’s education and care programs provide an environment that creates a strong sense of identity and wellbeing where children are encouraged to express themselves to develop respectful and equal relationships. Educators provide opportunities for children to interact positively and guide their behaviour through, responsive and respectful relationships. Secure respectful and reciprocal relationships are one of the basic principles of Belonging, Being and Becoming: The Early Year’s Framework.

Educators work in partnerships with families to assist children to develop skills and understanding that children require to interact positively with others.

Positive relationships provide babies and children with the confidence to learn how their behaviour and actions affect themselves and others. Positive and responsive one-to-one interactions with babies and toddlers are important to both their current wellbeing and their future development.

INTERACTIONS WITH CHILDREN

Educators provide positive interactions with children to guide and support them to develop skills to regulate their behaviour, and learn to negotiate and resolve conflicts or disagreements with others. They also help children to learn about responsibilities to each other, their connection and relationship as learners, and to value working together with different groups of children.

Positive interaction with children may include methods to:

■ encourage children to express themselves and their opinions

■ allow children to undertake experiences that develop self-reliance and self esteem

■ maintain the dignity and rights of each child

■ provide guidance and encouragement to each child

■ consider the family and cultural values, age and physical and cognitive development and abilities of each child

EDUCATOR GUIDANCE STRATEGIES

Educators will provide positive interactions and appropriate guidance strategies for children in their care to develop the skills, dispositions and understanding they need to interact positively with others through:

■ encouraging opportunities for open communication by adding to interactions initiated by babies and toddlers

■ speaking in comforting tones and holding babies to soothe them when they are crying

■ responding positively to babies’ exploratory behaviour

■ participating in children’s play and using children’s cues to guide their level and type of involvement

■ acknowledging children’s efforts and achievements





■ modelling respectful relationships with children by positive language gestures, facial expressions and tone of voice when redirecting or discussing children’s behaviour with them

■ encouraging children to be part of decision-making about roles and relationships in play experience

■ assisting and supporting children when they have difficulties understanding or communicating with each other

■ talking with children about the outcomes of their actions and the rules and reasons

■ talking with children about emotions, feelings and issues of inclusion and exclusion, fair and unfair behaviour, bias and prejudice

■ encouraging children to listen to other children’s ideas, to consider alternative behaviours and solve problems together

■ supporting children to negotiate their rights in relation to the rights of others and intervene sensitively when children experience difficulty in resolving a disagreement

■ encouraging children to remove themselves from situations where they are experiencing frustration, anger or fear

■ responding promptly to children’s aggressive or bullying behaviours

■ being patient, gentle, calm and reassuring when children strongly express distress, frustration or anger


1. Education and Care Services National Law Act 2010 (National Law) http://www.legislation.vic.gov.au/Domino/Web_Notes/LDMS/PubStatbook.nsf/51dea49770555ea6ca256da4001b90cd/B73164FE5DA2112DCA2577BA0014D9ED/$FILE/10-069a.pdf

2. Education and Care Services National Regulations 2011 (National Regulations) http://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/sessionalview/sessional/subordleg/2011-653.pdf

3. Being Belonging and Becoming- The Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) http://www.deewr.gov.au

4. Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework (VEYLDF) http://www.education.vic.gov.au/earlylearning/eylf/default.htm

5. My time, Our Place Framework for School Age Care in Australia (MTOP) http://deewr.gov.au/earlychildhood/Pages/default.aspx

6. The Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) http:// www.acecqa.gov.au

7. Department of Education and Early Childhood Development http://www.education.vic.gov.au/earlylearning/nqa.htm

8 Health Records Act 2001. http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/consol_act/hra2001144/

9. Information Privacy Act 2000 http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/consol_act/ipa2000231/

10. Hume City Council Information Privacy and Health Records Policy:- Policy reference number: CP2011-11-06

11. Victorian Consolidated Legislation, Information Privacy Act, 2000: - http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/consol_act/ipa2000231/sch1.html (13/06/12)

12. A guide for the management and control of gastroenteritis outbreaks in children’s centres “Victorian Government Department of Health, Melbourne, Victoria.2010˝ State of Victoria 2010 http://www.health.vic.gov.au/ideas

13. Staying Healthy in Child Care – preventing infectious diseases in child care 4th edition http://www.nhmrc.gov.au/guidelines/publications/ch43

14. Cancer Council website: - http://www.cancercouncil.com.au/sunsmart

15. Get Up & Grow: Healthy Eating and Physical Activity for Early Childhood Resources http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/phd-early-childhood-nutrition-resources

16. The Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 and Public Health and Wellbeing Regulations 2009 www.health.vic.gov.au/healthactreview

17. Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing, Australian Psychological Society and Early Childhood Australia http://www.kidsmatter.edu.au/early-childhood/kidsmatter-early-childhood-framework/component-3-working-parents-and-carers-1

18. SIDS+KIDS www.sidsandkids.org

19. Dietary guidelines for children and adolescence in Australia

20. VEYLDF: www.kindalin.com.au

7. REFERENCES

HUME CITY COUNCIL FAMILY & CHILDREN’S SERVICES

FAMILY HANDBOOK

www.hume.vic.gov.au

Hume City Council1079 Pascoe Vale Road, Broadmeadows

PO Box 119, Dallas, Victoria 3047Telephone 9205 2200, Facsimile 9309 0109

[email protected]

contents page no 1. hume city council 1 · pdf file1. hume city council 1 introduction 1 our...

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