Policy Handbook
Upon enrolling your child, you will receive a Policy Handbook with information regarding important policies and procedures relating to our centre’s operations. A copy of this manual is also available in the service foyer for families to view at any time. We also encourage families to review policies if they wish.
Health & Hygiene
We take the health of children very seriously. Infections in young children are common as they are still building up their immunity. We have strict cleaning and infection controls and exclusion procedures in place to combat this issue. If your child is ill upon arriving at the centre, you will be asked to take them home. If they become ill during the day, parents or guardians will be notified to come in and collect the child as the best place for them is to be at home so that they can recover.
Medication
If your child requires medication, parents or authorised nominees must complete a medication form and give to staff. Do not leave medication in your child’s bag. Medication must be clearly labelled showing that the medication is prescribed to the child, with required dosage. Non prescription medicine must be accompanied by a letter from a doctor or pharmacist.
Emergency Evacuations
Emergency evacuations are practiced at our service every quarter. These include fire evacuations, gas leaks and intruder lock downs. Every child in attendance for that quarter must participate in the drills. Please remember to sign your child in and out each day as these attendance sheets enable us to account for every child who is on the premises.
Accidents, Incidents & First Aid
Our centre takes the safety of your children seriously, and while accidents are bound to occur in the early developmental years, we have created learning environments that are safe and well supervised. Each day our staff conduct safety walks, hazard identifications and risk assessments along with other strategies to ensure your child is safe.
We have educators trained in first aid, asthma & anaphylaxis management onsite at all times. Should an accident or incident occur, our staff will document the details and notify families.
Priority of Access
The Australian Government has determined guidelines for allocating places for those families with the greatest need for child care support. They set out the following three levels of priority, which child care services must follow when filling vacant places:
Priority 1 – a child at risk of serious abuse, or neglect.
Priority 2 – a child of a parent or parents who attends work or training or study.
Priority 3 – any other child.
Within each category, priority is also given to children in families with low incomes, single parent families, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families, parents or children with disabilities, families from non-English speaking backgrounds or socially isolated families.
A child who is a “Priority 3” may be asked to leave, change or reduce the number of days if a place is needed for a higher priority child. Parents will be given at least two weeks’ notice if this occurs.
Immunisation
Every family must provide their child’s Australian Childhood Immunisation Register (ACIR) documents to the centre director upon enrolment. In the event of an outbreak of an infectious disease, children who have not been immunised will be excluded according to the recommended exclusion periods.
Nutrition
Meals provided at our service will provide at least 50% of your child’s recommended daily dietary requirements. We will promote and support families to develop healthy eating habits to children in conjunction with programs such as Munch & Move and Get Up & Grow.
Child Protection
All staff working with children are Mandatory Reporters. This means that by law, if they have observations that may indicate that the child is at “risk of harm” they must report it to the appropriate authorities.
Visiting the Centre
Families and authorised nominees are welcome in our centre at any time during the day. Family participation and input in always welcomed and encouraged.
Family Communication
Communication between families and the service is an important part of daily life. Good educator-to-parent communication contributes significantly to the success of your child’s development and our educational programs. We will communicate in a variety of ways with families including phone calls, email, newsletters, posters, social media as well as formal and informal meetings.