Policies
Legislation and Policy Guidelines
Warrawee Care Centre is governed by the Education and Care Services National Law and National Regulations. These regulations commenced on 1 January 2012. A copy is available in the service for you to view or alternatively can be found at www.acecqa.gov.au .
Our policy manual is available for families to read in the Centre foyer and any input is welcomed and valued. Policies can also be found on iChild for families currently enrolled in the service.
Medical Information
It is the Centre’s policy to always have a trained first aid staff member on hand during operating hours. Should an accident occur, all possible steps will be taken to contact an authorised person, and our educators will take the action they feel is necessary. The Centre cannot cater for children who are suffering from any contagious diseases – mumps, measles, chicken pox and head lice. The Centre should be notified if your child does contract one of these diseases and may request a doctor’s certificate before a child is allowed to continue attendance after a contagious disease.
If educators are required to administer long term medication we need permission from the child’s authorised person and records must be maintained pertaining to this administration of medication. Qualified educators will be providing first aid and administering such medication following the set Centre policies and will record the first aid / treatment. The Centre has strict policies on the administration of any medication so please check with staff in advance if this may be needed.
Leaving the Centre
Children must not leave the Centre except in the manner indicated by parents on the enrolment form. Alternative arrangements must be communicated to the Centre, preferably in writing. The Centre has a communication book for parents to record alternative collection arrangements in and we must be notified of a change of arrangements in advance. Children must be signed in for before school care and signed out on departure from after school care. The Centre reserves the right to refuse to let a child leave if we feel it is a breach of our duty of care and is detrimental to the child’s welfare and safety or the correct authorisation has not be communicated
Non Attendance
Parents are requested to please notify the Centre if your child will not be attending, as it saves us searching for “lost” children. The answering machine is on during the day so you can leave a message for staff. Alternatively you can contact the Centre’s mobile 0412 502 922 outside of Centre hours and speak with the Director. A search fee is charged if we have to phone to confirm your child’s whereabouts.
Behaviour Guidance
We aim to provide an environment where all children, parents and educators feel safe, cared for and relaxed, which encourages co-operation and positive interactions between all persons. Responsibilities will be clearly established based on safety, respect for others, order and cleanliness, which help create a caring environment. Positive behaviour is encouraged and self-discipline skills nurtured through positive example, reinforcement and direction. We welcome children and parent involvement in developing responsibilities and our Centre’s Code of Ethics. Educators will discuss with children about bullying and teach appropriate ways to deal with these issues, ensuring children are aware that any form of bullying will not be tolerated.
Child Protection
We believe that the welfare of all children is of paramount importance and that the Centre has an obligation to defend children’s rights to care and protection. All educators are mandatory reporters, have undertaken training in child protection and are aware of the Centre’s policy on protective care, knowing what the indicators of child abuse and neglect are and the procedures to follow should notification be required. They are also familiar with the procedure for handling any protective care issues and the need for confidentiality.
The children are supervised at all times and educators use their initiative to decide the most appropriate type of supervision needed eg a higher level of supervision will be needed outside due to a larger area to supervise.
Sun Protection
The Centre aims to ensure that all children attending the Centre will be protected from harmful rays of the sun. All educators model appropriate sun protection behaviour and enforce the sun protection policy. Educators use the SunSmart Cancer Council app to provide children with correct information about required sun safety for the day. Children who do not have a hat will be encouraged to play under the shelter or indoors. An SPF 30+ broad spectrum water resistant sunscreen is available in the Centre and applied to staff and children when exposed to the sun. The Sun Protection Policy is available in the Centre for parents to read and sunscreen can only be applied if parents have signed the consent section on their enrolment form. If your child has an allergy to sunscreen please supply the Centre with an alternate cream that can be applied. In November 2012 the Centre became a recognised “SunSmart” service by the Cancer Council of NSW.
Complaints or Concerns
If a parent has a complaint or comment about the service, they will be encouraged to talk to the Director who will arrange a time to discuss their concern and come to a resolution to address the issue. If the complaint is not handled to the parent’s satisfaction at this level, they should discuss the issue with the President of the Management Committee. Alternatively they can contact the Regulatory Authority on ececd@det.nsw.edu.au.
The Management Committee will discuss the issue with the Director and develop a strategy for resolving the problem, this would be discussed further with the parent or if necessary a meeting will be organised with the Director and parent to resolve the problem. The Director or Management will inform the parent of what has been decided regarding the issue. The Management Committee contact is warraweecarecentre@outlook.com.
Work, Health and Safety
The health and safety of all persons within Warrawee Care Centre is considered to be of the utmost importance. The Centre has health and safety representatives that oversee any safety issues as they arise and aim to provide an environment that is safe with no risk to the health and wellbeing of children, parents and staff.
All Centre educators are aware of their responsibilities whilst working with children and manage workplace safety as a team with an ongoing improvement process.