Developing Policies for Early Childhood Centres 3

Section 1 – Introduction...... 1-15

Disclaimer ...... 2

Developing policies for early childhood centres ...... 3

Policy development checklist ...... 9

Policy review table ...... 11

KPV model policy template ...... 12

Policy subcommittee – sample terms of reference ...... 14

Section 2 – Administration and operation...... 1-127

Code of conduct policy ...... 1

Attachment 1 Standards of conduct

Attachment 2 Procedures for dealing with a breach in the code of conduct

Attachment 3 Code of conduct acknowledgement

Attachment 4 Intervention orders

Communication policy ...... 11

Complaints and grievances policy ...... 16

Attachment 1 Dealing with complaints

Attachment 2 Complaints policy flow chart

Attachment 3 Dealing with grievances

Attachment 4 Mediation

Attachment 5 Sample terms of reference for a complaints and grievances subcommittee

Delivery and collection of children policy ...... 30

Attachment 1 Additional information for consideration

Attachment 2 Authorisation procedures

Attachment 3 Authorisation form

Attachment 4 Procedures for unauthorised collection of children

Attachment 5 Procedures to follow when staff are concerned about the safety of the child being collected

Attachment 6 Acknowledgement and confirmation of authorisation of a young person to collect a child

Enrolment policy ...... 42

Attachment 1 General enrolment procedures

Attachment 2 Sample – Enrolment application form

Fees policy ...... 51

Attachment 1 Setting fees and other charges

Attachment 2 Subsidies and discounts

Attachment 3 Invoicing, receipting and collection of fees

Attachment 4 Procedures for late payments / refunds

Attachment 5 Feepayment agreement, four year old (funded) kindergarten program

Attachment 6 Feepayment agreement, three year old kindergarten program

Attachment 7 Fee policy summary for families attending in [Insert year]

Attachment 8 Fee schedule [insert year], four year old (funded) kindergarten fees

Attachment 9 Fee schedule [insert year], three year old kindergarten fees

Information technology policy ...... 73

Attachment 1 Procedures for use of emails and IT facilities

Attachment 2 Guiding principles for security of information systems

Attachment 3 Parent / guardian authorisation for under age access to [insert centre name] IT facilities

Attachment 4 Authorised user agreement

Program participation policy ...... 84

Attachment 1 Participation guidelines

Attachment 1 Additional background information

Attachment 2 Privacy principles in action

Attachment 3 Letter of acknowledgement and understanding

Attachment 4 Information privacy collection statement

Attachment 5 Permission form for photographs and videos

Attachment 6 Permission form for photographs and / or video by a student on placement

Attachment 7 Special permission notice for publications / media

Qualified staff policy ...... 108

Attachment 1 Requirements for employment of relief staff in the funded kindergarten program

Working with children assessments and criminal history notifications policy...... 113

Attachment 1 Additional information

Attachment 2 Procedures for reading, assessing and recording WWC assessments and CHNs

Attachment 3 Fit and proper assessments

Attachment 4 Sample – WWC assessment and CHNs register

Section 3 – Health and safety...... 1-157

Administration of medication policy ...... 1

Attachment 1 Procedures for the safe administration of medication

Attachment 2 Administration of paracetamol

Anaphylaxis management policy ...... 8

Attachment 1 Risk minimisation procedures

Attachment 2 Enrolment checklist for children at risk of anaphylaxis

Attachment 3 Sample risk minimisation plan

Asthma policy ...... 25

Attachment 1 Management of asthma at the centre

Child protection policy ...... 32

Attachment 1 Child protection risk assessment

Attachment 2 Child safe organisations

Attachment 3 Incident / concern management and reporting guidelines

Attachment 4 Child safety review checklist (OCSC, 2006)

Attachment 5 Guidelines for recruitment of staff and volunteers

Clothing policy ...... 49

Emergency management policy ...... 53

Attachment 1 Emergency management plan

Attachment 2 Sample emergency management plan checklist

Attachment 3 Sample emergency risk analysis

Attachment 4 Sample emergency assessment

Attachment 5 Procedures for dealing with telephone or bomb threats

Attachment 6 Phone threat checklist

Healthy eating and active play policy ...... 71

Attachment 1 Dietary guidelines for children and adolescents in Australia (2003)

Attachment 2 Guidelines for celebrations, special events and fundraising

HIV/ AIDS and hepatitis policy ...... 79

Attachment 1 Step by step procedures for infection control relating to blood-borne viruses

Attachment 2 Relevant publications and training providers

Attachment 3 Background information

Hygiene policy ...... 92

Attachment 1 Sample nappy changing guidelines

Attachment 2 Hand washing guidelines

Illness policy ...... 101

Attachment 1 Checking for symptoms of illness

Attachment 2 Taking a child’s temperature

Incident and medical emergency management policy ...... 108

Attachment 1 Sample hazard identification checklist

Attachment 2 First-aid kits

Attachment 3 Sample first-aid risk assessment form

Management of infectious diseases policy ...... 121

Attachment 1 Communicable diseases exclusion table (2009)

Attachment 2 The National Immunisation Program (NIP) schedule (0-4 years)

Attachment 3 Consent form to conduct head lice inspections

Attachment 4 Head lice action form

Attachment 5 Head lice notification letter

Food safety policy ...... 135

Attachment 1 Food safety tips

Attachment 2 Responsible consumption of hot drinks in early childhood centres

Sun protection policy ...... 148

Attachment 1 Authority for staff to administer sunscreen provided by the centre

Attachment 2 General Information

Section 4 – Program...... 1-41

Behaviour guidance policy ...... 1

Attachment 1 Procedures for the guidance of challenging behaviours

Attachment 2 Guidelines to assist staff in implementing the Behaviour guidance policy

Excursions and centre events policy ...... 13

Attachment 1 Planning an excursion / centre event

Attachment 2 Submission to committee for approval

Attachment 3 Excursion / centre event permission form

Attachment 4 Volunteer participation form

Attachment 5 Routine outing permission form

Inclusion and equity policy ...... 26

Attachment 1 Strategies for an inclusive program

Supervision policy ...... 37

Policy / Section / Page number
Administration of medication policy / 3 / 1
Anaphylaxis management policy / 3 / 8
Asthma policy / 3 / 25
Behaviour guidance policy / 4 / 1
Child protection policy / 3 / 32
Clothing policy / 3 / 49
Code of conduct policy / 2 / 1
Communication policy / 2 / 11
Complaints and grievances policies / 2 / 16
Delivery and collection of children policy / 2 / 30
Emergency management policy / 3 / 53
Enrolment policy / 2 / 42
Excursions and centre events policy / 4 / 13
Fees policy / 2 / 51
Food safety policy / 3 / 135
Healthy eating and active play policy / 3 / 71
HIV, AIDs and Hepatitis policy / 3 / 79
Hygiene policy / 3 / 92
Illness policy / 3 / 101
Incident and medical emergency management policy / 3 / 108
Inclusion and equity policy / 4 / 26
Information technology policy / 2 / 73
Management of infectious diseases policy / 3 / 121
Privacy policy / 2 / 91
Program participation policy / 2 / 84
Qualified staff policy / 2 / 108
Sun protection policy / 3 / 148
Supervision policy / 4 / 37
Working with Children assessments and Criminal History Notifications policy / 2 / 113

Welcome to KPV PolicyWorks v2, a fully revised and updated publication of KPV ModelPolicies/PolicyWorks.PolicyWorksv2 aims to provide an accessible, user-friendly and realistic approach to policy development, review and implementation processes for independent early childhood settings.

These updated and new model policies will:

Assist with the management of independent early childhood centres
Enable centres to meet legislative and regulatory requirements
Reflect current best practice in the sector
Reflect changes to the sector, such as introduction of information technology
Identify links to the Child Care Quality Assessment (CCQA) principles where appropriate.

KPV recognises the increasing demands placed on centres to ensure their practices reflect current legislative and regulatory requirements. Today’s information-rich environment is constantly changing, and KPV aims to assist its membership to be best placed to meet and respond to these changes.

The model policies provided by KPV comply with current (at the time of publication) legislation and, where applicable, advice has been sought from relevant government departments and specialist groups.

KPV PolicyWorks v2 contains a number of new policies,including:

Diversity and equity
Program participation
Management of police records checks/working with children cards
Healthy eating and active play
Food safety.

Those responsible (throughout this publication, will be referred to as the committee, but also includes boards and others with responsibility for the management of early childhood services) for the review and development of policies should read the introduction first as it includes detailed information on the policy process. We suggest committees establish a policy subcommittee, as outlined in the section ‘Developing policies for early childhood centres’, and set timeframes for the review and implementation of policies.Centres will find the KPV Early Childhood centrespolicy circle’ an invaluable tool for the review and implementation of new and existing policies.

It is important that committees thoroughly understand and ‘own’ the policies for their centre. They may choose to use information provided in KPV PolicyWorks v2 in one of the following ways:

Adopt and modify one or more of the policies to reflect the values and beliefs of their centre
Use these policies as a basis for developing their own policies
Create policies using the format provided onpage12: KPV Model Policy Template.

To assist committees in this process, KPV PolicyWorks v2is organised into user-friendly sections,such as:

Introduction
Administration and operation
Health and safety
Program.

The policies have been developed to provide a model only and should be altered to reflect individual centre practices, beliefs and values. KPV recommends that changes to policies be checked to ensure compliance with all regulatory and legislative requirements.

The range of policies provided is not intended to cover all policies needed by early childhood services;therefore, the KPV PolicyWorks v2 includes a standard model policy template (page12) to enable you to effectively develop additional policies relevant for your centre. Policies related to employment of staff such as Occupational Health and Safety, Non-smoking and Equal Opportunity are included in the KPV EmployerWorks CD or Employer Management Manual.

KPV is proud to provide centres with KPV PolicyWorksv2and trusts that centres will find this information, combined with the KPV Employer Management Manual,an invaluable resource for their centre.

Disclaimer

Services should seek advice about the application of the information contained in this publication to any specific situation.

This publication is provided on the understanding that:

The author(s), consultant(s) and editor(s) are not responsible for the results of any actions taken on the basis of information in this publication, nor for any error in or omission from this publication.

The author(s), consultant(s) and editor(s) expressly disclaim all and any liability and responsibility to any person whether a reader of this publication or not, in respect of anything, and of the consequences of anything, done or omitted to be done by any such person in reliance, whether wholly or partially, upon the whole or any part of the contents of this publication.

Without limiting the generality of the above, no author(s), consultant(s) and editor(s) shall have any responsibility for any act or omission of any other author(s), consultant(s) and editor(s).

This publication embodies the entire advice and information that may only be varied in writing. Any oral communication in relation to, or in any way affecting, this document shall be of no force or effect whatsoever and should not be relied upon.

Due to the fact that Acts, laws, regulations and legislation regularly change, it is necessary for organisations to verify that the information contained in this manual is accurate in its application to a specific situation.

Developing policies for early childhood centres

What is policy?

A policy is an agreed set of decisions with a common purpose that provides information about what we do/don’t do and, in some cases, what we cannot do. Policies can be written or unwritten; examples of unwritten policies are ‘office paper will be recycled’ and ‘children will walk when inside’. It is the responsibility of the committee to ensure policies are developed that best meet the needs of the staff, parents/guardians, committee, children and community; that reflect both the values and beliefs of a centre and current thinking; and that are relevant in terms of current laws, legislation and regulations.

What do we believe?

A centre’s philosophy - combined with its values; knowledge of children’s development, theories and disciplines; knowledge of teaching and learning theory; and legislative and regulatory requirements - provides the foundation for a centre’s policies.

The policy process presents an opportunity for the committee, in collaboration with families and staff, to reflect on or develop the centre’s philosophy. A philosophy should represent the collective beliefs of a centre. For example, at KPV we believe:

‘Education is for life, it should be universally inclusive and community involved. Early childhood education should be a cohesive service system which is both responsive and flexible, one which demonstrates excellence and innovation.’

KPV Vision 2011: A vision for early childhood education

In developing a philosophy statement, or reviewing an existing one, Moore (2000) suggests that centres should answer three questions:

Whether the purpose of the centre is of value to the children parents/guardians, staff and community at an affordable price
Whether it will be, in a short- and long-term position, able to continually meet legislative and regulatory requirements, as well as the requirements of funding bodies
Whether it is administratively and operationally feasible.

These three conditions all need to coexist as they are all necessary for the ability of any centre to provide value to all users. The question should be continually asked about what value is being produced for all users and can additional value be created.

Why have policies?

Clearly articulated policies and procedures:

Provide a framework for operation
Enable a consistent approach
Provide a future direction for decision-making
Promote smooth transition when there are changes to management and staff
Are a tool for marketing the centre program by outlining what new and potential users of the centre can expect
Provide a framework for compliance with legislative and regulatory obligations
Guide day-to-day practice.

Where there is no guidance from policies, confusion, conflict and poor decision-making can quickly evolve.

Who develops/reviews policy?

The group of people responsible for the management of the operation of the service, often the committee of management or board, is responsible for authorising and overseeing the development and implementation of policies. The development of a policy subcommittee - which usually consists of three to six participants, with representatives from the staff, parents/guardians, committee members, local government members (if relevant) and other relevant people - can be an effective method for this task. A policy subcommittee brings together a range of skills, knowledge and perspectives that all contribute to the development of good policy for early childhood services.

Please note that it is the committee of management’s responsibility to set the parameters and timelines for the subcommittee. Refer to Section 1 Page 14, ‘Sample terms of reference for a policy subcommittee’.

When do we develop/review policy?

Policies and procedures should be reviewed regularly in order to meet changing needs and to comply with legislation. A Policy review table (refer to Section 1 page 11) will provide those with the responsibility for the policies of a centre some guidance regarding when policies are due to be reviewed. This table should be developed by the policy subcommittee in consultation with the committee of management.

How do you develop policy?

There are numerous models of the policy process. While traditional models tend to read like a menu, one of the more helpful models for the policy process is the Bridgman and Davis (2000) policy cycle. KPV has modified this cycle to create a ‘Early childhood centres’ policy circle’ that presents the process of policy making as an endless cycle and incorporates the central role of all players in an early childhood centre.

It is useful to consider each policy as ‘owning’ its own circle, and that the circles can be related to one another. For example, a complaint has been received (Complaints policy) in regard to the fees charged by the centre (Fees policy). Both policies will be in the implementation stage; however, new issues may beidentified. At any one time several separate policy circles may be in operation. Managing each stage is a major task for policy subcommittees and the committee.

The Early childhood centres’ policy circle consists of seven stages, as shown in the following diagram.

1.Review and identify issues

A policy review timetable (refer to the Policy review table, page 11) is an important tool for the implementation of a regular review process. The policy subcommittee should refer to this table to determine which policies are due to be reviewed.

When reviewing a policy, reflective questions can assist in identifying and critically reflecting on the effectiveness of current daily and professional practices. Asking questions assists in considering how current practices might need to be changed, further developed or improved. This process may also identify additional policies that may need to be reviewed or developed to support current practices and plans to improve quality. Some important questions to consider are:

What regulatory and legislative requirements need to be covered?
Has an incident occurred, or has a concern or issue been raised,that has prompted the need for a policy or the review of a policy?
Is the current practice fair, equitable and effective?
Have changing circumstances impacted on current policies? For example, the organisation has moved, increased or decreased in size.
Has there been a change to the centre’s model of service delivery or philosophy?
Is there new legislation, regulation, awards, codes of practice and/or guidelines that will impact on policy?
Have there been any changes to policy requirements in quality evaluation and improvement systems, such as Preschool Quality Assessment or for the Quality Improvement and Accreditation System (QIAS) or funding guidelines?
What other policies are required for efficient and effective operation?

Issues can be identified in a number of ways,such as a parent/guardian has complained about the cleanliness of the children’s toys. Dealing with this issue is not always as straightforward as it seems as many policies are interrelated and rely on the implementation of one to support the other. For example, this issue involves the Complaints and Hygiene policies.