NQS

QUALITY AREA 2:  CHILDREN’S HEALTH AND SAFETY

National Regulations

Purpose

Baulkham Hills Early Learning Centre has a duty of care to provide and protect the health and safety of children, educators and visitors.

This policy aims to support educators to:

• Preserve life

• Ensure the environment is safe and other people are not in danger of becoming ill or injured

• Ensure that ill or injured persons are stabilised and comforted until medical assistance intervenes

• Relieve pain if possible

• Monitor ill or injured persons and promote recovery

• Provide immediate and effective first aid to children or adults

• Apply additional first aid if the condition does not improve

Administration of First Aid

When an accident, injury or illness occurs, requiring staff to administer first aid, a staff member with current first aid qualifications must be the one to administer the treatment.

Staff will:

• Assess the situation for any further danger to themselves or others;

• Ensure no further danger is present and clear children away from the accident site and continue with the normal routine.

• Respond to the injury, illness or trauma needs of the child or adult into the capability of their training in first aid, asthma or anaphylaxis. Referral to the child’s medical management plan and risk minimisation plan should be made.

• Staff will wear gloves whilst attending to a child who is bleeding.

• Staff are to practice hygiene procedures such as disposal of gloves, used gauze/wipes/tissues, etc after treatment.

• No medications will be used on the child unless they are prescribed for that child.

• Notify the Nominated Supervisor/ Responsible Person and parents of the incident, illness, injury or trauma the same day that it occurs.

• As part of first aid response educator may if required:

  • Call an ambulance (or ask another staff member to call and co-ordinate the ambulance).

  • Notify a parent or authorised nominee that the child requires medical attention from a medical practitioner.

  • Contact a parent or authorised nominee to collect the child from the service if required within an appropriate timeframe. 

• If first aid is administered, an Incident, Injury and Trauma or Illness report is to be filled out by the staff member present at the time of the accident and the staff member who treated the child/adult.  Information should be recorded as soon as possible using our online report system via the Kinderloop app, and within 24 hours after the incident, injury, trauma or illness. 

• The parent is to sight and sign the form and receive a copy within 24 hours of the incident injury or trauma.  If contact is not possible on the day of the accident, the nominated supervisor or Responsible Person must contact parents by phone or in person as soon as possible the next day.

• A copy of the form is to be kept in the child’s file.

• The National Regulations require that an incident, injury, trauma and illness record be kept, and that the record be accurate and remain confidentially stored until the child is 25 years old.

• Continue to monitor the child’s condition.  If the child’s condition deteriorates, then the Nominated Supervisor or Responsible Person is to assess the situation and if necessary, call an ambulance, the parents or other emergency contacts nominated in the enrolment form.  If either of these staff members are unavailable, then another member of staff is to do this, and the Nominated supervisor or Responsible Person is to be notified as soon as possible.

• If the parents are not available and a child needs to go to hospital by ambulance, a staff member is to go with them.  In this case the Nominated Supervisor (RFF) is to take the staff member’s place, or a casual staff member called to come urgently to maintain staff/child ratios as per the Education and Care Services National Regulation.

• Remaining staff are to continue to try to contact the parents/emergency contacts.

• A copy of the child’s enrolment form is to be taken to the hospital by the staff member accompanying the child.

• If a child requires hospitalisation, the Nominated Supervisor or Responsible Person is to contact the regulatory authority, the NSW Early Childhood Education and Care Directorate via NQA ITS Portal within 24 hours.

• A small first aid kit is to be kept in an evacuation pack, which is used in the evacuation of the service, e.g. fire, bomb threat, etc.

ALL FIRST AID KITS AT THE SERVICE MUST:

• be suitably equipped

• not be locked

• not contain paracetamol

• be suitable for the number of employees and children and sufficient for the immediate treatment of injuries at the Service

• be easily accessible to staff and educators

• be constructed of resistant material, be dustproof and of sufficient size to adequately store the required contents

• be capable of being sealed and preferably be fitted with a carrying handle as well as have internal compartments

• contain a list of the contents of the kit

• be regularly checked using the First Aid Kit Checklist to ensure the contents are as listed and have not degraded or expired

• be easily recognisable

• be easy to access and if applicable, located where there is a risk of injury occurring

• include emergency telephone numbers=

• be stocked with precautionary items such as sunscreen and water if using outdoors.

• be taken on excursions and during regular transportation

• be maintained in proper condition and the contents restocked as required.

Responsibilities of the Approved Provider/Nominated Supervisor:

The Approved Provider and/or the Nominated Supervisor of an education and care service will:

• ensure obligations under the Education and Care Services National Law and National Regulations are met

• ensure educators, staff, students, visitors and volunteers have knowledge of and adhere to this policy and procedure

• ensure all new employees, students and volunteers are provided are aware of policy location, as part of their induction process

• ensure there is an induction process for all new staff, including casual and relief staff, that includes providing information on the location of first aid kits and specific first aid requirements; individual children’s allergies and individual children’s medical management plans

• ensure families are aware of this Administration of First Aid Policy

• take every reasonable precaution to protect children at the Service from harm and/or hazards that can cause injury

• ensure that the following qualified people are in attendance and immediately available in an emergency, at all times the service is providing education and care to children [Reg. 136]

• at least one educator, staff member or nominated supervisor who holds a current ACECQA approved first aid qualification

• at least one educator, staff member or nominated supervisor of the service who has undertaken current approved anaphylaxis management training

• at least one educator, staff member or nominated supervisor of the service who has undertaken current approved emergency asthma management training

• (One staff member may hold one or more of the three qualifications)

• ensure staff maintain current ACECQA approved first aid qualification and ACECQA approved anaphylaxis and asthma management training every 3 years and renew cardio-pulmonary resuscitation every 12 months

• ensure there is always an Educator on the premises who hold a first aid and CPR qualification at all times; the nominated supervisor to ensure this is considered when completing service rosters.

• ensure a risk assessment is conducted prior to an excursion or regular outing, to identify risks to health, safety, or wellbeing and specifying how these risks will be managed and minimised (NB: risk assessment for a regular outing or regular transportation is required at least annually) [Reg. 102B, 102D (4)]

• provide and maintain an appropriate number of up-to-date, fully equipped first aid kits, that meet Australian Standards [Reg. 89]

• monitor the contents of all first aid kits and arrange replacement of stock, including when the use-by date has been reached

• dispose of out-of-date materials and supplies appropriately

• ensure safety signs showing the location of first aid kits are clearly displayed

• provide and maintain a transportable first aid kit that can be taken to excursions, outdoors during emergency evacuations, and other activities [Reg. 89]

• ensure that first aid training details are recorded and kept up to date on each staff member’s record

• ensure that families/parents are notified when practicable or within 24 hours if their child is involved in an incident, injury, trauma or illness at the Service and that details are recorded appropriately as per the incident, injury, trauma or illness policy. Reg. 86, 87]

• ensure the regulatory authority is notified within 24 hours if a child is involved in a serious incident, injury, trauma or illness at the Service [Reg. 12, 176]

• ensure that staff members are offered support and debriefing subsequent to a serious incident requiring the administration of first aid

• keep up to date with any changes in procedures for administration of first aid and ensuring that all educators are informed of these changes.

• ensure parents/guardians provide written consent (via the enrolment record) for service staff to administer first aid, this is part of the Hubhello enrolment record as a family adds their child to the waitlist.

• ensure parents/guardians provide written consent for the approved provider, nominated supervisor or educator to seek medical treatment for their child by a registered medical practitioner, hospital or ambulance service and if required, transport the child to hospital [Reg. 161(1)(a)]

Responsibilities of the Educators

• implement appropriate first aid procedures, when necessary, by adhering to the Service’s Administration of First Aid Procedure

• maintain current ACECQA approved first aid qualification, and qualifications for approved anaphylaxis management and emergency asthma management every 3 years , and renew cardio-pulmonary resuscitation every 12 months

• ensure that all children are adequately supervised while providing first aid and comfort for a child involved in an incident or suffering trauma

• ensure that the details of any incident requiring the administration of first aid are recorded in incident reports on Kinderloop appropriately.

• conduct a risk assessment prior to an excursion, regular outing or when providing regular transportation of children to identify risks to health, safety, or wellbeing and specifying how these risks will be managed and minimised (NB: risk assessment for a regular outing or regular transportation is required at least annually) [Reg. 102B, 102D (4)]

Responsibilities of the Family/Guardian

The Family/Guardians of an education and care service must:

• read and comply with the policies and procedures of the Service

• sign Service records of accidents or injuries that have occurred, acknowledging they have been made aware of the incident and the first aid that treatment that was given to the child. These are to be shared with families via service app – Kinderloop

• provide the required information for their child’s medical conditions – example: providing asthma or allergy plans from doctor

• notify the Service upon enrolment of any specific health care needs of their child- including medical conditions and allergies

• provide the Service with a medical management plan for their child if required and ensure these are kept up to date at all times

• provide written consent (via the enrolment record) for service staff to administer first aid

• provide written consent for the approved provider, nominated supervisor or educator to seek medical treatment for their child by a registered medical practitioner, hospital or ambulance service and if required, transport the child to hospital

• be contactable, either directly or through emergency contacts listed on the child’s enrolment record

• notify educators of any change in condition of their child’s health that may impact the child’s care and require the administration of first aid (ACECQA, 2021).

INCIDENT, INJURY, TRAUMA AND ILLNESS RECORD 

Any incidents, injuries trauma or illness, including first aid provided, must be recorded and include the following details, as per Education and Care Services National Regulation 87:

• name and age of the child

• circumstances leading to the incident, injury, trauma, or illness (including any symptoms)

• time and date

• details of action taken by the service including any medication administered, first aid provided or

• medical personnel contacted

• details of any witnesses

• names of any person the service notified or attempted to notify, and the time and date of this

• signature of the person making the entry, and time and date of this.

Record Keeping

The records must be kept:

• If the record relates to an incident, illness, injury or trauma suffered by a child while being educated and cared for by the education and care service; until the child is ages 25 years.

• If the record relates to an incident, illness, injury or trauma suffered by a child that may have occurred following an incident while being educated and cared for by the education and care service; until the child is aged 25 years.

  
  

Procedures

Below is a list of different procedures required in regulations of how to handle trauma, illness and injury in our service.

If an educator witnesses a Trauma:

• Notify the Nominated Supervisor/Responsible Person of the trauma.

• Emergency services are to be notified.

• Nominated Supervisor is to contact the parent and notify them of the trauma.

• Child is to be given first aid appropriate to their situation.

• Remain calm and keep the child calm and relaxed until emergency services/family arrives.

• Fill out appropriate paperwork such as incident form, action taken, and first aid given.

• Notify regulatory authority within 24 hours of emergency.

If an educator notices that a child has a non-serious injury:

• Checks child over for injury/comforts child

• Notifies Nominated Supervisor/Responsible Person

• Performs first aid appropriate to the situation

• Notifies family of the child

• Fills out appropriate documentation

Related Statutory Obligations & Considerations

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

• Children (Education and Care Services) National Law (NSW) No 104a

• Education and Care Services National Regulations

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011

Related Telephone Numbers

• Early Childhood Education and Care Directorate - 1800 619 113

• Emergency Service - 000

• ACECQA - 1300 422 327

• Guild Insurance - 1800 810 213

• NSW Health - 1300 066 055

Amendment History

This policy will be updated to ensure compliance with all relevant legal requirements every year. Appropriate consultation of all stakeholders (including staff and families) will be conducted on a timely basis. In accordance with Regulation 172 of the Education and Care Services National Regulation, families of children enrolled will be notified at least 14 days and their input considered prior to any amendment of policies and procedures that have any impact on their children or family.

Date:

24.3.2025

Version:

5

Last amended by:

Laura Clarke  

Next Review:

24.3.2026

Position:

Nominated Supervisor