Staff Handbook

Regulations, Policies And Procedures

Routines | Safety Checks | Regulation 38 | Sick Leave | Staff Development | Staff Lunches | Staff Room and Courtyard | Study Time | Sun Care |

Supervision of Children | Telephone Use| Time Sheets | Toileting Policy and Procedure | United Way | Working in Partnerships with Families | Work Related Injury

Routines

During quiet times, you are to be actively engaged in responsibilities such as activity preparation, nappy folding, room maintenance, etc. If you do not know what to do please see management.
Basic cleaning duties are allotted to all staff members and it is each staff member’s responsibility to ensure that these are completed - see your room routine.
You are not permitted to sleep during children’s rest time.
Bathroom and change areas are to be clean, tidy and safe at all times. Floors are to be swept and washed, toilets and hand basins are to be disinfected around mid afternoon
The changing areas are to be disinfected after each child.
No dummies, bottles, etc. are to be left lying on floors or benches following use. Proper cleaning and sterilising techniques are to be maintained at all times. Label and place caps on all bottles.
Ensure that children’s bedding and linen is, at all times, clean and fresh.
Floors are to be kept free from rubbish or food at all times.
Do not leave the centre at the end of the day without ensuring that all responsibilities for the day have been completed.
All administrative records regarding the care of children are to be fully maintained at all times (e.g dietary requirements).

Safety Checks

A nominated Safety Audit Officer from each yard is responsible in ensuring all staff are following the policies and procedures of maintaining a safe environment for children and staff. The nominated staff members are to complete a safety audit on a daily, weekly and monthly cycle and informing management of any actions required. Each audit is located in the bathroom.
Physical Hazards Audit Checklist:
A nominated staff member from each yard meeting is to undertake a physical hazards audit check list every eight weeks. This is then passed onto management for action.
The physical audit checklist is located in the child care originals folder located in the planning room.

Sick or Injured Children - Regulation 38

If a child becomes ill, has an accident or is injured or traumatised as a consequence of an incident while being cared for or educated by a children’s service, the proprietor must ensure that the parent or guardian with whom the child resides is notified as soon as practicable.
If necessary in the interest of the health, safety or well being of the child referred to in sub regulation 1 or the other children attending the children’s service, the proprietor must ensure that arrangements are made for the child to be removed from the service as soon as possible.

Sick Leave

“ Staff who are unwell and are unable to perform their responsibilities should not attend the Children’s Centre.”
You are entitled to paid sick leave according to months/years of employment. Medical certificates are required for absences. For specific details you can contact the manager.
If you are absent due to illness you are required to contact the manager in order to arrange a reliever. Please try to give reasonable time for this. On employment ask the manager for a contact telephone number for after hours.

Staff Development

The centre offers staff development each year, this may be in house or outside of the centre. Staff development may occur on any day of the week, you will be backfilled should you attend an in-service on a week day. Management pays for all in-service training, however, we encourage you to also seek staff development in your own time and at your own cost. Management encourages you to keep your first aid qualification up to date. Fees are to be discussed with management.

Staff Lunches

Lunches are available for purchase each day. Your lunch order must be given to kitchen staff prior to 11am each morning. Lunch menus are displayed in the staff room or you can order the children’s meal.
At the end of each week all purchases will be deducted from your pay.

Staff Room and Courtyard

The staff room and courtyard is a place for you to relax and have time away from your routine work with the children. You are required to keep these areas clean and tidy. Management provide a fridge, microwave, hot water, tea ,coffee, sugar and milk. Spring water is also provided for a refreshing glass of cold water in warmer months. Please do not use this water for the children or filling your drink bottle throughout the day.
Please ensure you follow the staff room roster.

Study Time

Trainees who receive study time for their training are to use this time effectively. Before and after study time you are required to see the manager or training staff, who will look and sign your assessments that you are working on. All study is to be completed in either the training room or planning room. At no time shall eating or drinking be permitted while on study. Please ensure your break is taken in the staff room.

Sun Care

One World Children’s Centre is an Anti-Cancer Council accredited ‘Sunsmart’ Centre.
Families provide sun-hats for their children, however the centre provides sunscreen. Sunscreen is applied regularly and liberally to the children whilst outdoors in the summer months. Sunscreen is applied on arrival or at the first nappy change, then after lunch or after sleep/rest time.
The Centres’ ‘no hat, no outdoor play’ policy is applied all year round to provide consistency and reinforcement to the children, however during the colder months a warm woolly hat is acceptable. Should a child not bring their hat and we do not have a spare the child will be restricted to areas out of the sun or will be requested to play indoors.
Staff will apply sunscreen outside of the normal summer months should the sun be strong. Hats will also vary depending on the weather ie colder days a warm hat, hotter days a legionaries hat. We limit play outdoors between the hours of 11am to 3.00 pm and encourage all children to play in the shade - staff will be flexible and make reasonable judgement on the above situations.
Staff in kinder are responsible for sunscreening the am children before returning to family grouping in the pm. Family Grouping staff are responsible for sunscreening the am children before attending kinder in the pm.
Furthermore staff support the anti-Cancer Council Sunsmart Program by being good models for the children, and by personally following sensible sunsmart practices.
Staff are required to wear a sun hat all year round, this is supplied by management. Staff are permitted to use the centre sunscreen.

Supervision of Children

It is of utmost importance that when you supervise a group of children that you follow some general guidelines:

• always ensure that you are in a position to see all or the majority of the group
• never sit with your back to the child, or group, if possible keep your back to a wall or fence in order for you to supervise the majority of the area
• be aware of all the children at all times
• regularly change your position
• if you are in great discussion with a group of children or an individual child glance around the area every so often
• listen out for children in distress if you can not see them
• be aware of safety aspects eg. broken equipment, children climbing on furniture
• ensure that parents/guardians leave their child with a staff member.
• at no time should a child be left alone or unsupervised.
• ensure that parents/guardians sign their child in on arrival and sign out on departure. (check regularly the attendance book for parent/s signature/s)

Any child / children found to be ‘missing’ must be reported to management immediately
Late duty staff must ensure that every room has been thoroughly checked for children and must ensure that each child has been signed out, before locking the centre and going home

Telephone Use

The Centre’s telephone is for business purposes only. If you need to make a personal call it must be made from the managers cordless phone. In-coming personal calls are not permitted unless in emergency. A message will be taken for you and placed on the message board in the staff room.

Time Sheets

Staff must ensure that the staff sign in sheet is signed each day. Neglecting to do so could result in incorrect salary calculation. Salaries are paid each Wednesday for the previous week Monday to Friday. On employment you will be given a bank details form to complete. Salaries are paid directly into your allocated bank account.

Toileting Policy and Procedure

At One World, we believe that routine activities are not simply concerned with childrens physical care but are occasions for social interaction, conversation and learning related to self-help and growing independence. Every transition between routine activities is recognised and used as an opportunity to develop new skills and knowledge in the children.
We believe that it is important that your concern for hygiene and for guiding the children’s developing control of their bodily functions is appropriately balanced with a sensitive approach to ensure each child’s comfort and to foster the children’s developing sense of competence.
Staff will encourage interest in imitation when they see other children using the toilet and will demonstrate a positive approach to the child gaining control and sense of competence.
Toileting and toilet learning at our Centre is supported by family grouping and are positive experiences for all children. Staff will assist and support all families in any way possible when the time comes to take the step of toilet training.
Policy:
Through careful observation of the children and subsequent discussions with parents, staff will ascertain a child’s readiness for toilet training. After consultation with the parents, staff and parents determine whether toilet training should be started. A planned and relaxed process will commence.

Procedure:

1. encourage parents to bring along clean supplies of clothes - easy for the child to pull down and up themselves - limit fasteners
2. encourage the child to sit on the potty or toilet at intervals throughout the day
3. assist the child in the toileting process
4. assist the child to wash their hands
5. place any wet or soiled clothes in a plastic bag and place in the child’s home bag - rinse out any wet and soiled clothes.
6. disinfect the potty / toilet
7. wash your hands
8. staff assist children to leave the bathroom and settle back into the program

United Way

United Way is Geelong’s major charitable organisation. Its mission is to raise funds to support over 50 different Health and Human Care Services and agencies in the Geelong region.
65% of funds raised come from businesses and their employees making a contribution to United Way. Over 15,000 Geelong workers give a little from their pay packets each week. It’s a painless way to give and your small contribution helps make a huge difference to the quality of life of many Geelong people. And it’s tax deductible. Funds are distributed on a proof of need basis in the areas of disability, family services, children, health services, aged care and people in crisis.
If you feel United Way is a cause worth supporting, please see management for an application form.

Working in Partnerships with Families

Communicate at all times with parents in an open and friendly manner. Be a happy greeter, it is important to establish a sense of trust between the centre, you and the families. You can do this by being highly visible to parents and showing them that you are available and have a genuine concern for their child while they are at the centre.
Each parent or visitor when walking into the centre must be greeted with a “hello”. If you do not know the person you need to say, “hello, can I help you”.
You are expected to greet arriving and departing children by name and the child needs to be assisted in settling in for the day, or getting their belongings together at the end of the day.
At all times be friendly and polite to all parents, ensure that parents needs or wishes are fulfilled (if situations arise that you are not able to deal with please seek assistance from management). You are to work as an extension and enhancement of the parenting / guardian role. At no time are you to take over, forget, or ignore the importance of the parent / child relationship.
If you are talking with another staff member when a parent or visitor walks into the room, please stop and attend to that parent or visitor. The parent is only at the centre for a short time each day and this is the time to make an impression of the centre and your customer service.
All parent concerns / queries or complaints are to be reported/ directed immediately to the manager. Wherever possible the parents wishes or needs are to be met..
If you have a concern regarding a child’s development, behaviour or family situation please forward this on to the Team Leader who will follow this up with management.

Work Related Injury

Should you injure yourself while at work you are required to complete an accident report. The accident report book is kept in the staff room. Please notify the manager should you injure yourself.

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