Policies and procedures must be in place to ensure the safety, health and wellbeing of children in education and care.
Priority
Policies and procedures are an important part of the incident prevention and management regulatory priority. They are an essential component of the systems of control that prevent incidents from occurring and guide staff to know what to do when they do occur.
National Regulation 170 Policies and procedures to be followed is one of the most commonly breached regulations, as indicated by
recent years’ data. This regulation requires approved providers to take reasonable steps to ensure the specified people follow the education and care service’s policies and procedures. Read the
6 reasonable steps guide for more information about what this means in practice.
About policies and procedures
Approved providers are responsible for ensuring adequate policies and procedures are developed, implemented and regularly reviewed.
A policy is a set of general guidelines about how the organisation conducts its services, actions or business. Policies also provide a set of guiding principles to help with decision making.
A well written policy is clear, concise and uses simple language; it explains the rule, not how to implement it.
A procedure is a detailed description of how each policy will be put into action by an organisation, clearly outlining: who will do what; what steps they need to take and when; and which supporting forms or documents to use.
A well written procedure will enable all people working or volunteering at the service to know exactly what they need to do in a particular circumstance to ensure the health, safety and well-being of children using the service.
Robust policies and procedures set the expectations of staff and the families who attend the service. They help new and existing staff to understand the service’s processes and practices, aid in decision-making and ensure consistency across all areas of service delivery.
Well-developed and implemented policies and procedures help to ensure children's health, safety and wellbeing.
Policies and procedure considerations
Developing
The Regulatory Authority assesses a selection of policies and procedures during the service approval application process. ACECQA's
policy and procedure guidelines provide essential guidance for approved providers, helping them in developing the mandatory policies and procedures under National Regulations 168 and 169.
Approved providers may consult peak organisations and seek advice from reputable early childhood services when formulating their policies and procedures. Effective policies and procedures meet the following criteria:
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Logical format: Each policy should be comprehensive, covering all relevant information about a topic within one document. For example, a dedicated policy should encompass all details about water safety, cross-referencing with other policies as required.
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Up-to-date: Ensure all policies reflect the current legislation, including any recent legislative changes.
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Clear roles and responsibilities: Procedures should be detailed step-by-step guides with clearly defined roles and responsibilities, ensuring everyone knows what actions to take and when.
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Documentation: Any documents mentioned in the policies and procedures must be readily available to the Regulatory Authority upon request.
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Tailored: Generic policies may not be effective in specific service environments. Procedures should be customised to suit the unique physical and social environment of the service.
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Relevant to service type: Policies and procedures should be tailored to the specific type of service. For instance, policies for a centre-based service like long day care will differ from those for a family day care service.
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Best practice: Policies should be based on current research and expert recommendations from organisations like
Kidsafe,
Red Nose,
National Health and Medical Research Council (Staying Healthy) and
Cancer Council Queensland.
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Available to all: Policies and procedures must be accessible to all staff and families. For instance, if educators speak English as an additional language, policies should be translated into the relevant languages used by staff.
Implementing
Approved providers have the ongoing responsibility to ensure:
- all staff receive induction and training on the policies and procedures—this includes relief staff
- services are actively implementing their policies and procedures through systems that ensure continual service-specific training for all staff
- policies and procedures are regularly reviewed and updated, especially after incidents, complaints, or events. Post-event reviews, such as after excursions, should involve discussion and revision of relevant policies with input from families to ensure continuous improvement.
Approved providers should follow the national guidelines,
6 reasonable steps to ensure staff follow policies and procedures, which provides comprehensive guidance on how to meet their obligations under
regulation 170.
Managing complaints
All early childhood services that operate under the National Quality Framework must have policies and procedures for responding efficiently and appropriately to complaints.
They must also display the name and telephone number of the person to whom complaints may be addressed (National Law section 172 and regulation 173).
Read the
guide for effective complaints management to develop a resolution-focused system including policies and procedures that inform continuous quality improvement.
Videos and resources
"With policies and procedures, we're able to have everyone on the same page of the expectations for our centre, and it allows us to challenge each of our peers to make sure the educational environment for our children is safe and up to our standards of education".