“It’s our polite nudge in the ribs to help you and your team stay organised and on task.”
This week’s subject is: Roles and responsibilities.
Element 7.1.3: Roles and responsibilities are clearly defined, and understood, and support effective decision-making and operation of the service.
How does your service actively communicate and reinforce clearly defined roles and responsibilities among educators and staff to ensure a cohesive and successful team dynamic and support effective operations and quality care?
Clearly defined roles and responsibilities, along with a comprehensive and structured induction processes, are essential for promoting accountability, enhancing teamwork, and ensuring consistent, quality practices. This process assists to orientate new staff effectively, supports professional development, and maintains compliance with safety and regulatory standards, contributing to a safe, nurturing environment that fosters positive outcomes for children, enhancing their learning and development while ensuring high quality care.
Each individual who begins work at the service should have a clear understanding of their role, responsibilities and the expectations for their performance. They should be encouraged to engage with the philosophy and context that underpin the operation of the service as early as possible. A comprehensive induction process plays a critical role in creating and maintaining a positive and professional culture. Guide to the NQF
Position descriptions:
A comprehensive well-written position description will support staff member’s early adjustment into the role and understanding of its/their responsibilities. In addition, the position description will also serve as a useful reference for performance management and professional development processes. Ensure all staff members sign and date their job description following induction to ensure they acknowledge and understand the expectations of the role. Keep a copy of this in their individual staff file.
Staff orientation and induction procedure:
Your staff induction procedure should be a comprehensive process, completed over a period of time involving ongoing collaboration and consultation to ensure that the new employee is equipped with the knowledge and tools to successfully integrate into the service and develop a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities.
Your staff induction process and checklist should include:
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- documents to provide to the staff member, such as Job Description, Staff Handbook (including agreement to sign and return), National Employment Standards, key policies and procedures that staff must be familiar with before their first day, contract of employment, service philosophy, ECA Code of Ethics, Code of Conduct etc
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- a tour of the physical environment
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- review of the daily routines
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- planning cycle and location of documentation
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- cleaning procedures and routines
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- safety checks
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- storage of equipment and resources
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- children with additional needs, allergies, asthma and anaphylaxis and location of medical management plans
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- family law/parenting orders
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- WHS and reporting procedures
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- staffing arrangements, including rostering, shift responsibilities, breaks, lockers, tea room/staff area, staff bathrooms, sign in/out procedures, staff communication, use of mobile phones and smart watches etc.
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- emergency information including emergency evacuation procedures, location of fire extinguishers and blankets, location of Safety Data Sheets, emergency contact numbers, First Aid Kits etc.
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- administration of medication procedures and location of forms and medication
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- food safety, storage and hygiene procedures
- digital logins and use of Service software
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Ensure you customise your induction content/information to suit individual employees’ knowledge, experience, roles, responsibilities and skills whilst ensuring all critical areas are covered. Completing a staff induction checklist ensures the process is documented and guarantees all necessary areas are covered, allowing the flexibility to complete the process over time in a prioritised and collaborative manner. Once the induction checklist is completed, the new employee and member of management/supervising educator must sign and date the checklist and add to the employee’s individual file.
Resources:
Employee Management and Development Resource
We Hear You- Quality Area 7 – Something in it for everyone
Supporting an Engaging Induction Process
The Sector- Everything you need to know about inducting a new ECEC employee
I’m on the Management Committee
Ensuring Policies are Consistently Implemented
Within System7 go to Quality Area 7/ Modules 28– 30 to submit self-assessment notes and if required, open a QIP issue if you identify any areas of improvement.
The Childcare Centre Desktop has a range of resources to assist services with roles and responsibilities. These include Probation Induction and Orientation Policy, New Employee Induction Checklist, Casual Employee Induction Checklist, Student Volunteer Induction Checklist, New Committee Member Induction Checklist, Job Description templates and much more.
Resources, NQS Element, Regulation and System7 links
Childcare Centre Desktop – Childcare Centre Desktop
National Quality Standard – QA 7/ 7.1.3- Roles and responsibilities
National Regulations – 84, 90(1)(b), 168, 170
System7 Module – QA7/ Modules 28– 30
If you have any questions send us a note via the Contact page here!
