“It’s our polite nudge in the ribs to help you and your team stay organised and on task.”
This week’s subject is Upkeep
Element 3.1.2: Premises, furniture and equipment are safe, clean and well maintained
Is your Service meeting all of the safety requirements in relation to the upkeep of the physical environment, safeguarding the safety of children, staff, families and visitors?
In education and care services, the upkeep of buildings, furniture and equipment impact directly on the safety of children and service staff. Every child has the right to be safe. Upkeep refers to the responsibility of services to implement effective maintenance, cleaning and appropriate safety precautions, which also helps prevent injuries and the spread of infectious diseases. Guide to the NQF
When it comes to the physical environment, it’s imperative that Services adhere to strict procedures for the monitoring and maintenance of the premises, furniture and equipment to minimize risk and hazard and ensure safety. Management must ensure that information and training is provided to new staff on how to adequately implement procedures.
Risk assessments:
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- Conduct thorough and frequent risk assessments of the indoor and outdoor environments to minimize risk & hazards
- A sleep and rest risk assessment must be conducted at least once every 12 months, and as soon as practicable after becoming aware of any circumstance that may affect the safety, health or wellbeing of children during sleep and rest. The sleep and rest risk assessment is to be conducted for the purpose of preparing the service’s policies and procedures for sleep and rest (r84C)
- Risk assessments for any equipment and experiences that attract a level of risk e.g. playground equipment, climbing frames, water play, woodwork, gardens and natural areas, sand pit, mud pit, tree climbing etc.
- Risk assessments should be conducted regularly. The frequency may be determined by the geographical location of the service, frequency of incidents or changes to the layout of the environment
Furniture and equipment safety:
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- Services must ensure that bassinets are not on the education and care service premises at any time that children are being educated and cared for by the service (r84D)
- All furniture, equipment and resources must meet Australian Standards. Services must ensure that educators are trained in the correct assembly and maintenance
- Ensure that all playground equipment is developed, installed, inspected and maintained in line with Australian Standard AS 4685
- All cots must meet Australian Standard AS 2172 and have a fixed label to indicate this
- All sleep surfaces are checked for firmness in accordance with AS/NZS 8811:1:2013
- Highchairs must meet Australian Standard AS 4684
- All portable folding cots must meet Australian Standard AS/NZS 2195, and must carry a label to indicate this
- Ensure you keep all documents that confirm furniture and equipment meet Australian Standards
- Ensure you keep all manufacturer’s documents provided with equipment, furniture and resources, including; instruction manuals, certificates, information sheets etc.
- Ensure manufacturer’s instructions for equipment that is regularly disassembled and reassembled and stored are made available to educators and staff
- Ensure all fire equipment is maintained as per the legal standards and documentation is maintained to evidence this
Safety Inspections/checks:
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- Include the process of completing safety inspections effectively as part of the staff induction and training for new staff
- Ensure a daily safety checklist for both indoor and outdoor environments are completed
- OSHC Services should complete inspections prior to each before and after school care session
- Inspections must be completed prior to children accessing the environment/area
- Maintain a roster detailing who is responsible for completing safety checks each day/session
- Maintain a record/register of safety checks having been completed
- Periodically engage an external expert to conduct a safety audit of the service and its grounds to determine if any repairs are required. Service’s must ensure any work/repairs are completed in accordance with Australian Standards.
Cleaning and maintenance:
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- Maintain consistent and thorough cleaning routines of all areas, equipment and resources including sand pits, mud kitchens, toys, dress up clothing/accessories, surfaces, handles etc.
- Have clear and detailed procedures for cleaning routines and regularly review with staff
- Ensure educators adhere to manufacturer’s advice and instructions when using products to clean furniture and equipment at the Service
- Keep a record of all cleaning procedures and ensure they are available to sight, if required by an Authorised Officer
- Accidents and spills must be cleaned up as quickly as possible to ensure that the service always maintains a high level of cleanliness, hygiene and safety
- Ensure regular pest inspections/treatments are carried out by an accredited pest control company and documentation of this is maintained.
Staff training and information:
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- Regularly discuss monitoring and scanning of the environment, strategies and actions to minimise risks with the team
- Ensure staff are inducted on adequate cleaning and maintenance routines
- Ensure staff are aware of the location of the register of hazardous chemicals and Safety Data Sheets
- Provide educator and staff induction training on risk management, standalone risk management training, and regular updates and reviews at team meetings. Topics to include:
- identifying hazards (consider developing a checklist to assist with identifying hazards)
- evaluate and manage the risks
- implement risk minimisation plans to control identified risk/s
Resources:
Sleep and rest legislative requirements
Sleep and rest for children: Policy guidelines
Providing a Child Safe Environment: Policy Guidelines
ACCC-Portable, folding cots safety
Within System7 go to Quality Area 3/ Modules 3, 4 & 5 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 physical environment. These include risk assessment and safety check templates and much more.
Resources, NQS Element, Regulation and System7 links
Childcare Centre Desktop – Childcare Centre Desktop
National Quality Standard – QA 3/ 3.1.2- Upkeep
National Regulations – 84A, 84B, 84C, 84D, Chapter 4, Part 4.3- Physical Environment
System7 Module – QA 3/ Modules 3, 4 & 5
If you have any questions send us a note via the Contact page here!
