Legal Frameworks for the Health and Safety of Children

Health and Safety

Health and safety are crucial aspects of any workplace, particularly in environments where children are present, such as early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings. The legislation and sources of information that govern and guide these environments are designed to protect the well-being of children, educators, and other stakeholders.

Here's an elaboration on the key legislation and sources mentioned:

1. National Education and Care Law and Regulations

   • National Education and Care Services National Law (2011): This law provides the overarching legal framework for early childhood education and care in Australia. It sets out the objectives and guiding principles for the education and care of children and establishes the structure for regulation, monitoring, and quality assessment.
   • Education and Care Services National Regulations (2011): These regulations support the National Law and outline the operational requirements for ECEC services, including staffing, safety, health, and educational programs. They specify the standards for maintaining safe environments, managing risks, and ensuring children's health and well-being.

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   The National Regulations cover over 400 specific requirements for ECEC workplaces, designed to be easily accessible, understandable, and practical for all staff to follow. They also include penalties for non-compliance.

   For instance, the NSW Government Education and Care Services National Regulations (2011 SI 653) outline the following:

   77. Health, hygiene and safe food practices
   (1) The approved provider must ensure that nominated supervisors, staff, and volunteers implement:

   Adequate health and hygiene practices, and Safe practices for handling, preparing, and storing food, to reduce risks to children in their care.

    

   Penalty: $2000.

2. ECEC Industry Standards and Funding Requirements

   • National Quality Standard (NQS): The National Quality Standard (NQS) is a key part of the National Quality Framework (NQF), which aims to ensure high standards in the delivery of early childhood education and care (ECEC) services across Australia. The NQS serves as a comprehensive framework for assessing and improving the quality of services to ensure children are provided with safe, supportive, and enriching environments that foster their development.

   Components of the NQS

   The NQS is structured around Seven Quality Areas, each focusing on different aspects of the education and care services. These quality areas are:

   1. Educational Program and Practice

   Ensures that programs are engaging, age-appropriate, and tailored to the needs of each child, encouraging development across all domains—social, emotional, cognitive, and physical.
   2. Children's Health and Safety

   Prioritises the physical and emotional well-being of children by establishing standards for health practices, safety procedures, and emergency management.
   3. Physical Environment

   Ensures that the physical settings—both indoor and outdoor—are safe, well-maintained, and supportive of children's learning and exploration.
   4. Staffing Arrangements

   Focuses on having qualified and adequate staffing levels, maintaining educator-to-child ratios, and promoting professional development among staff.
   5. Relationships with Children

   Encourages respectful, supportive, and nurturing relationships between children and educators, fostering a sense of security and belonging.
   6. Collaborative Partnerships with Families and Communities

   Emphasises the importance of engaging families and local communities in the education and care process, ensuring that services meet the needs of families and reflect the cultural diversity of communities.
   7. Governance and Leadership

   Ensures that services are effectively managed, with sound leadership and strong policies in place to support continuous improvement and compliance with regulations.

   Purpose and Impact of the NQS

   The NQS provides a clear benchmark for ECEC services, helping them evaluate their practices and strive for continuous improvement. By setting high standards across all areas of service delivery, the NQS promotes consistent, high-quality care for children throughout Australia, regardless of the type of service or location.

   The assessment and rating system linked to the NQS allows services to be rated across these quality areas, giving parents and communities confidence that services meet or exceed the expected standards. Regular evaluations ensure services are continuously reflecting on their practices, improving outcomes for children, and creating environments that support their learning and development.

   In short, the NQS is not only a measure of quality but also a tool for growth, helping services meet the evolving needs of children and families in a rapidly changing educational landscape.

   National Quality Standard (NQS) Quality Area 2

   In this module, we will specifically focus on National Quality Standard (NQS) Quality Area 2: Children's Health and Safety.

   

   This area emphasises the importance of safeguarding and promoting the health, safety, and well-being of children in early childhood education and care environments. We will explore key aspects such as health practices, nutrition, physical activity, and managing illness, injury, and emergencies. By understanding and applying the standards in this area, we can ensure that children are protected and supported in a healthy, safe environment, which is fundamental to their overall development and learning.

   Standard/Element	Description
   Standard 2.1	Health: Each child’s health and physical activity is supported and promoted.
   Element 2.1.1	Wellbeing and comfort: Each child’s wellbeing and comfort are provided for, including appropriate opportunities to meet each child’s need for sleep, rest and relaxation.
   Element 2.1.2	Health practices and procedures: Effective illness and injury management and hygiene practices are promoted and implemented.
   Element 2.1.3	Healthy lifestyle: Healthy eating and physical activity are promoted and appropriate for each child.
   Standard 2.2	Safety: Each child is protected.
   Element 2.2.1	Supervision: At all times, reasonable precautions and adequate supervision ensure children are protected from harm and hazards.
   Element 2.2.2	Incident and emergency management: Plans to effectively manage incidents and emergencies are developed in consultation with relevant authorities, practised and implemented.
   Element 2.2.3	Child protection: Management, educators and staff are aware of their roles and responsibilities to identify and respond to every child at risk of abuse or neglect.

3. Codes of Ethics for Workers in ECEC Environments

   • Early Childhood Australia (ECA) Code of Ethics: This code provides a framework for ethical decision-making and practice in ECEC settings. It emphasises the importance of maintaining children's safety and well-being as a primary concern. Workers are expected to uphold these ethical standards in all interactions and decisions, ensuring that they contribute positively to a safe and nurturing environment.

4. Local Council By-Laws

   • Parking and Pick-Up Zones: Local councils often regulate parking and pick-up zones around ECEC services to ensure the safety of children and families during drop-off and pick-up times. These by-laws may include restrictions on parking, designated areas for loading and unloading children, and speed limits to reduce the risk of accidents.
   • Building Codes: Building codes set by local councils ensure that the physical environment of ECEC services is safe and suitable for young children. This includes regulations on the design and maintenance of play areas, fencing, and emergency exits.
   • Food Safety Regulations: Local councils enforce food safety standards to prevent foodborne illnesses in ECEC settings. This includes guidelines on food handling, storage, and preparation, particularly when food is provided to children.

5. Updates in Best Practice by Government-funded Authorities

   • The Cancer Council: This organisation provides guidelines and resources for sun safety in ECEC services. Recommendations may include the use of sunscreen, protective clothing, and outdoor play schedules that minimise sun exposure during peak hours.
   • Asthma Australia: Asthma Australia offers guidelines for managing asthma in children, which is crucial in ECEC settings. This includes training for educators on recognising asthma symptoms, administering medication, and creating asthma action plans for individual children.

These legislative frameworks, standards, codes, and guidelines work together to ensure that ECEC environments are safe, healthy, and conducive to the well-being and development of children. By adhering to these requirements, ECEC services not only comply with legal obligations but also create a culture of safety and care that benefits everyone involved.

Think

Read this information from the NSW Government and see how many regulations you can note that relate to children's health and safety.

A standard differs from legislation in that you are not necessarily criminally negligent if you breach its requirements, except where the standard intersects with the law. The industry sets a standard to provide a minimum list of requirements that all children’s services in Australia must meet.

The standard is linked to funding and accreditation. Failing to meet the standard can lead to your service:

• receiving a compliance notice to improve
• being fined and disciplinary action being taken by a
• tribunal hearing
• being subject to sanctions on the types of services it
• is allowed to offer
• the closure of the service, in extreme cases.

The National Quality Standard

In the ECEC industry, you must comply with all areas of the National Quality Standard (NQS)2. Two quality areas of the NQS relate specifically to health and safety.

The table below outlines these areas.

Copyright (State of New South Wales) Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence (CC BY 4.0). 

Website

Read more about The National Quality Standard and its accompanying resources. 

Each workplace will have its own unique set of policies and procedures. Policies are generally written by a committee of staff members, parents/guardians and management or by the service director and management team. They must be easily available to staff, easy to follow and comprehensive enough to provide staff with adequate guidance in following legislation.

A policy can take different forms, but you might commonly see a structure that includes the following information:

Resource

Refer to your Little.ly policy HS21 Hazard Management to see a sample policy and procedure.

At a minimum, your service must, by law, have policies and procedures that comply with the NQS and National Regulations in the following areas relating to health and safety:

• Food safety
• Sun protection
• Water safety
• First aid administration
• Incident, injury, trauma and illness
• Infectious diseases
• Medical conditions in children
• Emergency and evacuation
• Delivery and collection of children
• Excursions and transportation
• Providing a child-safe environment.

Website

The Little.ly website contains many examples of these policies. We will use many of them in this resource, and it will be helpful for you to refer to them as you work through this unit.

Roles and Responsibilities

Everyone working in early childhood and care services is responsible for ensuring the service is safe and healthy for children. The service will promote the health, safety and well-being of all children attending the program.

Responsibilities of the approved Provider, Nominated Supervisor and Responsible Person

The approved provider is the legal entity with ultimate legal responsibility for the service. Ensure a responsible person or a nominated supervisor is present at the service. They are responsible for health and safety, staffing and documentation. They will instruct and support the nominated supervisor/responsible person. They are responsible for ensuring that the buildings and equipment are safe for children. They must ensure that cots and other equipment meet the Australian Safety Standards and that indoor and outdoor areas are secure and free from foreseeable hazards and health risks to children. 

Approved providers must ensure that staff training, such as first aid and anaphylaxis, is up to date, as this is compulsory according to law. They must also report certain incidents to the state or territory safety authority.

The nominated supervisor oversees the management of the service. They are responsible for effectively supervising and managing an education and care service. They will ensure that the service policies, practices and procedures are implemented. They ensure adequate supervision of children, manage children’s health and hygiene, ensure safe food practices, and administer medicine safely. The nominated supervisor supports the person responsible and the leaders. They consult with others and remind others of procedures.

The person responsible for the service is in day-to-day charge. They must attend the premises daily (if the nominated supervisor is absent). They know the National Child Safe Standards and oversee health and safety practices for children, such as providing healthy food and drinks. Provides direction and support to staff to keep children safe and healthy. They have the same legal responsibilities as a general educator.

Responsibilities of Educators

Educators in early childhood education and care services play an important part in ensuring children's safety. Educators will provide adequate supervision, manage illness and injury and ensure good hygiene practices. They will ensure children have their needs met for sleep and rest. Educators will report incidents, injuries and suspected abuse and take reasonable measures to protect children from harm and hazards. 

The Coordinator or Director of the service is responsible for identifying and assessing risks to the health and safety of children and implementing controls to reduce or eliminate these risks. They oversee the safety risk management program, including developing policies, consultation, staff training, hazard identification and assessment, child protection and incident and emergency management.

Example

Resource

To find out more about the roles and responsibilities in a children’s education service, read: Who’s who at our service from SNAICC and Education NSW

Watch

The following video from ACEQA (2013) gives an overview of Quality Area 2 - Children's Health and safety and educators’ responsibilities:

Sometimes it is not what you do but what you do not do that can constitute a breach of your responsibilities to the children under your care. A child may get injured if you do not provide adequate supervision or remove a hazard. Being too busy is not an excuse, as children’s well-being is your responsibility.