Enhance Health and Hygiene Commitment Plan
HEALTH AND HYGIENE COMMITMENT PLAN
INTRODUCTION (updated August 2021)
Enhance Family Day Care is committed to supporting the health and wellbeing of everyone sharing our early childhood environment and ensuring children have a positive early education and care experience.
Our updated Health and Hygiene Commitment Plan highlights Family Day Care Association Queensland’s (FDCAQ) commitment to adhere to these measures and how we are achieving this commitment, in partnership with, our Family Day Care educators.
While educators can practice social distancing from parents/guardians, they cannot practice social distancing with very young children. Therefore, they need to be confident about the steps being taken to reduce the risk of any infection getting into their environment.
Enhance FDC plans must meet or exceed the requirements of the National Quality Standards Quality Area 2, the relevant legislated workplace health and safety requirements and the requirements of the federal, state and territory health authorities. At no point can any of our decisions supplant any workplace health and safety laws or the most recent health department advice on COVID-19.
STEP 1
Arrival and departure practices
We acknowledge that each Family Day Care service is unique, with each service using different areas of their residence as the approved learning areas. The drop off and pick up times can be a high traffic zone and needs to be closely monitored, ensuring social distancing is not compromised.
Enhance FDC has established procedures for educators to monitor the health of children in their service. Now, during the current environment, it is more important than ever to adhere to the following practices and procedures:
- A child must not attend care with a temperature higher than 38 degrees
- Families must not give their child/ren any fever reducing medication prior to drop off (paracetamol or ibuprofen)
- Unwell children will be refused access and the parent will be required to take the child home
- The child will only be accepted upon a subsequent day, if:
a) Their temperature has dropped to 37.5 degrees or lower for at least 24 hours
b) They are not displaying any of the following signs or symptoms:
• has trouble breathing
• becomes drowsy or unresponsive
• unexplained or persistent cough
• seems dehydrated, refuses to drink or is weeing less often
• complains of a stiff neck, persistent headache or light hurting their eyes
• vomits persistently, or has frequent bouts of diarrhea
• suffers pain or is continuously crying
- Families must ensure their interactions with the educators are limited to less than 15 minutes. This will help reduce the risk of any face to face transmission.
- Only one family member can attend the FDC service at a time, unless a family is dropping off multiple children and requires additional assistance.
- Families who require longer conversations regarding their child’s care and education should be contacted by phone or email to ensure there is continuation of care for the child.
- Exclusion of people from entering the FDC service who are at a high risk, including the elderly and those with pre-existing medical conditions.
- Families and educators must follow Mandatory Mask wearing guidelines from state or territory health authorities during times of restrictions and lockdowns.
STEP 2
Physical/Social Distancing
Physical/Social distancing can be a challenge when working with young children. Here are some strategies to support physical/social distancing:
- Consider the area of each room and do your best to create larger play spaces in your approved areas.
- Talk to children around physical and social distancing.
- Utilising outdoor spaces as much as possible.
- Educators are to maintain 1.5 metres of distance between themselves and others (families/guardians); including children, where it is possible to do so, in accordance with general health advice.
STEP 3
Workplace Precautions
Educators and parents both share responsibility for ensuring that infections are not brought into the FDC environment, to protect all children in care.
- Educators must not work if they are sick and have a temperature above 38 degrees.
- Families will apply hand sanitiser on arrival at the home and prior to using the sign in/out screen. If this is not available, they should wash their hands with soap and water.
- Establish child drop off and pick up protocols that minimise the need for parents to enter the FDC residence at the same time.
- Reduce visitors to the absolute minimum, including cancelling incursions.
- Educators should consider spreading out furniture to increase distancing; look at the spacing of cots and highchairs, keeping them safely apart.
Families and educators must follow Mandatory Mask wearing guidelines from state or territory health authorities during times of restrictions and lockdowns.
STEP 4
Adequate Cleaning
High traffic areas in the FDC service must be cleaned every day, using detergent. This includes: doorknobs, handrails, light switches and iPads.
Sign in/out areas (iPads) should be wiped after each family has used them.
Toys and surfaces will be cleaned twice per day at minumum. Toys that have been mouthed by a child must be cleaned before being used by another child.
Ensure that bedding is not shared between children.
Bedding belonging to an unwell child must be washed immediately after the child leaves.
If the bedding is provided by the family, it must be sent home with the child and the family advised that it must be washed before the child returns.
STEP 5
Hygiene
Enhance FDC have well developed hygiene practices that meet the standards of the state and territory health authorities for COVID-19. It is important, particularly in this current pandemic, that every educator pays specific attention to their personal health and hygiene, as outlined below.
- Educators and children wash their hands at the following times:
a) On arrival and departure from the service
b) Before and after consuming food
c) After playing with toys or playing outside
d) When hands are visibly dirty
e) After going to the toilet
f) Before preparation of food or handling of bottles
g) After wiping/blowing your nose or sneezing
h) After patting an animal
i) Before and after giving medication (educator only)
j) After removing gloves (educator only)
- Gloves must be worn for the following activities:
a) Helping a child go to the toilet
b) Changing a nappy
c) Cleaning children’s faces
d) Handling rubbish or carrying rubbish bags
e) Using spray bottles with chemicals
f) Wiping a child’s nose
g) After cleaning up or touching sores, faeces, a wound, blood, vomit or other bodily fluids
- Exclusions and infection – the following people will be excluded from entering a FDC service:
a) Anyone, including children, who have a temperature above 38 degrees
b) Anyone, including children, who shows signs of having any breathing difficulty for example, wheezing, gasping for air (except for those who may have known and documented respiratory conditions)
c) Anyone, including children, who has been outside of Australia within the last 14 days
d) Anyone, including children, who have returned to a state or territory where self-isolation border measures are in place.
e) Anyone, including children, who have been in contact with a person who has a confirmed case of COVID-19.
f) Any educator defined as vulnerable or who have care responsibilities for a vulnerable person. Vulnerable is defined as:
i. Suffering from a chronic medical condition
ii. Suffering from a chronic autoimmune condition
iii. Aged 70 years or older
iv. High risk pregnancy
Educators who fall into the vulnerable category will be requested to ask a GP to complete a COVID-19 GP Medical Letter and cease work immediately.
Steps to follow in the event of a child or an educator visiting an exposure site.
If an educator, educator family member or FDC child/family suspects/or has visited an exposure site, they must immediately check the exposure locations listed by the state or territory health authority and follow the directives stated in relation to the type of contact. Eg. close, casual or secondary.
Steps to take in the event of a ‘if in time of outbreak’
- Follow all advice from by the state or territory health authority.
- 15 min conversations at drop off and collection times.
- Only one family member to drop off and collect the children.
- Exclude high risk people like the elderly.
Steps to follow in the event of a confirmed diagnosed of COVID-19.
The following rules apply if a child or educator has been diagnosed with a confirmed case of COVID-19.
The case must be confirmed by the state or territory health authority before action is taken and when directed:
a. All parents and staff must be informed immediately.
b. The educator must be closed immediately while contact tracing is completed.
c. The educator or family must follow advice and quarantine timeframes from the Queensland Public Health Unit.
d. All relevant departments and regulatory bodies must be notified.
e. Cleaning of the FDC environment must be completed in all registered areas, including toys and all high touch surfaces (i.e. door handles and light switches)
f. The FDC service and all FDC educators must follow the advice of the relevant health department.
REFERENCES
Interim infection prevention and control guidelines for the management of COVID-19 in healthcare settings Version 1.12 - 11 May 2020 – Queensland Health.
https://www.health.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0038/939656/qh-covid-19-Infection-control-guidelines.pdf
Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) coronavirus (COVID-19) statement, 3 April 2020 .
https://www.health.gov.au/news/australian-health-protection-principal-committee-ahppc-coronavirus-covid-19-statement-on-3-april-2020?utm_source=miragenews&utm_medium=miragenews&utm_campaign=news