At Kids College we have everyone’s health and hygiene at the forefront of our practices. We have the very best health and hygiene practices, policies and procedures informed by recognised authorities guidelines. We also provide regular opportunities for children to explicitly learn about their own health and wellbeing. This article covers Staying Healthy resource, chain of infection, hygienic practices, immunisations, influenza immunisations, exclusions guidelines and what to do if your child is sick.
Staying Healthy
While it is not possible to prevent the spread of all infections and illnesses, effective illness management practices and maintaining high standards of hygiene significantly reduce the likelihood of children becoming ill.
Our high standards for hygiene are informed by recognised guidelines from the government’s Staying Healthy: Preventing infectious diseases in early childhood education and care services, 2013.https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/guidelines-publications/ch55
The three steps in the chain of infection
- the germ has a source from an infected person or the environment.
- the germ spreads from the source through droplets, contact with feaces, direct contact with other bodily secretions such as urine, saliva, discharges and blood.
- the germ infects another person through the mouth, respiratory tract, eyes, genitals or broken skin
Breaking the chain of infection
You can break the chain of infection at any stage. The most important ways to break the chain of infection and stop the spread of diseases are:
- effective hand hygiene with soap and water or alcohol based hand rubs
- exclusion of ill children, educators and other staff based on how easily that infection can spread, infectious periods and how severe that disease could be.
- Immunization for children and adults according to the Australian Governments Department of health and Ageing National Immunization program schedule.
Hygienic practices at Kids College
An example of our hygienic practices are our stringent hand washing procedures developed on the recognised advice of the Staying healthy resource which are displayed around the centre for adults and children, especially the pictorial depiction of routines so children can follow along, understand and implement the steps. This helps us actively support children to learn and implement hygiene practices.
Placement of hand washing sinks throughout the centre and alcohol rub at our entrance for ease of use when entering or leaving, and outside in our playground for ease of use when hand washing is not an option.
Other strategies to prevent infection include:
- cough and sneeze etiquette by covering mouth when you cough by using your hand or preferably the crook of your arm and throwing away used tissues.
- appropriate use of gloves which create a protective barrier against germs. They are used in addition to hand washing and before touching anything that needs to stay clean and after touching anything that might contaminate your hands.
- effective environmental cleaning first by washing away germs and then using disinfectants to kills any germs.
Involving families
Educators also promote continuity of children’s personal health and hygiene by sharing ownership of routines and schedules with children, families and the community. We will work with each family to ensure we are meeting each child’s needs.
Working with children to keep to guidelines
One of the most important aspects to hygiene is the little things we do every day so we make a big effort to model good practices and to consistently share these messages with the children empowering them to understand the importance of hygiene and creating children’s agency to take increasing independence with these tasks.
In helping children to take growing responsibility for their own health and physical wellbeing, educators’ model and reinforce health and personal hygiene practices with children.
We use a variety or resources to back you up at home and teach children the importance of hygiene. Books like the Toddler-Be-Good series which include titles and puppets help teach children hand washing, tidying up, toileting and manners.
We have The Colgate-Palmolive Oral Health and Hand washing education program which we use to inspire and educate children on how to take care of their oral health and the importance of hand washing. http://palmolivecleanhands.com.au
The Bright Smiles Bright Futures™ program gives teachers, children and families the tools they need to make a good oral health a permanent part of their lives – focusing on building confidence to enable kids to take control of their own oral health. https://www.colgatebsbf.com.au
Cleaning
At Kids College we have a daily, weekly and monthly cleaning roster in addition to our bi annual busy bee clean where absolutely every single toy and piece of furniture is thoroughly scrubbed. Hygiene and maintenance is very important to us and we are very happy to have everything scrubbed and shiny. Our maintenance team is available at any times and they work every weekend to ensure the health and safety of our centre.
Immunisations
Immunisation protects children (and adults) against harmful infections before they come into contact with them in the community.
It uses the body’s natural defence mechanism — the immune system — to build resistance to specific infections. Generally it takes about 2 weeks after vaccination for the immune system to respond fully.
Immunisation laws
Western Australia now has immunisation laws that will help to better protect our children and the wider community from vaccine-preventable diseases.
All children in childcare need immunisations
When you enrol your child in long day care, family day care, pre-kindergarten or kindergarten, you will need to provide your child’s current Australian Immunisation Register (AIR) Immunisation History Statement, which shows your child is ‘up-to-date’ with all the scheduled immunisations (according to the National Immunisation Program) for their age. This Statement must be no more than two months old. It is important to keep your child’s immunisation status ‘up to date’ at all times in order to provide the best protection against serious vaccine-preventable diseases. Keeping your child’s immunisation status ‘up-to-date’ will also mean your child can access early education services, as well as family assistance payments provided by Centrelink.
https://ww2.health.wa.gov.au/Articles/F_I/Immunisation-enrolment
Free vaccinations
Free vaccinations are available from your local immunisation provider including GP, community health centre, Aboriginal Medical Service, and the Central Immunisation Clinic located in Perth.
Immunisations for adults
The national health and Medical Research Council (nhMRC) recommends that all educators and other staff are immunized against:
- pertussis—this is especially important for educators and other staff caring for the youngest children who are not fully vaccinated. even if the adult was vaccinated in childhood, booster vaccination may be necessary because immunity to pertussis decreases over time
- measles–mumps–rubella (MMR) for educators and other staff born during or since 1966 who do not have vaccination records of two doses of MMR, or do not have antibodies against rubella
- varicella for educators and other staff who have not previously had varicella (a blood test is required to prove previous infection)
- hepatitis A, because young children can be infectious even if they are not showing any symptoms.
- All staff are encouraged to have having yearly influenza vaccinations.
Why do children get so many immunisations?
A number of immunisations are required in the first few years of a child’s life to protect them against some of the most serious childhood infectious diseases. The immune system in young children does not work as well as the immune system in older children and adults, because it is still immature. Therefore, more doses of the vaccine are needed.
In the first months of life, a baby is protected from most infectious diseases by antibodies from their mother which are transferred to the baby during pregnancy. When these antibodies wear off, the baby is at risk of serious infections and so the first immunisations are given before these antibodies have gone.
Another reason children get many immunisations is that new vaccines against serious infections continue to be developed. The number of injections is reduced by the use of combination vaccines, where several vaccines are combined into one injection.
SUDI recommends immunisations
Red Nose is Australia’s leading authority on safe sleep and pregnancy, and bereavement support for families affected by the death of a child. All Kids College staff are SUDI trained.
Red Nose recommends immunisation for babies. There are many health benefits including a lower risk of sudden infant death. Immunisation is a simple, safe and effective way of protecting against a number of infectious diseases1.
https://rednose.org.au/article/immunisation
Influenza (flu) vaccine
Influenza, commonly known as flu, is a highly contagious disease caused by the influenza virus.
Vaccination is the best protection against influenza.
Everyone is encouraged to get an influenza vaccine each year.
Some people are more at risk of serious health complications if they get influenza and can get a free influenza vaccine.
Is flu vaccine safe?
Yes. All vaccines available in Australia pass strict safety testing before being approved for use by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) (external site). AusVaxSafety is a national program to monitor the type and rate of reactions to each year’s new influenza vaccine. Learn more about vaccination safety.
You cannot get influenza from having an influenza vaccine as it is made from the killed virus, not living viruses.
It is possible to be exposed to influenza viruses shortly before getting vaccinated or during the two-week period after vaccination that it takes the body to develop immune protection. This exposure may result in you becoming ill with influenza before protection from the vaccine takes effect.
People may also mistake symptoms of other respiratory viruses for influenza symptoms. The influenza vaccine only protects against influenza disease, not other illnesses.
https://healthywa.wa.gov.au/Articles/F_I/Flu-Influenza-vaccine
Exclusion of children with infectious diseases
No child will be admitted to childcare with obvious signs of any highly contagious infection or illness. Our policy states the incubation period, symptoms and exclusion periods of such diseases.
Examples include children with gastro like symptoms, vomiting and diarrhoea are excluded from centre for 24-48 hours after their last incident of vomiting or diarrhoea.
Children should have their full immunisation status however children who are not immunized will be required to be exempt from the Centre for their own safety in case of exposure to a contagious disease.
As a protection for all children and staff the following exclusion policy applies to all children enrolled in the Centre. Children with infectious diseases will be excluded from the Centre in accordance with the National Health & Medical Research Council exclusion guidelines as stated in the Staying Healthy resource. A clearance certificate from your child’s doctor, might be required to pronounce the child fit for child care, before your child can return to the Centre.
If your child is unwell at home please do not bring him/her to the Centre. Children who have more than a slight cold should not be brought to the Centre and may not be accepted at the Kids College discretion. Fevers, vomiting, diarrhoea or unexplained rashes are some of the indications that a child should not be brought to the Centre.
Sick Days & Emergency Care – What do you do with the kids when you are working?
What do you do with the kids when they are sick? It is important to think about a course of action in this situation before it arises and line up help as a back up. Having a contingency plan in place will save you time and energy, not to mention a lot of stress!
- Figure Out a Solution in Advance
- Take turns staying home with sick children when necessary.
- You may also be lucky enough to have parents or in-laws living in the area. You will be surprised at how wonderfully supportive they can be. If possible, don’t call on their help for the whole day, maybe just a few hours to handle the important matters at work and then work from home if necessary.
- Talk to neighbours who are stay-at-home mums or family members. You may be pleasantly surprised how many people are willing to help out in this situation.
- Another alternative when children are sick is to split the day. You can go to work in the morning, from 7:30 until 12:30, come home, and then your partner can go in and work from 2:00 until 8:00.
Kids College Philosophy quote
‘We have stringent hygiene, health, nutrition, maintenance, safety and protection standards. We take our duty of care very seriously and will safeguard the safety and wellbeing of our children at all times as a matter of utmost priority.’
National Quality Standards
2.1.2 Practices and procedures. Effective illness and injury management and hygiene practices are promoted and implemented.
Kids College family
At Kids College we work each day embedding our values and philosophy into each facet of what we do. We continually improve our practices by critically reflecting and engaging in meaningful relationships with our community and for this we need your support and input. Please let us know if you have any comments, queries or recommendations.
Make sure to follow Kids College Childcare on facebook, watch for our regular emails and keep an eye on our Kids College website. Join our Kids College family community and share in our vision of creating the very best childcare where children experience love, laughter and learning every day. You can reach us on Jennifer@kidscollege.com.au
With love, laughter and learning from your friends in the
‘village it takes to raise a child’
Teacher Jen and the Kids College Childcare family
