| Policy Rationale |
MakerDojo ensures the safety and wellbeing of children attending the program and that details of which persons are authorised to collect children from the service are maintained in an accurate manner to ensure that children are only handed to persons appropriate to collect them at the end of each day. MakerDojo also reserves the right to determine if any written authorisation from a parent, guardian, or authorised nominee will be accepted. In this way MakerDojo ensures that it meets its duty of care obligations under the Education and Care Services National Law Act 2010 and Education and Care Services National Regulations 2011.
This policy provides a set of clear guidelines and procedures to:
- Ensure that children’s enrolment records are maintained in an accurate manner at all times.
- Ensure that all staff members are aware of their legal obligations in relation to releasing children to authorised persons and the details of this policy.
- Details the roles and responsibilities of parents/guardians, staff members and MakerDojo management in relation to all authorisations that are provided.
Procedures are divided according to roles and responsibilities within the management of MakerDojo.
Procedures
The Approved Provider is responsible for:
• Ensuring that parents/guardians are provided with accessibility to a copy of all program policies
• Ensuring that the Master Sensei (Nominated Supervisor) and all staff follow the policies and procedures of the program
• Ensuring that all parents/guardians have completed a medical and contact form
• Ensuring that the authorisations section of the booking has been completed
• Ensuring that an attendance record (refer to Definitions) is accurately maintained to account for all children attending the program
• Keeping a written record of all visitors to the program, including time of arrival and departure
• Ensuring that where children require medication to be administered by staff members this is authorised in writing, signed and dated by a parent/guardian or authorised nominee, and included with the child’s medication record (refer to Definitions) (refer to Medical Conditions Policy) and ensuring that staff members do not administer medication without the authorisation of a parent/guardian or authorised nominee, except in the case of an emergency, including an asthma or anaphylaxis emergency (refer to Medical Conditions Policy and First Aid, Incident, Injury, Trauma and Illness Policy as well as the Emergency and Evacuation Policy)
• Ensuring a child only departs from the program with a person who is the parent/guardian or authorised nominee, or with the written authorisation of one of these (only accepting authorisations for persons over the age of 18 to collect a child from the service), except in the case of a medical or other emergency (refer to Delivery and Collection of Children Policy and Child Safe Environment Policy)
• Ensuring that there are procedures in place if an inappropriate person (refer to Definitions) attempts to collect a child from the program (refer to Delivery and Collection of Children Policy and Child Safe Environment Policy)
Developing and enacting procedures for dealing with a written authorisation that does not meet the requirements outlined in program policies (refer to Attachment 1)
The Master Sensei (Nominated Supervisor) is responsible for:
• Following the policy and procedures of the service
• Ensuring that medication is not administered to a child without the authorisation of a parent/guardian or authorised nominee, except in the case of an emergency, including an asthma or anaphylaxis emergency (refer to Dealing with Medical Conditions Policy, the First Aid, Incident, Injury, Trauma and Illness Policy and Emergency and Evacuation Policy)
• Ensuring a child only departs from the service with a person who is the parent/guardian or authorised nominee, or with the written authorisation of one of these (only accepting authorisations for persons over the age of 18 to collect a child from the service), except in the case of a medical or other emergency (refer to Delivery and Collection of Children Policy and Child Safe Environment Policy)
• Informing the Approved Provider when a written authorisation does not meet the requirements outlined in program policies.
Policy Information
Responsible persons and other staff members are responsible for:
• Following the policies and procedures of the program
• Checking that parents/guardians have booked in via our online portal, therefore have completed dated permission forms for excursions
• Checking that parents/guardians or authorised nominees sign the attendance record (refer to Definitions) as their child arrives at and departs from the service
• Administering medication only with the written authorisation of a parent/guardian or authorised nominee, except in the case of an emergency, including an asthma or anaphylaxis emergency
• Allowing a child to depart from the service with a person who is the parent/guardian or authorised nominee, or with the written authorisation of one of these (only accepting authorisations for persons over the age of 18 to collect a child from the program), except in the case of a medical or other emergency (refer to Delivery and Collection of Children Policy and Child Safe Environment Policy)
• Following procedures if an inappropriate person (refer to Definitions) attempts to collect a child from the service (refer to Delivery and Collection of Children Policy and Child Safe Environment Policy)
• Informing the Approved Provider when a written authorisation does not meet the requirements outlined in program policies. 4
Parents/Guardians are responsible for:
• reading and complying with the policies and procedures of the program
• completing and signing the authorised nominee section (refer to Definitions) of their child’s medical and contact form (refer to Enrolment and Orientation Policy) before their child commences at the program
• completing online booking
• signing the attendance record (refer to Definitions) as their child arrives at and departs from the service
• providing written authorisation where children require medication to be administered by staff members and signing and dating it for inclusion in the child’s medication record (refer to Definitions).
Volunteers and students, while at the service, are responsible for following this policy and its procedures.
Attachment 1 – Procedures for refusing a written authorisation
• On receipt of a written authorisation from a parent/guardian that does not meet the requirements outlined in the related service policy, the Approved Provider will:
• immediately explain to the parent/guardian that their written authorisation contravenes service policy, and that it cannot be accepted
• ensure that the parent/guardian is provided with a copy of the relevant service policy and that they understand the reasons for the refusal of the authorisation
• request that an appropriate alternative written authorisation is provided by the parent/guardian that complies with the requirements of the relevant service policy
• ensure that procedures outlined in the relevant service policy are followed where a parent/guardian cannot be immediately contacted to provide an alternative written authorisation
• follow up with the parent/guardian, where required, to ensure that an appropriate written authorisation is obtained.
Definitions
Attendance record: Kept by the service to record details of each child attending the service including name, time of arrival and departure, signature of person delivering and collecting the child or of the Master Sensei (Nominated Supervisor) or Sensei (General Staff Member) (Regulation 158(1).
Authorised nominee: (In relation to this policy) a person who has been given written authority by the parents/guardians of a child to collect that child from the education and care service. These details will be on the child’s enrolment form. (R 161)
Duty of care: A common law concept that refers to the responsibilities of organisations to provide people with an adequate level of protection against harm and all reasonable foreseeable risk of injury.
Inappropriate person: A person who may pose a risk to the health, safety or wellbeing of any child attending the education and care service, or whose behaviour or state of mind make it inappropriate for him/her to be on the premises e.g. a person under the influence of drugs or alcohol (S 171(3).
Medication record: Contains details for each child to whom medication is to be administered by the service. This includes a parent / guardian or authorised nominee section containing the child’s name, signed authorisation to administer medication and a record of the name of the medication administered, the time and date the medication was last administered, the time, date, dosage and manner in which medication is to be next administered. A Sensei section will then document the dosage, time and date that the medication was administered, the manner in which the medication was administered and the name and signature of person administering the medication and of the person checking the medication. (R 92) A sample medication record is available on the ACECQA website.
| References |
- ACECQA National Quality Framework Resource Kit (2012)
- Quality Area 2 – Children’s health and safety
- Quality Area 7 – Leadership and Service Management
- Education and Care Services National Regulations (2011) R 168, R 161, R 158, R 96, R 99-102
- Education and Care Services National Law Act (2010) S 167
| Version control date: March 2021 | To be reviewed: December 2021 |