These standards are proposed to protect the well-being and development of the children. When child cares and parents decides to use these facilities it is essential that they understand and follows these standards, so that they can guarantee safety for the children. In all the types of services like play schools, nurseries and other facilities parents should feel confident that their children are being looked after by adequate persons, within appropriate premises and with the appropriate activities and organizations.
These are the standards that one has to follow.
Suitable persons. The children that are looked after has to be cared by an adequate person who has the required ability and skills of a good carer. The carer has to be trained well to react properly to the needs of the children. She/he has to be of age eighteen or over and with a qualification in this sector. A First Aid certificate, a Police Conduct Certificate and two character referees are needed. In each play school or nursery there has to be a number of carers available. For example, if the children are of age 0 to 12 months there has to be three carers or if the group is mixed (within the group only one child can be under the age of 18 months) there has to be six carers.
Physical Environment, Premises and Equipment. This is very important to abide by, because of the safety of the children. The nursery or school play has to have an appropriate area where the children can engage in both indoor and outdoor activities in which the area has to be at least 20% of space. According to DC2000 (MEPA) they quoted that ground floor ???may have up to six steps up or down.??? And that even semi-basements can as well be considered provided if they carry out the other necessities, like if they are naturally well-lit and have access to outdoor play area. The outdoor play flooring should be covered with soft flooring. It is essential to have an access for the children with Special Needs, so that they can move at ease. The rooms of the centers have to be ventilated, damp free and considerable big for the children to move at ease. A suitable premise has to have also comfortable temperature, telephone landline, safety glass windows, non-slip flooring, a kitchenette area that does not have to be in a separate room, a rest area if the children are under the age of one and finally a nappy changing area which may form part of the toilet area. It is necessary that this area has a hygienic receptacle for used nappies. The establishment and equipment has to be projected well, the premises have to be frequently cleaned and maintained and all the materials, toys and paints has to be lead free and certified fire resistant/ retardant. Every centre must have a license approved by MEPA and have a Health and Safety Audit Certificate that must be upgraded every two years.
Health and Safety of children. To begin with, the children are safe because the environment is a smoke free area zone. The premises including both indoor and outdoor areas should be safe and secured by installing gates, fences and doors. The centres should even have fire safety equipment, like fire extinguishers that the staff has to check frequently and fire blankets. When a child is sick or has an accident, the carer has to notify the parents and stay with the child till the parents come. There are records regarding accidents and/or injury of children that parents can see. Children can be picked up from centres only by their parents or their authorized helper. When there??™s an outing a written consent from the parents is needed. It is better if the parents attends and participate throughout an outing. A First Aid box is always important to have in a centre. Medicine should be kept sealed and unreachable from children and only be given by authorized staff.
Care, Learning and Play. The staff members should give holistic care and education by the range of the children. For example, if a child is 8 months of age you cannot teach her/him how to write, instead you teach her/him how to walk. A child up to the age of 2 years must already know how to make and maintain contact with others and at the age of 3 years a child should know how to communicate well on many levels, working with others and caring for others. And this is what a milestone is. Parents have the right to know how their child is progressing and developing.
Working in partnership with parents. It is important that parents involve themselves with their children from the beginning and during their attendance of the centre. Any information given by the parents concerning their child is to be respected and concurred by the staff members. Parents will inform you about who is going to pick up their children, if either them or someone else who is authorized. If there are any concerns about the child it is advisable to discuss the situation with the parents. Communicating and Planning at a minimum of twice yearly is essential so that you would have the feedback that you need about the child so that you could adjust to his/her needs and the parents would know how their child is developing.
Behavior Management. Staff members must speak and respond in a firm, caring and sensitive manner to a child??™s difficulty behavior. The children should be taught to become self-disciplined and give them good guidance. It is very important that when a child does something good she/he is praised, so they would know that what they did was either good or bad. It is never acceptable any kind of punishment, especially emotional, verbal or physical like hitting or spanking from any staff members. The children need love and affection and not being abused.
Child Protection. If a child is being abused by family members or by someone else, the staff has the right to report these findings to the manager of the centre and them to the suitable authorities. This is called a ???whistle blower??? policy. All centres should have a Child Protection Policy and Procedure by ???Appogg??? and the Educational Division.
Food and Drink. Children are to eat healthy food given by their parents or sometimes given by the centres that offers this service. Meals should have a time schedule for the needs of the children. Food should be stored properly and refrigerated, and it should also be heated if needed to the appropriate temperature. Staff members should know every single diet of a child and give them just that. Children are to be encouraged to eat on their own, only when a child has a difficulty or is uncapable to eat, the carer helps with the feeding. Children are also advised to drink water throughout the time spent at the centre.
Equal Opportunities and Children with Special Needs. Every child is welcomed and accepted at the centres. There shouldn??™t be any exceptions about children with special needs, different culture or religion. Rather they need to be respected as the other children. Children with special needs should be helped by installing accessible things like ramps or toilets where they can move around. These children must be given opportunities to progress in their development and potential. Include them to activities and remove barriers that restrict them from any activities.
