Managing Coronavirus in Amigoss Preschool

by | Mar 13, 2020 | Newsletter | 0 comments

Dear Families, Carers and Staff Members:

In light of the emergence of coronavirus (COVID-19) in Australia, we want to reassure all of our customers that yours and our team’s health and wellbeing is always our Company’s highest priority.

We are writing to you today because some families have expressed concerns about the rapid spread of the recent “novel” virus and would like to know the current centre’s position in this regard.

The Context.

 

Children enter education and care services when their immune systems are still developing. They have not been exposed to many common germs and therefore are susceptible to bacteria that may cause infections. Given the close physical contact, children have with other children in early childhood and care. It is very easy for infectious diseases and illnesses to spread through normal daily activities.

 

The National Quality Standard requires early childhood education and care services to implement specific strategies to minimise the spread of infectious illness and maintain a healthy environment for all children, educators and families.

How pro-active is Amigoss minimising the risk of infection?

To reduce the transmission of infectious illness, our Service implements effective hygiene and infection control routines and procedures. Practising effective hygiene helps to minimise the risk of cross-infection within our Service. Our Service implements rigorous practices to limit the spread of illness and infectious diseases, including:

  • Educators model good hygiene practices and remind children to cough or sneeze into their elbow or use a disposable tissue and wash their hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds after touching their mouth, eyes or nose.
  • Handwashing techniques are practised by all educators and children routinely using soap and water before and after eating and when using the toilet and drying hands thoroughly with a paper towel.
  • After wiping a child’s nose with a tissue, educators will dispose of the fabric in a plastic-lined bin and wash their hands thoroughly with soap and water and dry using a paper towel.
  • All surfaces, including bedding (pillows, mat, cushion, toys) used by an unwell child, will be cleaned with soap and water and then disinfected.
  • Parents, families and visitors are requested to wash their hands upon arrival and departure at the Service or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. (Note: alcohol-based sanitizers must be kept out of reach of children and used only with adult supervision.)
  • Use of gloves
  • The Service implements recommendations from Staying Healthy: Preventing infectious diseases in early childhood education and care services to maintain a healthy environment
  • Children are protected from harm by ensuring relevant policies and procedures are followed regarding health and safety within the Service
  • Exclusion of children, educators or staff when they are unwell or displaying symptoms of an infectious disease or virus

What does the Law Say?

 

The Public Health Act 2010 lawfully requires and authorises doctors, hospitals, laboratories, school principals and childcare centre directors to confidentially notify NSW Health of patients with certain conditions and to provide the required information on the notification forms. Specialist trained public health staff review this information and if necessary, contact the patient’s doctor, and sometimes the patient, to provide advice about disease control and to complete the collection of data.

Management is required to notify the local Public Health Unit  (PHU) by phone (call 1300 066 055) as soon as possible after they are made aware that a child enrolled at the Service is suffering from one of the following vaccine-preventable diseases:

  • Diphtheria
  • Mumps
  • Poliomyelitis
  • Haemophilus influenza type b (Hib)
  • Meningococcal disease
  • Rubella (‘German measles’)
  • Measles
  • Pertussis (‘whooping cough’)
  • Tetanus
  • An outbreak of 2 or more people with gastrointestinal or respiratory illness.

Outbreaks of infectious diseases and contagious viruses represent a threat to public health.

To help prevent outbreaks, the Department of Health monitors the number of people who contract certain infectious diseases and their characteristics, the recent travel or attendance of infected people in a public place or on public transport. It works with health specialists and doctors to help prevent the transmission of diseases to other people.

All information is held confidentially to protect the patient’s privacy. Both the NSW and Commonwealth Privacy Acts only release/disclose patient information where it is lawfully required or authorised.

Management will closely monitor health alerts and guidelines from Public Health Units and the Australian Government- Department of Health for any advice and emergency health management in the event of a contagious illness outbreak.

Exclusion periods for illness and infectious diseases are provided to parents and families and included in our Parent/Family Handbook and Sick Children Policy and they are sourced from Staying Healthy: Preventing infectious diseases in early childhood education and care services

What do Amigoss Policies Say?

If a child is unwell or displaying symptoms of a cold or flu virus, parents are requested to keep the child away from the Service. Infectious illnesses can be spread quickly from one person to another, usually through respiratory droplets or from a child or a person touching their mouth or nose and then touching an object or surface.

Parents will be notified of an outbreak of an infectious illness (e.g., Gastroenteritis) within the Service via our notice board & email to assist in reducing the spread of the disease.

Children who appear unwell at the Service will be closely monitored and if any symptoms described below are noticed, or the child is not well enough to participate in healthy activities, parents or an emergency contact person will be contacted to collect the child as soon as possible.

As per our policy and procedures a child who is displaying symptoms of contagious illness (vomiting, diarrhoea) will be moved away from the rest of the group and supervised until a parent or emergency contact collects him/her.

Symptoms indicating illness may include:

  • Behaviour that is unusual for the individual child
  • High temperature or fevers
  • Loose bowels
  • Faeces that are grey, pale or contains blood
  • Vomiting
  • Discharge from the eye or ear
  • Skin that displays rashes, blisters, spots, crusty or weeping sores
  • Loss of appetite
  • Dark urine
  • Headaches
  • Stiff muscles or joint pain
  • Continuous scratching of scalp or skin
  • Difficulty in swallowing or complaining of a sore throat
  • Persistent, prolonged or severe coughing
  • Difficulty breathing
  • A stiff neck or sensitivity to light

To ensure the symptoms are not infectious and to minimise the spread of infection, medical advice may be required to provide a safe and healthy environment.

How Amigoss acts in the case and infectious disease is found in any staff member, or a child attending the centre?

Management has the right to send to children home if they appear unwell. Children can become distressed and lethargic when sick. With discharge coming from the children’s nose and coughing, can lead to germs spreading to other children, Educators, toys and equipment. Management will assess each case before sending the child home.

We understand that it can be difficult for families to know when their child is sick. Families may experience problems taking time off work or study to care for their child at home. Obtaining leave from work or study can contribute to negative attitudes in the workplace which can cause stress on families. Families may also experience guilt when they send their child to care who is not well. We acknowledge the difficulty of keeping children at home or away from childcare when they are sick and the pressures this causes for parents.

However, our Service aims to minimise the transmission of infectious diseases by adhering to regulations and policies protecting the health of all children, staff, families and visitors. Families must maintain a focus not only on the well-being of their child but also upon the welfare of other children and the early childhood professionals at the Service.

To protect the health of children and staff within the Service, children and staff who are ill must be kept away from the Service for the recommended exclusion period.

The need for exclusion and the length of time a person is excluded depends on:

  • How easily the infection can spread
  • How long he person is likely to be infectious and
  • The severity of the contagious disease or illness.

 Management and Educators may request families to seek medical advice and provide a medical certificate stating that the child is no longer infectious before returning to care.

In Conclusion.

It is not possible to prevent all infections in education and care services. However, by using the strategies outlined before, we can help to prevent many infectious diseases and control their spread.

Our Educators and staff are not medical practitioners and are not able to diagnose whether or not a child has an infectious illness. However, if a contagious disease is suspected, our Service may ask the family to collect their child from care as soon as possible or not bring the child to care.

Our Service will continue providing up-to-date information and advice to parents, families and educators sourced from the Australian Government, Department of Health and state Ministry of Health about infectious diseases as required. Recommendations from the Health Department will be strictly adhered to at all times.

We follow the advice of The Australian Government Department of Health and the Local Public Health Units in our jurisdiction as per the Public Health Act. Regarding exclusion periods and notification of infectious diseases. If a staff member or a child is diagnosed with a contagious illness, we will follow the protocols in place for Infectious Disease Management as we have done over the years of operation.

Will the Service to close in the event of an outbreak of COVID-19?

 As with any other contagious disease NSW Health is the agency that will assist us in making decisions about whether or not we should close the centre if any staff or children have been exposed to or diagnosed with, COVID-19.

Is there any government assistance if my child needs to be excluded from the centre?

 

If your child is excluded from the centre and you have concerns about you CCS payments or absences reported to the Department of Human Services, please visit their website for assistance and further information: https://www.education.gov.au/childcare-FAQ

Access to the Australian Government subsidies

Child Care Subsidy (CCS) and Additional Child Care Subsidy (ACCS) is a family’s entitlement, based on their individual circumstances, used for subsidising the cost of child care to help them undertake work-related activities. 

Importantly, the general application of CCS and ACCS is that it can only be paid where services are open and providing care, except public holidays or when a period of local emergency has been declared.

Additional Child Care Subsidy (temporary financial hardship)

ACCS (temporary financial hardship) is available to provide short-term support to families experiencing a significantly reduced ability to pay child care fees, such as if the parent lost income due to being unable to attend work. Eligible families will receive a subsidy equal to the actual fee charged by the child care service, up to 120 per cent of the CCS hourly rate cap. In most cases, the full cost of child care will be covered. It can be accessed for up to 13 weeks, and eligible families are entitled to up to 100 hours of subsidised child care per fortnight. Families will be required to provide supporting evidence of a substantial reduction in their ability to pay child care fees, such as an email from their employer.

Absences from child care

Where services are open, reporting of absences for families whose child/ren cannot attend child care due to COVID-19 is supported by the existing arrangements as outlined below:

  • Whether a child is actually ill or not, including where a child does not attend care as part of the family’s own precautionary measure against potential contact with COVID-19, CCS can be paid for up to 42 absence days per child, per financial year, without the need for families to provide documentation.
  • Once a child’s 42 initial absences have been used, CCS can be paid for additional absences for a reason defined in the Family Assistance Law, including illness (as set out in the Child Care Provider Handbook). Evidence is required to be kept by the provider for any additional absences claimed, e.g. a doctors certificate.
    • If a child is not ill, and does not attend care (as part of the family’s own precautionary measure against potential contact with COVID-19, some medical practitioners may support families by providing a medical certificate allowing them access to additional absences, if required.
    • If a child is not ill and does not attend care for a longer period of time (for example, a month or longer), the family may wish to follow the established advice around longer absences (as set out in the Child Care Provider Handbook, noting that an enrolment automatically ceases when a child does not attend care for 14 weeks).

For more information visit:

We thank our loyal customers for their support.  If you have any further questions about this or any other matters, feel free to contact me on 0403 608 932 or visit my office.

Best regards,

 

Cesar Gomez

Business Manager

Amigoss  Preschool and Long Day Care Co-operative Limited.

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