Children’s safety and wellbeing comes first. This includes during all water-based activities.
Water safety is an important part of children’s education. We ensure that Early Learning Victoria educators and other staff follow these water safety rules and procedures.
1. Scope
This policy applies to children, families, staff, management and visitors of Early Learning Victoria centres. This includes volunteers, students on placement and contractors or labour hire employees of Early Learning Victoria.
2. Policy statement
This policy helps to keep children safe during water activities. It focuses on proper supervision and education.
The policy ensures educators, nominated supervisors, volunteers and students on placement know the water safety rules and their responsibilities. These are drawn from the Education and Care Services National Law Act 2010 (the National Law) and Education and Care Services National Regulations 2011(opens in a new window) (the Regulations).
2.1 Requirements
Under the National Law and Regulations, Early Learning Victoria must have policies and procedures for managing water safety. This includes during water-based activities. Early Learning Victoria must also take reasonable steps to ensure those policies and procedures are followed.
Families must be told about the Water safety policy when they enrol. All Early Learning Victoria staff are responsible for ensuring water safety policies and procedures are understood and followed correctly.
2.2 Background and information
Supervising and keeping children safe around water is vital.
Water can offer children rich experiences that inspire their curiosity and imagination. Children may encounter water in the centre or when on excursions. In both cases, children are carefully supervised.
Educators must be vigilant in their supervision of children in and around water. Drowning is the main cause of death for children in Victoria, especially those under 5. Non-fatal drowning can cause lifelong health conditions, including brain damage and disability. Drowning hazards can include swimming pools, ponds and creeks, or smaller water sources like nappy buckets, containers or puddles.
Training educators to identify potential water hazards supports them to provide safe and stimulating environments for young children.
3. Actions and procedures
3.1 Responsibilities of families
Families are responsible for:
- ensuring doors, gates and other barriers to water hazards at Early Learning Victoria centres are always closed
- ensuring fences at Early Learning Victoria centres are kept clear of objects that children could climb
- telling Early Learning Victoria centre staff about their child’s individual needs around water
- making sure they understand the Water safety policy when they enrol their child.
3.2 Responsibilities of staff
Children must be adequately supervised at all times and protected from harm and hazards. This is required under the National Law and Regulations and the National Quality Standards.
All water-based activities at Early Learning Victoria centres must be adequately supervised. Children must never be left unattended when close to water.
Strategies for supervising children are adjusted for each activity and in response to any water hazards on or near the Early Learning Victoria centre.
Educators must complete risk assessments for water-based activities using the Service risk assessment and management plan (see Attachment 1). This includes for any activities during offsite excursions (see also the Excursions, incursions and regular outings policy and procedure).
Educators increase supervision on excursions with a water hazard. This includes in regional or rural areas with hazards such as creeks, dams, rivers and canals. It also includes when children visit a school with a swimming pool (see the Supervision of children policy).
As well, staff must consider whether nearby schools have pools or water tanks. If so, they must ensure these are not accessible to children.
In all cases, educators must get permission from parents or carers before taking their child on an excursion to a place with a water hazard.
Water-safe environments
Centres must conduct regular assessments to ensure water-safe environments. Assessments identify water hazards and describe appropriate risk reduction measures. Centres use the Service risk assessment and management plan (see Attachment 1).
Early Learning Victoria centre staff must conduct regular safety checks. They must ensure that doors, gates and other barriers to water hazards are always closed. They must also ensure that fences are kept clear of objects that children could climb.
Centre staff must empty wading or paddling pools, water-play containers, portable water troughs and pet water containers immediately after each use. Equipment must be stored so that water doesn’t collect in it when not in use. At the beginning and end of a day, centre staff must check the outdoor spaces for any puddles or water that has pooled in containers.
If there are any water hazards that cannot always be monitored, access to children must be fully restricted with a barrier or fencing.
4. Resources
Legislation and standards
- Child Wellbeing and Safety Act 2005
- Education and Care Services National Law Act 2010
- Education and Care Services National Regulations 2011
- National Quality Standard, Quality area 2: Children’s health and safety
Related policies
- Administration of first aid policy and procedure
- Excursions, incursions and regular outings policy and procedure
- Hygiene and cleaning policy
- Incident, injury, trauma and illness policy
- Occupational health and safety policy
- Supervision of children policy
Links
Attachments
Attachment 1: Service risk assessment and management plan (DOCX, 2857B)
Definitions
Adequate supervision: Supervision entails all children (individuals and groups) in all areas of the service being in sight and/or hearing of an educator at all times. This includes during toileting, sleep, rest and transition routines. Services must comply with the legal requirements for educator-to-child ratios at all times.
Hazard: This is anything with the potential to cause harm, injury, illness, loss or damage.
Notifiable incidents: An incident involving workplace health and safety that must, by law, be reported to WorkSafe Victoria. Notification is required for incidents that result in death or serious injury or illness, or dangerous occurrences. For a complete list of incidents that must be reported to WorkSafe Victoria, see the Guide to Incident Notification at WorkSafe Victoria.
Serious Incident: Under section 5(1) of the National Law, each of the following is prescribed as a serious incident:
- the death of a child
- while that child is being educated and cared for by an education and care service, or
- following an incident occurring while that child was being educated and cared for by an education and care service
- any incident involving serious injury (such as a broken limb) or trauma to a child occurring while that child is being educated and cared for by an education and care service:
- which a reasonable person would consider required urgent medical attention from a registered medical practitioner, or
- for which the child attended, or ought reasonably to have attended, a hospital
- any incident involving serious illness of a child occurring while that child is being educated and cared for by an education and care service for which the child attended, or ought reasonably to have attended, a hospital (for instance, for a severe asthma attack, seizure or anaphylaxis reaction)
- any emergency which emergency services attended
- any circumstance where a child being educated and cared for by an education and care service:
- appears to be missing or cannot be accounted for, or
- appears to have been taken or removed from the education and care service premises in a manner that contravenes these Regulations, or
- is mistakenly locked in or locked out of the education and care service premises or any part of the premises.
Risk assessment: In the context of this policy, a risk assessment is a document that identifies and assesses any hazard that poses a risk to a child’s health, safety and/or wellbeing. This includes for excursions or regular outings. The assessment details how these risks will be managed and/or minimised.
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