Posts Tagged ‘ecce scheme’
The Perils of Paperwork For Childcare Providers
The Early Years Sector is now one of the most regulated sectors in the country and childcare providers are struggling to navigate through the mountains of paperwork now required by the various agencies. Early Years Services are open to inspection by the Health Services Executive (HSE), the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) and the National Employment Rights Authority (NERA). They also need to comply with the requirements of funders under such schemes as the Free Pre-school Year (ECCE). Having your paperwork readily to hand, accessible and organised is half the battle. This article sets out the information you should have in your service and how to organise it.
Get organised for ECCE Scheme
The Child’s File
Registration File, Getting to know the Child/Family Information Sheet, Accident/Incident Form, Collection Verification, Complaints, Correspondence, Developmental Milestones Checklist, Emergency Contacts, Medicine Records, Parental Agreements, Permission Sign Off Form, Any Other Relevant childcare Forms
Annual Leave Request Form, Application Form/CV, Appraisal Forms, Attendance Record Form, Contract of Employment, Copy of Original Qualifications, Correspondence relating to any changes in terms and conditions of employment, Correspondence relating to grievance, discipline, Garda Vetting Form, Incident/Accident Form, Interview Score Sheet, Job Acceptance Letter, Job Description, Job Offer Letter, Job/Person Specification, Medical Check Confirmation,P.45 ,Reference Check Form, Reference Check Letters Relevant Employment Forms, Sick Leave Certificates, Staff Information Sheet, Supervision records, ,Training Record, Any relevant employment forms
Health and Safety
Safety Equipment Maintenance Records, Health & Safety Statements, Insurance Certificate and Correspondence, List of Suppliers, Pest Control, Risk Assessment, Claims, Service Contractors
The Financial File
Annual Accounts, Bank Statements, Cheque book, Cheque Requisition
CRO Returns, Income and Expenditure Records – it not computerised, Invoices
P. 60 , P.30 if not computerised, Payslips – if not computerised, Receipt book and receipts, Revenue and Tax Information
Salary Scales, Tax Clearance Certificate
HSE File
Copy of Childcare Pre-school Services Regulations, Correspondence with HSE
EHO Inspection Visit Reports, HSE Inspection Visit Reports, HSE Standard Inspection Tool
Funding file
Agreed Fees Policies for grant schemes, Application Information, CCS Scheme documentation, ECCE Scheme documentation, Funding Applications,Funding Contracts, Funding Reports, Information from Pobal and OMCYA, Letters and other correspondence to Parents
Staff Master File
Memos to staff, Minutes of Staff meetings, Master copy of all policies, Master copy of notices displayed
What you should have on display
| Childcare | Employment | Health and Safety |
|---|---|---|
| Staff : Child ratios
Type of care Provided Fees charged Behaviour Management – each room Menus Sleep Room – Sudden Death Infant Association Information Sleep Record Key Worker – Children Emergency Numbers displayed in all rooms |
Staff Qualifications – Profiles and Photographs
Absence Policy Person in charge Staff Roster Employment Rights Information Staff Code of Conduct and Adult Protection Policy |
Health and Safety Statement
Cleaning Schedules – each room Hand-Washing Instructions Nappy Changing Instructions Fire Evacuation Information in each room/area of building Risk Assessment Sheets in each room Child Protection Person name and photo Fire Officer name and photo Health & Safety Officer name and photo First Aid Officer name and photo Fire Evacuation Officers name and photo Children with dietary requirements name and photo in kitchen and rooms |
Check your Bookshelf!
Do you have the following available?
- Child Care (Pre-School Services) (No 2) (Amendment) Regulations, 2006
- Children First: national guidelines for the protection and welfare of children 2009
- Fire Safety in Pre-schools, 1999
- Quality Childcare and Life Long Learning: Model Framework for Education, Training and Professional Development in the ECCE Sector, 2002
- Siolta-the National Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education, 2006
- Aistear- the Early Childhood Curriculum Framework, 2009
- Diversity and Equality Guidelines for Childcare Providers, 2006
The Kitchen Cupboard
Do you have the following available?
- HACCP Folders with original forms
- Food and Nutrition Guidelines for Pre-School Services, 2004
- Shopping Order Book
- Recipe Books
- Sample Menus
Policies and Procedures
The list of policies and procedures required to run an efficient and high quality childcare service continues to grow. Policies should be available in each room of your service and in the staff room, where applicable. Employers should ensure that all employees fully understand and can implement the policies and procedures. All employees should “sign-off” on all policies and procedures.
Angela, April 2012.
Social Media – Reap the Benefits. Avoid the Pitfalls!
Social networking provides ECCE services with a new set of tools to promote their business but providers need to weigh up the risks against the opportunities such sites can present.
The enquiries we receive into our office are a very good barometer of the issues that concern childcare providers throughout the country. Not surprisingly the past number of months has been dominated by enquiries about the ECCE free pre-school place and of course the inspections that are been carried out on early years services by the National Employment Rights Authority. However recently we have also experienced an upsurge in calls where childcare providers have fallen foul of social networking sites.
Social networks are websites that let people join, find their friends, and share information with each other. Most people use these sites to find friends they haven’t seen since school or stay updated on what their friends are doing in real time. Most people have heard of popular social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook, Bebo and Twitter. Facebook has been adopted more quickly than any other media source in history, much faster than radio or television. It was established in 2004 as a way for Harvard students to keep in touch. It now has over 800 million registered users.
So, social networks are here to stay and can be a great way to connect with customers and advertise your service cost effectively. More and more businesses, including childcare businesses are establishing their on-line profiles to attract attention and get their message out very quickly to a targeted audience.
Despite its benefits, there are also serious drawbacks to social networking. If you participate in social networks to promote your service you must remember that you have very little control over what is posted about you. Unflattering comments or indeed photographs can damage your reputation and business. Childcare providers should be savvy and aware about how they use social networking and monitor what is being said about them.
We have been dealing with employers who have been coping with serious problems related to social networking sites. For example employees who use their social networking page to post uncomplimentary comments about the childcare service with the result that when a potential customer (parent) searches for information about a particular service these comments pop-up.
Other problems such as employees using social networking sites to communicate with parents and discuss children and families openly must be addressed by having proper policies and procedures. Employers should also be aware that they could be held responsible if an employee leaves threatening or nasty comments on the profile page of a colleague if they don’t handle the issue appropriately. It’s easy to get too personal, or too off-topic, when social networking, Twittering, etc. You may divulge more information than you wanted to (or than you should), and once you’ve said it, you can’t take it back. The instant gratification factor also makes it easier to communicate without thinking things through; contributing to negative “Web wars” at times.
Employers should also keep a close eye on “discussion blogs”. These forums are often used to openly discuss businesses and there is a number of very active Irish forums. If you discover any defamatory comments about your business you can ensure that these are removed.
Safety measures
- Have a clear and comprehensive policy on social networking linked to confidentiality policies
- Ask employees to sign an internet and email policy agreement.
- Monitor internet and email usage in the workplace (confirm this in your policy)
- Ensure employees know the company’s bullying and harassment policy and that it extends to include online activities.
- Tell staff not to share any sensitive business information online with friends or contacts, unless they have prior approval
- Keep yourself up-to-date with the latest internet technology
- Social networking provides ECCE services with a new set of tools to promote their business but providers need to weigh up the risks against the opportunities such sites can present. Childcare providers need to educate themselves on the latest technologies and their impact on the ECCE sector.
Angela, March 2012.
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