Health, safety and wellbeing

All early learning services, and any person or organisation we contract to provide children’s services, must have a child protection policy.

How to respond to and care for children, staff and your community if a child is seriously injured or ill, or there is another emergency.

All early learning services and kōhanga reo must have 1 first aid qualified person per 25 children.

Early learning services that cook meals or prepare food for children need to meet all food safety and nutrition requirements.

Early learning services must be able to give medicine to children who need it because they are sick or have a disability. This is part of your responsibility to reasonably accommodate all children.

If a baby is crying continually in your early learning service, you should stay calm and ask for support.

Police vets help you assess the risk someone would pose to the safety of children.

All early learning services must have an emergency management plan in place.

Regulations and licensing criteria set out what you must do to protect the safety and wellbeing of children at your early learning service.

Early learning service providers must do a risk assessment after a Police vet for non-children’s workers who will have unsupervised access to children.

All children's workers employed or engaged by a service must be safety checked.

Your early learning service may need to share personal information with other agencies, such as the Police, to protect children

Your early learning service should have a sun protection policy and be ‘SunSmart’. This includes being aware of when and how to apply sunscreen to children.

Early learning services that provide transport for children must follow rules about health and safety and attendance records.

Nappy rash barrier creams can be used in early learning services. Services should have clear procedures and practices to manage hygiene.

Early learning services should be well ventilated. This reduces the risk of spreading airborne illnesses.