Building Positive Relationships with Children

1. Overview

1.1. Purpose

The Building Positive Relationships with Children Policy outlines the approach taken by Junior Adventures Group (JAG) to support and optimise the experience of all children while attending the Service.

1.2. Scope

All JAG People must demonstrate a shared commitment to fostering a professional environment where children feel safe and valued and are recognised for their individual strengths. All JAG People must comply with our approach, which is set out in this policy, their contract of employment and other relevant policies, procedures and legislation.

1.3. Legislative Requirements

Under the Education and Care Services National Regulations, JAG is required to have policies and procedures in place to ensure the health, safety and wellbeing of the children in care.

2. Policy Statement

JAG is committed to providing a safe and positive environment where children and young people can participate in a broad range of experiences and learning opportunities. Team Members must demonstrate a genuine desire to work with school-aged children and continuously strive to understand individual children’s needs to provide the appropriate environment for them to grow and develop. Our team members will ensure that children feel welcome and experience positive and supportive interactions with our staff.

All children are treated with respect and dignity and are valued as unique, capable and competent individuals at all times. All JAG People are guided by the National Quality Framework.

3. Principles

3.1. Duty of Care

JAG People have a duty of care to support the health and wellbeing of all children and JAG People. Working with children in a positive and constructive way is vital to set realistic expectations at the Service and to support everyone’s enjoyment and safety at the Service.

3.2. Rights of the Child

JAG people will ensure equal rights and opportunities for all children, irrespective of their background, and promote inclusivity and diversity. Our Relationships will focus on ensuring quality education, fostering holistic development, and enabling children to reach their full potential.

3.3. Mutual Trust and Respect

JAG People will create a learning environment that maintains and builds a relationship of mutual trust and respect with children. The organisation recognises that mutual trust and respect are vital for a safe and positive environment.

Team Members will lead and encourage all children to respect each other and interact in a positive manner. Respecting each other includes respect for culture, heritage and values, as well as consideration for age and stage of development.

3.4. Agreed Behaviours

Team Members and children collaboratively establish agreed behaviours at the start of the program. These behaviours are visually displayed at the Service, and children are regularly reminded of how we work together.

3.5. Positive Behaviour Support and Guidance

JAG People, Visitors and Students are expected to provide a consistent approach that encourages responsible and constructive behaviour from all children.

Behaviour guidance strategies will always respect the child’s self-esteem and rights while also being appropriate to the individual’s developmental stage. Refer to Appendix 2 for more detail.

3.6. Working Collaboratively with stakeholders

Families and other stakeholders will work with JAG to support consistent behaviours.

All children attending the Service have the right to feel safe and secure. Acceptable behaviours are communicated clearly to families at enrolment and are agreed to when enrolling in JAG programs. Our team members have been trained to work collaboratively with children and apply their skills and knowledge to support children to thrive in a safe and positive environment.

3.7. Addressing Unacceptable Behaviour

All children have the right to attend the Service and have a positive experience. Where unacceptable behaviour is displayed that puts a child themselves or other children at risk, JAG will follow up and work with the child and their family to resolve behavioural concerns. Where there is repeated unacceptable behaviour, which causes risk to others, JAG may exercise the right to cease the child’s access to the Service.

3.8. Serious Incidents

Team Members must escalate the instance of a serious incident to their Line Manager and follow the Incident Management Procedure.

If a Team Member is unsure whether an incident is serious, it should be treated as serious.

3.9. Incident Reporting and Escalation

An incident report must be accurately completed for all instances of an incident, injury, trauma or illness before the end of a session and within 24 hours of the incident occurring.

All incident reports will be kept and stored as per regulatory requirements.

All Team Members are responsible for communicating and escalating the occurrence of a serious incident, injury, trauma or illness to their line manager as soon as practicable and in accordance with the Incident Escalation Matrix.

3.10. Notification to Parents/Guardians

Where there is an incident that is in opposition to the established behaviours expected at the Service or actions that have put the safety of the child or those around them at risk, we will notify the child’s parents and discuss future strategies to minimise reoccurrence and support the child.

3.11. Reportable Incidents and Notifications

Reportable incidents are those that the approved provider is obligated, by legislation or contract, to report to an external agency or organisation.

Where required, incidents and serious incidents will be reported to the appropriate authority within the prescribed timeframes.

3.12. Safeguarding Children and Young People

Any incidents, allegations or disclosures of abuse or neglect must be documented in an incident report and escalated to management as soon as practicable.

All JAG People are considered mandatory reporters. For any safeguarding concerns, notifications to the regulatory authority and state-based child protection reporting authorities must be made in accordance with the Safeguarding Children and Young People Policy and Procedure.

Policies and practices reflect the relevant legislation, including the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations.

Please refer to Appendix 1 for our Promoting Positive Behaviour flowchart.

4. Key Terms

JAG People:

Any adult that governs, manages, conducts work for or provides activities to JAG in a paid or unpaid activity spanning all levels of the organisational structure

Line Manager:

The persons in the direct supervisory role overseeing the work of the particular JAG person. The JAG persons escalate matters towards the person in this role in the event of incidents and breaches.

Positive behaviour:

Promoting, modelling and rewarding positive behaviour is an intentional approach to supporting children; positive behaviour is reinforced through words and actions

Serious incident:

A serious incident is defined by the National Regulations as:
● the death of a child while that child is being educated and cared for or following an incident occurring while that child was being educated and cared for
● any incident involving serious injury or trauma to a child where urgent medical attention was required, sought or ought to have been sought (e.g., a broken limb)
● any illness where a child attended or ought to have attended a hospital (e.g., an asthma attack or anaphylactic reaction)
● any emergency where emergency services attended
● any circumstance where a child:
o appears to be missing or cannot be accounted for
appears to have been taken or removed from the Service in a way that breaches the National Regulations
● is mistakenly locked in or locked out of the Service or premises

Team Members:

JAG People that work directly with Children

Trauma:

Children who have experienced traumatic experiences that have occurred in their lifetime; young children, particularly children 0–6, may not be able to verbalise their reactions to threatening or dangerous events

5. References

Education and Care Services National Law and Regulations

Education and Care Services National Law Act 2010

Education and Care Services National Regulations

National Quality Standards for Early Childhood Education and Care and School Care Other Relevant Legislation

Section 166 – Offence to use inappropriate discipline

Regulation 155 – Interactions with children

Regulation 156 – Relationships in groups

Regulation 168 – Education and care service must have policies and procedures

Regulation 170 – Policies and procedures to be followed

Regulation 171– Policies and procedures to be kept available

Regulation 172 – Notification of change to policies or procedures Related Policies First Aid Policy Incident Management Procedure Incident Escalation Matrix Medical Conditions and the Administration of Medication Safeguarding Children and Young People Policy and Procedure Service Delivery Governance and Management Related Procedures Procedure Collections Other Quality Area 5: Standards 5.1, 5.2 Conscious Discipline, Dr Becky A. Bailey Early Childhood Australia Code of Ethics My Time, Our Place: The Framework for School Age Care in Australia United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child - https://www.unicef.org.au Quality Area 5:Standards 5.1, 5.2. OCG Guide to Child Safe Standards - https://ocg.nsw.gov.au/child-safe-scheme CCYP Child safe Standards - https://ccyp.vic.gov.au/child-safe-standards/ National Principles for Child Safe Organisations - https://childsafe.humanrights.gov.au/national-principles

See Appendices in PDF

Version 3.0 Change History

JAG Policy Change Register Date Approved 01/07/2023 Date Implemented

01/07/2023 Document Owner Quality Service Development Document Approvers

CEO / Approved Provider Next Review 12 Months