Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008. Regs 46(a), 46 (b), 57
Health and Safety at Work Act, 2015
Licensing Criteria for Centre-Based Education and Care Services 2008 (as amended May 2016):
HS26: All practicable steps are taken to ensure that children do not come into contact with any person (adult or child) on the premises who is suffering from a disease or condition
likely to be passed onto children and likely to have a detrimental effect on them.
Specifically:
• the action specified in Appendix 2 is taken for any person (adult or child) suffering from particular infectious diseases; and
• children who become unwell while attending the service are kept at a safe distance from other children (to minimise the spread of infection) and returned to the care of
a parent or other person authorised to collect the child without delay.
HS27: All practicable steps are taken to get immediate medical assistance for a child who is seriously injured or becomes seriously ill, and to notify a parent of what has happened.
HS34: Where there is a serious injury or illness or incident involving a child while at the service that is required to be notified to a specified agency, the service provider must also
notify the Ministry of Education at the same time.

Item Procedure Who
1.0 Injury, Illness and Incident  
1.1 Follow the procedure illustrated above in the case of injury, illness or incidents occurring related to adults or tamariki
attending Playcentre.		  
1.2 Key points are to ensure that
• the affected person is taken care of,
• parents or whānau are informed,
• Centre members are protected from any risk of infection,
• records are kept and
• the appropriate authorities are informed.		 Centre
1.3 Tamariki or adults who are ill should stay away from Playcentre to prevent the spread of illness to other members.
The appropriate length of time varies based on the specific illness, but advice can be found on the Infectious Diseases
card produced by the Ministry of Health.		 Centre
2.0 Outbreak of Infectious or Contagious Diseases  
2.1 From time to time a disease or illness (such as measles, or influenza) may start spreading through a community
and/or the country. In these cases additional precautions may need to be taken at early childhood centres such as
Playcentres.		  
2.2 Initial precautions would be to be extra-vigilant with standard health and safety practices such as ensuring regular
hand washing, cleaning of toys that have been mouthed by babies and not sharing cups/drink bottles.		 All members
2.3 Information related to a particular outbreak, epidemic or pandemic will be shared by the Ministry of Health, Ministry
of Education and Regional/National Playcentre personnel will ensure this is shared with Centres.		 Regional and National staff
2.4 Centres should
a) Inform Centre members and any employees or additional volunteers that the illness is in the community
b) If the disease is one for which there is an immunisation:
i) Check to ensure the immunisation register is up-to-date for all current children. You cannot require
tamariki or adults to be immunised or to advise of their immunisation status but you can request the
information.
ii) Ask Centre members to make sure they and their tamariki are fully immunised.		 Centre Health and Safety
officer and Privacy Officer
2.5

If Centre members become ill during an outbreak
a) If a child or adult becomes unwell with the possible disease whilst at centre, follow the Sick Child Isolation
Procedure and keep them separated from other tamariki to minimise the chance of the illness spreading.
b) Members who contract the disease or have had close contact with someone who is infected, should stay away
from the centre for the incubation period and contagious period of the disease. In an epidemic the Public
Health service will help you establish any quarantine periods.
c) Members who have the illness, or who are placed into quarantine due to having been in contact with
someone who is ill, do not need to advise you of this fact, although many will.
d) If it is an illness for which there is a vaccination, members who come into contact with the illness, but who are
immunised against it do not need to stay away from the centre unless advised otherwise by the Public Health
service.

  
2.6 Notification
a) If someone becomes ill whilst at the centre, and the illness is notifiable, you will need to contact your Regional
office, who will contact the appropriate agency – generally this will be the Public Health service, and the
Ministry of Education as soon as possible.
b) Where a member of your centre is diagnosed with a disease, and the Public Health service is notified- if there
is a risk to your centre members the Public Health Service will be in touch with your centre, and will advise on
the next steps.
c) If you are advised that a member of your centre has received a diagnosis, you should inform vulnerable
individuals, such as unimmunised members, that there has been a case in the centre, but you should not
specify who has the illness.		  
2.7 Exclusion from the Centre
a) Where you have reasonable grounds to believe that an individual has an infectious or contagious disease then
you must exclude them from the centre. Reasonable grounds would be things like:
i) they have told you they have it,
ii) visible, physical symptoms
b) Otherwise Centre members cannot make the decision to exclude tamariki or adults from the centre – whether
they have been in contact with an illness and/or based on immunisation status.
c) You can suggest or request members stay away if they have been exposed to the illness, or if they are
unvaccinated.
d) The Medical Officer of Health can require people to be excluded from the centre if they are unimmunised. If
the Medical Officer of Health exercises this right under the Health Act 1956 you will be officially advised of
this.

Centre Presidents (or
nominated delegate),
Health & Safety Officer

 

 

 

Medical Officer of Health
3.0 Immunisation Register and Privacy  
3.1 Immunisation information on tamariki is collected as part of being an early childhood service, and must be kept up to
date.		 Centre Administrator
3.2 Information on this register can only be used for the purposes it is collected – this purpose is for informing vulnerable
members when there is an outbreak of a disease which they may not have been vaccinated against.		  
3.3 Access to the Register:
a) Each centre should have a Privacy officer, who is the person within the centre who can access the
immunisation register, should the need arise to inform vulnerable members of any concerns
b) Regional staff can access the immunisation register as required as part of their role
c) Public Health officials can request access to this register.		 Privacy Officer
Regional staff

RESOURCES
1. Notifiable Injury/ Incidents: http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2015/0070/52.0/DLM5976868.html
2. Infectious Diseases for Criterion 26: https://www.education.govt.nz/early-childhood/licensing-and-regulations/the-regulatory-framework-forece/licensing-criteria/centre-based-ece-services/appendix-2-infectious-diseases-for-criterion-hs26/
3. Notifiable diseases (general): https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/notifiable-diseases
4. Playcentre Aotearoa’s Child Washdown Procedure Template
5. Playcentre Aotearoa’s Sick Child Isolation Procedure Template
6. Playcentre Aotearoa’s Minor Injury, Illness, Incident Notice
7. Playcentre Aotearoa’s Serious Harm Investigation Form

REFERENCES
Playcentre Aotearoa’s Health & Safety Policy
Playcentre Aotearoa’s Injury, Illness and Injury Procedure
Playcentre Aotearoa’s Child Washdown Procedure
Playcentre Aotearoa’s Sick Child Isolation Procedure

Loader Loading...
EAD Logo Taking too long?

Reload Reload document
| Open Open in new tab