Are vaccine passes still required to attend Playcentre?
No. Staff and parents are no longer required to be vaccinated to attend Playcentre sessions.
On 23 March, the Government announced that vaccine mandates will be removed for the education sector at 11:59pm on 4 April. Requirements around My Vaccine Pass and scanning using COVID-19 QR codes will also be removed.
Why are there changes to the Vaccine Mandate and My Vaccine Pass?
Vaccine mandates will be removed for the education sector at 11:59pm on 4 April. Requirements around My Vaccine Pass and scanning using COVID-19 QR codes will also be removed.
According to advice from the Ministry of Education, these are tools that were developed to fight COVID-19 and protect an unvaccinated population. New Zealand is now highly vaccinated and moving through the peak of the Omicron outbreak
The government’s focus now is to make life simpler and closer to normal but retain the things that we know help to reduce the spread of COVID-19. These are masks, and when an outbreak is particularly severe, capacity limits indoors.
Why has the vaccine mandate been lifted?
The Government’s decision is based upon the assessment that the mandates are no longer proportionate to the current risks with the other safety measures that are in place. This decision recognises that a large proportion of the workforce is now fully vaccinated and boosted. This provides an additional layer of protection to staff, children, and wider community. Other measures such as hand washing and hygiene measures and mask wearing will continue to provide layers of protection.
Who is required to wear a face mask?
Children are not required to wear face masks at Playcentre.
At the Red setting, visitors (including parents and caregivers dropping off and picking up children) are legally required to wear face masks when coming indoors at Playcentre. Playcentre Aotearoa recommends all adults on session also wear face masks whilst indoors at Playcentre.
At the Orange setting, face masks are recommended for visitors. Playcentre Aotearoa also recommends all adults on session wear a face mask whilst indoors.
Playcentre Aotearoa has chosen to recommend that adults on session with children wear a face mask indoors (at red and orange settings) as we consider this to be an appropriate health and safety measure as part of our risk assessment and management plan.
Mask wearing is still reducing transmission rate by about 50%, according to COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins in an update to the education sector on 23 March.
We note that some people may have a face mask exemption due to a disability or health condition that makes wearing a face mask unsuitable.
Playcentre are not expected to provide face masks for children or adults at Playcentre.
What public health measures can centres put in place to protect people from COVID-19?
Playcentre Aotearoa recommends that centres continue to follow public health measures (outside of mandating vaccinations), to help protect children, staff and volunteer workers from COVID-19.
Public health measures include:
- If you are unwell, stay at home
- Wear a face mask when indoors (at red and orange settings)
- Maintaining social distancing
- Follow basic hygiene practices
- Ensure adequate ventilation
Can visitors attend Playcentre?
Yes. Visitors can attend Playcentre under all COVID-19 traffic light settings. You may not restrict access based on vaccination status. Visitors are not required to provide you with their vaccine pass.
At the red setting, visitors (including parents and caregivers dropping off and picking up children) are legally required to wear face masks when coming indoors at Playcentre.
At the orange setting, there are no restrictions on number of visitors on site, but they should be included in a visitor register as is normal practice.
All visitors must continue to follow COVID-19 public health measures:
- If unwell, stay home and get tested
- Wear a face mask when indoors
- Sign in using the Discover app on the Playcentre tablet
- Maintain physical distancing
Are vaccine passes required to attend infant programmes (Space and Babies Can Play)?
No. Staff and parents are no longer required to be vaccinated to attend infant programmes (Space and Babies Can Play).
Vaccine mandates were removed for the education sector on 4 April. Requirements around My Vaccine Pass and scanning using COVID-19 QR codes have also be removed.
At the red setting, visitors (including parents and caregivers attending infant programmes) are legally required to wear face masks when coming indoors at Playcentre.
At the orange setting, there are no restrictions on number of visitors on site, but they should be included in a visitor register as is normal practice.
Visitors/parents must continue to follow COVID-19 public health measures:
- If unwell, stay home and get tested
- Wear a face mask when indoors
- Sign in using the Discover app on the Playcentre tablet
- Maintain physical distancing
Visitors/parents must continue to follow COVID-19 public health measures:
- If unwell, stay home and get tested
- Wear a face mask when indoors
- Sign in using the Discover app on the Playcentre tablet
- Maintain physical distancing
Can our centre continue to ask people for their vaccination status or vaccine pass?
No. Once the vaccine mandates are removed you will no longer have a specific legal requirement to ask for people’s vaccination status.
Do I still need to provide Playcentre with my vaccination information?
No. Playcentre Aotearoa will no longer be requiring staff (paid or unpaid) to disclose their vaccination information now that vaccine mandates are being removed for the education sector at 11:59pm on 4 April.
What is Playcentre Aotearoa doing with the vaccination records they have for staff and volunteer workers?
Playcentre Aotearoa will ensure the information we have collected and handled about an employee or volunteer worker’s vaccination status is stored securely, in accordance with the Privacy Act.
We will retain this information for 6 months after the withdrawal of the mandate and review this in October 2022.
Can I decline a child’s enrolment based on the vaccination status of their parents or caregivers?
No. All licensed early childhood services (ie. Playcentres) are prohibited from requiring proof of vaccination (either via My Vaccine Pass or other tools) as a condition of entry, use or access to education.
Can I require parents or caregivers to tell me their vaccination status?
In general no. Now that the vaccine mandates have been removed there is no longer a specific legal requirement to ask for people’s vaccination status. Accordingly, requesting this would be the same as for any other private medical information.
You are prohibited from requiring proof of vaccination (either via My Vaccine Pass or other tools) from parents and caregivers as a condition of entry, use or access to education.
Can I prevent unvaccinated parents or caregivers from coming into the building?
Under the COVID-19 Protection Framework, all licensed early childhood services are prohibited from requiring proof of vaccination (either via My Vaccine Pass or other tools) as a condition of entry, use or access to education.
It is important to consider the general right of entry set out Section 27 of the Education and Training Act 2020. This provision ensures that a parent or caregiver has the right to enter the premises of a licensed early childhood service when their child is attending, except in certain circumstances, including if they are suffering from a contagious or infectious disease likely to have a detrimental effect on the children if passed on to them.
If a parent or caregiver is exhibiting symptoms or is suffering from an infectious disease (regardless of their vaccination status), it would be reasonable to justify restricting their access to the premises (e.g. pick-up and drop-off in an outdoor area) until they are well again. This would also be consistent with the requirements of regulation 57 in the Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 and the licensing criteria (HS23 – home-based, HS26 – centre-based).
What is Playcentre Aotearoa’s position/policy on the vaccination mandate?
As outlined in our COVID-19 Update 5 April 2022, the Playcentre Aotearoa COVID-19 risk assessment and internal vaccination policy have been reviewed in light of the updated Government guidance, and we have formed the preliminary view that mandatory vaccination requirements are no longer justified.
As we stated in our COVID-19 Update 1 April 2022, the Government advice is that now Omicron has entered the community, outside of those sectors still covered by Government vaccine mandates (such as the health sector), WorkSafe considers that few workplaces will be able to justify an employer vaccination requirement for health and safety or public health reasons. We do not have the resources necessary to defend a blanket mandate in the face of this advice, and so considering the risk assessment review we have undertaken, there will be no Playcentre Aotearoa blanket requirement for vaccination. Our risk assessment covers not only Covid19 health impacts but all the wider risks under a range of obligations including PCBU liabilities, employment legislation and the funding and reputational risk implications of spending money designed to support our tamariki on expensive legal actions.
The Playcentre Aotearoa COVID-19 risk assessment is the overarching risk assessment for all employees and volunteer workers. We have chosen to introduce further mitigations around mask-wearing within Playcentre which are beyond those specified in the COVID-19 protection framework.
The advice we issued in our COVID-19 Update 29 March 2022 remains current, specifically:
- The core public health measures we are all familiar with of staying home when sick, hand washing, and covering coughs and sneezes remain in place.
- Whenever possible spending more time outdoors and increasing ventilation indoors all contribute to the reduction of risk.
- In addition to the legal requirements for visitors to wear masks, we recommend that all adults wear masks while indoors at Playcentre as masks are known to reduce transmission of the virus by 53%.
https://www.beehive.govt.nz/speech/post-peak-plan-safe-return-greater-normality
Playcentre Aotearoa still considers that vaccination is important and that it provides a great form of protection against COVID-19 and for those reasons we are adopting a ‘strongly encourage approach’ that all staff and volunteers should be fully vaccinated, including receiving boosters, if they can and are willing to do so.
The situation we face in April 2022 is different from the one we faced in November 2021. The nature of the threat from Covid19 has changed which means our response and management of COVID-19 as a workplace risk needs to change also. Our core objectives have always been to protect our tamariki, staff, whānau and the communities we serve and we remain committed to those objectives.
What if our centre wants to continue requiring all staff members (paid and voluntary) to be vaccinated?
Following the removal of the vaccination mandate, we have undertaken consultation and feedback has been received on whether Playcentre Aotearoa’s proposal to remove the vaccination policy and its requirements is appropriate for local centre whānau and wider community.
Until the final outcome is announced, centres who have completed the additional risk profile assessment have the option to continue operating within the health and safety plan we had in place prior to 5 April and effectively continue with a vaccine mandate requirement in place. This will be for a temporary period until decisions are made using the evidence-based risk assessment and taking into consideration the wider risk profile of our organisation.
Any additional mitigations need to be proportionate to the situation and level of risk and should not infringe on human rights, privacy or other legislative protections.