Aussie Childcare Network Forum

Question: State what steps you can take to actively implement an early childhood education and care service’s procedure for the safe collection of children to avoid releasing a child into the care of a non-authorised person.

My answer:

Children should only be released from the Childcare service to the parents and authorised persons. Children should not be released to anyone who doesn’t have authorisation written down on the records at the service. It is very important that carers are vigilant about this as The National Regulations (Regulation 99) states that:

“The approved provider of an education and care service must ensure that a child who is being educated and cared for by the education and care service does not leave the education and care service premises except in accordance with subregulation.” (Walker)

A child should never be released into the care of someone you don’t know or you haven’t seen at the service before, even if the child does seem to know them. The only people authorised to pick up the child are the persons stated on the enrolment form. If you are unsure or have any concerns it is important to call the parent or authorised person to clarify.

Hey, I am not sure if I have answered this correctly and just want some feedback.

Thanks, Emma.

Hi Emma! It's good that you explained the regulations behind the safe collection of children and mentioned that even if a child seems to know them, it is not enough.

I think you can improve your answer by adding more concrete things you can do. Like how can you make sure that the people picking up your kids are authorised? Calling up the parents like you said is a good start. Lorina's link has some more ideas you can build on.