Purpose

This course brings together the everyday systems that protect children’s health, safety and wellbeing. It supports staff to identify hazards, prepare environments, follow medical and emergency plans, respond to illness or incidents, maintain records and escalate notifiable events.

Use current information

This course does not replace first aid training, individual medical management and risk minimisation plans, emergency instructions, product directions or current NERPSA procedures. In an emergency, follow the child’s current plan, provide assistance within your training and call 000 when required.

By the end of this course, you should be able to

Complete meaningful safety checks and act on hazards.

Maintain active supervision while completing other duties.

Follow medical plans, medication authorisations and emergency procedures.

Respond appropriately to illness, injury, trauma and infectious disease.

Prepare for emergencies, evacuations, lockdowns and excursions.

Apply sleep, rest, sun, water, food and environmental safety requirements.

Create complete and factual incident records.

Recognise when urgent escalation or regulatory notification may be required.

Standards and evidence base

Framework	Connection to this course
NERPSA policies	Administration of First Aid; Medication; Anaphylaxis and Allergic Reactions; Asthma; Medical Conditions; Diabetes; Epilepsy and Seizures; Infectious Diseases; Emergency and Evacuation; Emergency Management; Incident, Injury, Trauma and Illness; Excursions and Service Events; Nutrition, Oral Health and Active Play; Sleep and Rest; Sun Protection; Supervision; Water Safety; OHS; Delivery and Collection; and Child Safe Environment and Wellbeing.
National Law and Regulations	Children’s safety, rights and best interests are the paramount consideration. Key requirements include health, hygiene and food practices under regulation 77; sleep and rest under regulations 84A to 84D; incidents, illness, first aid, medical conditions and medication under regulations 85 to 96; emergency procedures under regulations 97 and 98; excursions under regulations 100 to 102; premises and supervision under regulations 103 to 115 and 122; records under regulations 158, 160, 161, 168, 181 and 183; and regulatory notifications under section 174 and regulations 12, 175 and 176.
National Quality Standard	Quality Area 2 is central, supported by Quality Areas 3, 4 and 7. Key areas include wellbeing and comfort, health practices, healthy lifestyle, supervision, incident and emergency management, child protection, safe environments, staffing and governance.
Victorian requirements	VECRA notification pathways, Victorian emergency management expectations, public health directions and current Department of Education and health authority information where applicable.
Child Safe Standards	Standards 2, 6, 8, 9, 10 and 11 support leadership, capable staff, safe physical and online environments, review and documented child safe practice.
TAFE and professional learning	Current connections to CHC30125 units CHCECE031, CHCECE055, CHCECE056, HLTAID012 and HLTWHS001; CHC50125 units CHCECE041 and CHCECE044; and bachelor level study in child health, wellbeing, safety, protection, early intervention and professional practice.

Status of this learning

This is internal NERPSA professional learning. It is not nationally recognised training, an accredited course, a unit of competency or a statement of attainment.

Module one

Safe environments and daily risk control

A safety check is effective only when hazards are identified, controlled, communicated and reviewed. Signing a checklist without inspecting the environment does not protect children.

Inspect

entry, exit and perimeter security;
indoor and outdoor equipment;
fall, entrapment and choking risks;
chemicals, medicines and hazardous substances;
temperature, shade and weather;
water and access points;
sleep and rest spaces;
toileting and changing areas; and
visibility and supervision blind spots.

Act

remove or isolate the hazard;
move children and adjust the program;
notify the responsible person;
arrange repair or replacement;
record the hazard and control;
communicate changed arrangements;
escalate unresolved risk; and
confirm the control remains effective.

Active supervision continues while safety checks, cleaning, documentation and set up tasks are completed. Operational tasks must be reorganised if they reduce supervision.

Module two

Health, hygiene, food and infection control

Health practices should be embedded in routines without shaming, excluding or unnecessarily identifying a child. Follow current public health advice and NERPSA procedures.

Prevent

Use hand hygiene, cleaning, food safety, respiratory hygiene and safe handling practices.

Observe

Notice changes in temperature, breathing, alertness, pain, rash, intake, toileting or participation.

Respond

Comfort and supervise the child, provide appropriate care and contact the family or emergency services as required.

Record

Document symptoms, observations, actions, contacts and collection or medical advice factually.

Everyday responsibilities include

following exclusion requirements and current health advice;
preventing cross contamination and unsafe food handling;
managing allergies and dietary requirements according to current records;
maintaining safe drinking water and hydration;
using gloves and standard precautions appropriately;
cleaning spills of blood or body fluids safely;
protecting privacy when communicating health information; and
ensuring cleaning products remain inaccessible to children.

Module three

Medical conditions, medication and first aid

Before a child attends, required medical information, authorisations, medication, risk minimisation and communication arrangements must be current and accessible to the staff who need them.

Staff must confirm

the child’s current medical management plan is available;
risk minimisation and communication plans are understood;
medication is correct, in date, labelled and stored as required;
authorisation requirements are met;
trained staff and emergency equipment are available;
relief staff know essential arrangements;
excursion and emergency bags contain required medication and plans; and
changes are communicated and documented.

In an emergency

Follow the child’s current plan, provide first aid within your training, call 000 when required, ensure supervision of all children, contact the family and NERPSA, then complete all required records and notifications.

Do not improvise doses, use another child’s medication, rely on memory when a plan is available, administer expired medication or delay emergency assistance while seeking internal permission.

Module four

Illness, injury, trauma and incident response

Respond to the child first. Records and notifications follow once immediate care, supervision and safety are established.

Response sequence

assess danger and provide immediate first aid or emergency assistance;
call 000 when required;
maintain supervision and protect other children;
comfort the child and protect dignity and privacy;
contact the family within required timeframes;
notify the responsible person and NERPSA promptly;
preserve relevant evidence and environmental information;
complete factual incident records; and
consider serious incident, child safety, OHS and regulatory pathways.

Minor visible injury does not automatically mean minor risk. Consider the mechanism, body area, age, symptoms, supervision, possible head injury, delayed effects and whether the event could reasonably have caused serious harm.

Module five

Emergency, evacuation and excursion readiness

Emergency readiness means staff can act without searching for basic information. Plans must work with the actual children, staffing, environment, communication systems and local risks present that day.

Prepare

Know roles, routes, assembly areas, emergency contacts, communication methods and alternatives.

Account

Take attendance information, medication and emergency equipment, then account for every child and adult.

Respond

Follow instructions, maintain supervision, support children and adapt to the changing emergency.

Review

Record what occurred, restore safety, communicate appropriately and improve the plan.

Excursions and service events require

a current risk assessment and required authorisations;
route, transport, destination and water hazard assessment;
adequate supervision based on risk, not ratios alone;
medical plans, medication, first aid and emergency contacts;
attendance checking at every transition point;
visitor, volunteer and student responsibilities;
weather, sun, food, toileting and communication planning; and
a clear response if a child is missing, injured or unwell.

Do not decide that someone else probably reported. Confirm the action, record who is responsible and follow up within the required timeframe.

Module six

Higher risk routines and environments

Routine activities can carry significant risk when supervision, environment or individual needs are not considered.

Staff must actively plan for

sleep and rest checks, positioning, environment and individual needs;
water play, bathrooms, excursions and nearby water hazards;
sun, heat, smoke, storms and changing weather;
food, choking, allergies and safe mealtime supervision;
arrival, departure and authorised collection;
toileting, changing and personal care privacy;
climbing, active play, tools, cooking and animals; and
children who require additional medical, mobility, communication or regulation support.

Sleep and rest

Follow the current risk assessment and policy, make and record required physical checks, maintain visibility and respond to each child’s age, health, development and sleep needs.

Water safety

Identify every water source, prevent unsupervised access, position educators deliberately and maintain active direct supervision appropriate to the risk.

Do not place child safety allegations in ordinary program notes, personal notebooks, shared staff chats or unsecured email chains. Use the required confidential record and submission pathway.

Module seven

Records, escalation and regulatory notification

Incident records must be completed promptly and contain enough information for families, NERPSA and regulators to understand what occurred and what was done.

Include

date, time, location and people present;
what was directly observed and reported;
the child’s presentation, injury or symptoms;
first aid, medical or emergency action;
supervision and environmental circumstances;
family, NERPSA and authority contacts with times;
advice received and reference numbers;
immediate controls and follow up; and
who completed and checked the record.

Escalate promptly

Notify NERPSA immediately when an event may be a serious incident, involves emergency attendance or hospital treatment, a missing or unaccounted for child, a child locked in or out, possible abuse, serious injury or trauma, or another circumstance that may require VECRA or other notification. Do not wait until the record is perfect.

Practice scenarios

The opening checklist identifies damaged outdoor equipment just before children arrive.

Prevent access immediately, adjust the environment and supervision plan, notify the responsible person and arrange repair or removal. Record the hazard, control and follow up. Do not leave the equipment available because children have used it safely before.

A child with a medical condition arrives without required medication.

Follow the current NERPSA medical conditions policy and the child’s enrolment arrangements. Escalate immediately to the responsible person and contact the family. Do not improvise, borrow another child’s medication or assume the risk is acceptable because the child appears well.

A child hits their head, appears settled and returns to play.

Provide first aid within training, continue close observation, follow head injury and incident procedures, contact the family as required and escalate any concerning symptoms or mechanism. Record observable facts and all actions. Apparent recovery does not remove the need for monitoring and documentation.

An excursion group is about to leave when the attendance count does not match.

Stop the departure. Account for every child and adult, check the attendance record and physical locations, then resolve the discrepancy before moving. If a child cannot be accounted for, activate the missing child and emergency response immediately.

A routine sleep check was missed because staff were completing documentation.

Check every child immediately, notify the responsible person and document the missed check according to procedure. Review staffing, task allocation and the sleep plan. Documentation must be reorganised because it cannot take priority over supervision and required safety checks.

Choose the safest response

Select the best response to each situation. All three must be correct before the certificate can be unlocked.

You identify a hazard that cannot be repaired before the session begins.

A child experiences symptoms covered by their current medical management plan.

An incident may meet a serious incident or notification threshold.

Complete all three decisions.

Required learning activity

Apply the learning to your workplace

Complete each response in your own words. Do not include children’s names, medical details or unnecessary identifying information. Your responses will be included in your final completion record.

1. Identify one routine safety check you complete. What must happen when a hazard cannot be removed immediately?

2. Where are current medical plans, emergency medication, first aid equipment and emergency contacts located at your service?

3. When could cleaning, documentation or preparation compete with active supervision? How should the team control that risk?

4. Who must be contacted when an incident may be serious or notifiable, and why must escalation occur before the record is perfect?

Drafts stay in this browser on this device.

Knowledge check

Answer all questions. A score of at least seven out of eight is required.

1. What makes a daily safety check effective? Signing it before children arrive. Inspecting, controlling, communicating and following up hazards. Recording only hazards that caused injury.

2. What should happen when a medical emergency occurs? Follow the current plan, provide trained assistance and call 000 when required. Wait for the family to arrive. Use another child’s medication if it is similar.

3. Can operational tasks reduce active supervision? Yes, when the task is required by policy. Only during indoor play. No. Tasks must be reorganised when they interfere with supervision.

4. What should happen before an excursion group leaves? Every child and adult is accounted for and required plans, medication and equipment are present. The group may leave while an attendance discrepancy is checked. Only the educator to child ratio needs to be confirmed.

5. What is the first priority after an injury or serious illness? Completing the incident record. Immediate care, emergency assistance, safety and supervision. Determining whether anyone was at fault.

6. Which statement about sleep and rest checks is correct? They may be delayed while required documentation is completed. Visual monitoring from another room is always sufficient. Required checks must occur and be recorded according to current policy and risk assessment.

7. What should an incident record contain? Observable facts, care provided, contacts, advice, controls and follow up. Only the injury and family signature. Opinions about who caused the event.

8. When should a potentially notifiable incident be escalated? After the family decides it is serious. Promptly, while factual records and further information continue to be completed. At the next scheduled staff meeting.

Policies and official resources

NERPSA service policies

Current health, medical, emergency, incident, supervision, excursion, sleep, sun, water and OHS requirements.

Open policies

NERPSA website

Current organisational information and access to NERPSA resources.

Open NERPSA website

Quality Area 2

ACECQA guidance for children’s health, safety, supervision and incident management.

Open Quality Area 2

Incident policy guidance

Current ACECQA policy and procedure guidance for incident, injury, trauma and illness.

Open incident guidance

Notification timeframes

ACECQA’s current table of serious incident, complaint and other regulatory notification timeframes.

Open ACECQA timeframes

Active supervision

Six practical steps for setting up, positioning, scanning, listening, anticipating and engaging.

Open supervision guidance

Completion requirements

Before recording this course as complete, staff should have:

read each module;
considered the practice scenarios;
completed all three interactive decisions correctly;
completed the workplace reflection;
achieved at least seven out of eight in the knowledge check; and
submitted the certificate through the NERPSA Document Submission Form.

Print your course result and certificate

The print button becomes available when all four responses are complete, all three decisions are correct, you achieve at least seven out of eight, and you complete the participant declaration.

Full name

NERPSA service

Role

Email address for your records

I confirm that I completed this lesson and assessment myself, that the written responses are my own, and that I have not included unnecessary identifying or confidential information.

Complete all requirements to unlock your completion record.

The PDF contains your landscape certificate first, followed by your participant details, written responses, assessment result and declaration.

Submit the completed record through the NERPSA Document Submission Form. This submission is the only acknowledgement required. Please do not email it separately.

Preparation turns policy into protection

Safe services rely on staff noticing changes, controlling hazards, knowing individual plans, maintaining supervision, responding promptly and recording enough information for effective follow up.

Safe, Healthy and Well Prepared Services