Parent’s guide

1. Parent’sguide BestLife Consulting www.bestlife-coaching.net Facebook: BestLife for Children M: 0410 131 880 E: paula@bestlife-coaching.com Have a “Plan B” available if there is an urgent need to make a sudden change to where your child goes to child care. This is actually one of the primary reasons children remain in care, even after a parent realizes there is something not right. Parents are often trapped into their jobs and routines and find it very difficult to make a necessary decision even after the evidence is clear that they should. Having a backup plan available will help if there is a sudden and unexpected need to change the care arrangements. It can be traumatic for the parent and child to send them back into a potentially unsafe environment. BestLife Consulting BestLife Consulting Hiring someone to take care of your children is one of the biggest decisions any parent can make. Important questions you can ask; Has the service been assessed under the National Quality Framework, and what was the rating? Can you see the quality improvement plan? How are your staff and volunteers screened and selected?" Does the centre support and practice age appropriate protective behaviours training with children? Choosing a Safe Child Care Centre BestLife Consulting accepts no liability for the content of this document or for the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the information provided. You are notified that unauthorized copying, distributing or duplicating of this information is strictly prohibited without consent of BestLife Consulting. “When an unsafe situation arises, all a child has to rely on is what you have taught them and the action taken by the adults supervising them”

2. You might want to visit several different child care centres or family day care homes, before you decide which one is best for your family. • Call each centre and schedule an appointment for your visit.  Once you are there, stay for at least an hour to watch activities, check the surroundings, and ask questions. • Ensure you pop into the centre when you are not expected to get a better idea of what it's really like. • Legitimate day care operators will be willing to have a prospective parent drop by and observe. • Visit the ACECQA website to search accredited childcare providers in your area. This also allows you to review their most recent NQS rating. The parent checklists have been organised into 4 categories; Leadership Training Safety Your overall impressions The Choosing a Safe Child Care Centre checklist is a guide to help you assess aspects of the safety of each centre. You may find the centre cannot answer your questions. If you require professional guidance on answers given refer to either the national body for childcare centre accreditation guides from ACECQAor your state regulatory body to inquire about standard policies and procedures which should be in place. http://www.acecqa.gov.au/Contact-your-Regulatory-Authority. Ask each centre about their quality improvement plan to address any gaps you observe. The free checklist is available on the BestLIfe Consulting website. http://www.bestlife-coaching.net/bestlife-for-children---parent-resources.html More and more, research tells us that our children's healthy development depends on safe and positive experiences during the first few years of life.  Choosing child care is one of the most important decisions you will ever make for your child. To help you make the right choice for your child, this guide has been designed by Parents for Parents. This guide serves two key objectives; Provide a checklist to objectively assess safety aspects of the child care services on offer Encourage you to reflect on your overall impression of each centre. This guide focuses on Safety and Keeping Your Child Safe from abuse. Other guides may exists which help you evaluate other important factors such as education, nutrition and fun. This is not covered in our checklist. BestLife Consulting BestLife Consulting BestLife Consulting Are you prepared to protect the ones you love? This checklist has been designed by parents for parents

3. ParentCentre Safety Checklist Leadership BestLife Consulting

4. ParentCentre Safety Checklist Training BestLife Consulting

5. ParentCentre Safety Checklist Safety BestLife Consulting

6. ParentCentre Safety Checklist Impressions BestLife Consulting

7. BestLife Consulting services for child care centres We are empowering Parents to use this checklist to keep their children safe. Will my child be safe from abuse at your centre? • Do you want parents to choose your centre and child care organisation as the Safest centre/s in their local community? • Do you want to have the culture, policies, procedures and training in place to tick the boxes on this checklist? • Do you have the experience to identify at risk children at your centre? If not what else can you do to play your part in our community to stop abuse? • Do you want to stand out to Parents for the proactive role you play in implementing and practicing a protective behaviours curriculum? What BestLife Consulting can do for you • Deliver a Keeping Children Safe from Sexual Abuse education session to your Parents • Mystery shop, audit and report on your centre against the Choosing a Safe Child Care Centre Checklist • Put you in touch with resources and training to close the gaps between where you are now in regards to Safety and where you would like to be in the future • For more information please call Paula on • M: 0410 131 880 • www.bestlife-coaching.net • Facebook: BestLife for Children • E: paula@bestlife-coaching.com