We created Goodstart's sick policy using Quality Area Two, Children's health and safety from the National Quality Health Standards (NQS). This quality area commits us to meeting each child’s health and safety needs. This looks like:

meeting the individual health requirements of every child
meeting their comfort requirements (sending them home when they're unwell. Or giving them the correct medication when needed.)
using effective hygiene practices (using gloves and wiping down surfaces)
managing injuries and illness (alerting centre families to infectious illnesses. And monitoring staff and children for symptoms).

The National Quality Framework (NQF) sets out seven Quality Areas the National Quality Standards (NQS). These assess and rate all early childhood education and care services in Australia.

When you should keep your child home from daycare, kindergarten or preschool

Keep your child home if they have any of these symptoms:

A temperature (over 38 degrees Celsius).
A headache.
A sore throat.
A rash you can't explain (unlike a heat rash, nappy rash or eczema).
Diarrhoea (very runny poo) or vomiting.
A cough and a runny nose.
Overtired, lethargic (very low energy) and clingy.
Their eyes are itchy, red and 'glued' together.

If their temperature isn't going down or you're worried about them, see a doctor. If they're having trouble breathing, that's an emergency and you need to call 000.

Signs and symptoms of common illnesses in children

Colds: A runny nose, fever, cough or sore throat.
The flu: Often confused with a cold but it's a different infection and can be dangerous. This infographic shows the difference between a cold and the flu.
Gastroenteritis (gastro): Stomach cramps, vomiting and diarrhoea.
Respiratory syncytial virus infection (RSV): Runny nose, cough, fever and some children get ear infections.
Conjunctivitis: Eyes are sore or itchy and red, sometimes with sticky white mucus that looks like glue.
Hand, foot and mouth disease: Blisters inside and around the mouth, on the hands on the bottom of the feet.

These illnesses spread quickly in early childhood education and care settings. But they're also easily treated and prevented with good hygiene practices at home.

Infographic courtesy of the Pharmacy Guild of Australia

Can I send my child to daycare with a cough?

Children come home with all sorts of bugs, coughs and colds. This is normal. Every parent with children in childcare can sympathise with the 'daycare cough.' As their caregiver, you know them best. If they have a bit of a cough or a runny nose that isn't 'thick' and needs constant wiping, check with your centre director for permission to bring them in.

As we all learned from COVID-19, some coughs are dangerous and highly infectious. We take the health and well-being of our Goodstart community very seriously. Your centre will respond immediately and let you know if there has been an exposure to an infectious disease. If there's a confirmed case at one of our centres, we'll do the following:

Let all our families at the centre know.
Children showing symptoms will get sent home. They'll need a doctor's note to confirm when they can return.
If your child has a confirmed case of an infectious illness, keep them home and let your centre director know what they have. They'll need to stay home until they're well again and have approval from a doctor to return to child care.

We won't use the names of any children or families in our communication. Your privacy, safety and well-being are our priority.

State and territory guidelines

You can use some resources for each state to check the guidelines around coughs, colds, stomach bugs, rashes, conjunctivitis and other infectious illnesses. If you can't find what you need here, contact the health authority for your state and ask them your question. Each link below has contact details for the government health authority in your state or territory. Select your state or territory from the list below:

Northern Territory - especially bacterial infections and viral infections

Australian Capital Territory has fact sheets and lists of communicable (infectious) diseases.

Sometimes your child won't need a doctor or medication, just time at home until their symptoms are gone. You'll need to check with your centre director and your state or territory's health guidelines.

Next steps if your child is too sick for daycare

Here's what you need to do if you've decided your child's too sick to attend childcare, kindergarten or preschool.

Make sure they're safe and comfortable. If they're having trouble breathing, call 000.
Notify your centre they're not coming in using your guardian app or your parent portal.
Call your centre director and update them on your child's absence and their symptoms. They'll advise you based on current health guidelines.
If there are some nasty infections around, they'll likely ask you to take your child to see a doctor.
You might need to get a doctor to approve your child is safe to return to childcare.
If your child needs medication, ask the doctor to give you a script. You'll need their name on the medicine to take to daycare.

Giving children medication at daycare

If your child needs medication for treatment or comfort, that's no problem at all. Our centres can give medication to children when you provide:

The medication in the original box or bottle with a pharmacy sticker showing your child's name.
Written permission from one of your child's guardians saying they can take the medication.
Written instructions on the dose (how much) of the medication they need to take.
How they need to take their medicine.
The times they need to take their medicine.
When they need to stop taking their medicine.

Staying healthy in early childhood education and care settings

Most children start childcare when their immune systems are still developing and often before they finish their childhood vaccinations at four years old. To prevent the spread of infectious diseases and to protect children who aren't old enough to be fully vaccinated, we have strict policies and procedures around vaccination and hygiene practices.

Vaccinations

We're guided by the Department of Health and Ageing’s National Immunisation Program Schedule and we ask all children to be fully immunised. Non-immunised children may be excluded and any government benefits or assistance you get (like the child care subsidy) will get suspended until their vaccinations are up to date. We also recommend:

Annual flu vaccinations for all children six months and over and their families
COVID-19 vaccinations for children over five
COVID-19 vaccinations for children over six months who are immunocompromised (have weak immune systems).
Pertussis (whooping cough) for partners, grandparents, carers and other adults who have contact with babies.

Check if your family's vaccinations are up to date by following these steps.

Hygiene practices and procedures

Our policies make sure our environments stay healthy and safe for all children and staff. To qualify for assessment under the NQS, Quality Area 3 says that 'furniture and equipment are safe, clean and well maintained.' Our centres must have the following:

Age-appropriate toilets, washing and drying facilities that children can use.
Safe and hygienic areas for nappy changing.
Indoor spaces that let a lot of air in, with natural light and kept at a temperature that supports the safety and well-being of children. We're cool in summer and warm in winter.
A laundry or access to another way of cleaning soiled clothing, nappies and linen. This includes hygienic storage before and after they've been washed. The space must be maintained in a way that doesn't pose a risk to children.

Keeping our centres hygienic, safe and pleasant for children and staff is a legal requirement. Self care routines are something that you can practice at home with your children. These help stop the spread of nasties in the centre while helping children to build habits and grow their independence. These tasks are great to practcie as a family:

Washing hands after going to the toilet and before meals.
Brushing teeth in the morning and before bed.
Wiping after going to the toilet.
Blowing noses and putting the tissues in the bin.

We hope we've helped with some of your concerns and that this article was helpful. If you have any questions about anything you've read in this article, please contact your centre director or ask your doctor.

When do I keep my child home from daycare?

Is my child too sick to go to daycare?

Our sick policy at Goodstart