Childcare

Answer

Situational Analysis  

Child care is a vital activity offered by schools to train learners on essential skills to help them in their future lives. Generally, schools offer several policies to guide curriculum development and address students' issues as they grow.  La Creche Avenue, a child care center, is a policy center where the management of children and babies is carried out to offer essential training. This paper will provide an analysis of this institution to provide a situational analysis of the learning environment using ACECQA areas 1-4 and reflect on crucial policies and how they are applied.

Part A: situational analysis

La Creche Avenue, a child care center, is a privately owned educational institute for babies aged six weeks to children not older than five. In its management, this institution applies principles of National Quality Framework such as priority to rights and interest of children, success and competence of children, and equity and inclusion of all learners in learning activities. Given the number of students in this center, behavioral management is provided by the code of conduct. According to the code of conduct, trainers are expected to act concerning all learners’ interests while respecting all children's rights with necessary advocacy to children's rights. Further, the code of conduct requires reorganizing all children in this center, teamwork with children to help them understand and respect the unique association between children and their families.

. Except for sick off, leave, and other emergencies, trainers are expected to attend to children every day, beginning from 7:30 am to 5:30 pm every Monday to Friday. Upon completing a full year in service, full time or part-time employees are entitled to 4 weeks annual leave, and ten seek off given the written medical evidence (La Creche on the Avenue). Consequently, Ombudsman's fair work has provisions for a stand down, indicating that the employer can send an employee home if there is no useful work carried out. Further, employees are not entitled to any pay during standoff while shut down is allowed during specific periods such as Christmas, and employees can be advised to take leave during such shutdowns. During severe weather conditions, the employer may be forced to shut down the center, and in such cases, the employer is not compelled to pay educators following the unwanted weather conditions. 

According to the organization of activities in the center, the teaching program's full intent is embraced. In this case, the needs of babies and children aged three years and below are applied as a guide for staff duty for offering assistance (King, 2013). On the other hand, the center has relief educators offering critical services to babies based on their vulnerable ages as children aged three years are also given special attention. Among the staff, duties offer education from curriculum to life skills such as giving food to hungry babies and training children aged three years to eat. In respect to early childhood development guidelines, La Creche on the Avenue promotes professionalism by providing permission provisions for emergencies required by staff or children in the center.   

Concerning ACECQA, educators' keeping up to date requires continuous learning and practices to theories of educator practices. Thus the curriculum outlines service provision criteria for staff members to acquire correct training skills that will help meet the needs of babies and children aged three years (Fleet & Patterson, 2012). Among the curriculum, outlines are child protection training, additional educator training on first aid areas, and other essential needs. Since educators are issued a pair of uniforms, all employees are expected to put on their uniforms during official working hours. On the other hand, skirts and dresses are prohibited, but all shorts must be at the knee level.      

The management at the center applies the use of social media in meeting their daily activities. There is a communication Facebook page for internal staff, together with an inclusive public page. The main reasons for creating this Facebook page include keeping track of activities in the center and collecting parents' views on programs and activities offered. This platform is also used for seeking educators’ opinions on how children and babies in this facility can be effectively managed. 

Part B: Reflection on critical policies

Concerning La Creche on the Avenue staff handbook, key policies include an expected relationship between educators, children, and parents. Subsequent considerations are provided for the employer to employee relationship, personal grooming, and social media use, given this platform's misuse (Andamon & Woo, 2019). The policies also focus on employees’ entitlement and exceptional cases that will not attract compensation to educators. In the event of contract termination, the policies provide guidelines that are followed for the contract to come to an end.

According to the described policies, their application is evident in children's and babies' training and guiding associations between children and their parents. The policies further indicate their application when defining a working day, reporting, departure time, school resources, and movement in different areas. Since the center brings together individuals from diverse backgrounds, the policies are essential for creating peaceful coexistence as different stakeholders perform their roles to meet critical objectives. Policies are also responsible for defining reporting channels in case of conflicts within the center.

In conclusion, La Creche on the Avenue is a policy and educational center that helps train babies and children. However, the attainment of appropriate training is only possible when policies are implemented to manage operational activities in the center. Among the policies presented are the code of conduct, school policy, and curriculum approaches. Reflection of these policies indicates many functions gained to ensure that employees meet the training young learners' objectives. Review of association with parents, using school resources, and personal appearance indicates the policies' effectiveness regarding ACECQA area 1-4.