Are you keen to improve the safety of your staff and children? If so, you can get proactive and organise a Test and Tag session today. Under the National Quality Standard, an ‘Exceeding‘ rating is the gold standard for childcare centres across Australia. If you get that rating, you’ll also gain many important benefits. They include
- attracting and retaining the best staff,
- attracting new families,
- pricing power in a competitive market.
There are many actions that you must take in order to qualify as ‘Exceeding’ so there is no silver bullet. Of course, a child-focused culture is important. You can’t make compliance an afterthought so it needs to be at the core of centre operations.
When you refer to the ACECQA website you’ll find Quality Area 3 – Physical Environment of the National Quality Standards. Element 3.1.2 is titled ‘Upkeep’ and states that “Premises, furniture and equipment are safe, clean and well maintained.” [ACECQA, 2022]
How Test and Tag can help get you rated ‘Exceeding’
At SydTag, we are specialists in electrical appliance Test & Tag. Given how much activity happens in a centre, it is normal for some wear and tear. We check for damage or faults that could result in an electric shock or even fatal electrocution. In doing so, we support childcare centres in their quest to comply with Element 3.1.2 of the National Quality Standards and obtain or retain your ‘Exceeding’ rating.
The Test and Tag Process
One of our testing engineers will come to you and complete our standard process for a childcare centre.
- Inspect the centre to identify which electrical appliances and cables require testing
- Test each appliance using specialist equipment
- Apply a tag that is personalised to your centre to the cable of each appliance. The tag confirms when and by whom it was checked as well as when it is due for reinspection. Most appliances will receive a passing tag. However, some will receive a failing tag which means that they could be dangerous to use.
- Provide you with a comprehensive report outlining the results of each item tested
On the Day
We won’t let this process interfere with your daily programming. You can promote your commitment to safety by informing your staff and families that SydTag has carried out a comprehensive test and that all items remaining in the centre are safe to use. You’ll want to retain the report we provide as part of your portfolio of demonstrated actions for the Australian Children’s Education & Care Quality Authority. Given it demonstrates commitment to the creation of a safe working environment, this report is also of great value if you are visited by SafeWork NSW.
We’re here to help. Contact us today to get started
