Support Point Update 4 December 2018

Support Point can be contacted Monday to Friday. Support Point deal with a range of issues related to the running of an early years’ service. The Support Point team are available 9am-5pm by phone on 01 4057103 or by email at supportpoint@earlychildhoodireland.ie. If you have a query outside of these hours, please send us an email and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

HR Topic

‘Tis the season – How to avoid your Christmas party becoming a HR nightmare

The annual Christmas party is a great way of getting your team together and showing your appreciation for their hard work during the year. But as an employer, it’s important to be mindful that you are liable for the conduct of employees at such events in the same way you would be in the workplace.

Employers must ensure that there are sufficient levels of control in place to ensure inappropriate actions aren’t taken, be that harassment or inappropriate social media posts or even injury. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have a party or that you and your staff shouldn’t enjoy the event but there are simple steps you can take to avoid any serious repercussions.

• As always, communication is key. Simply remind staff that it is a work function and that the “normal” workplace rules apply.
• Managers should be clear on the various polices that apply (dignity at work, bullying/harassment, social media) and ensure those who report to them are also aware.
• If an issue occurs or a complaint is made, then the relevant policy must be invoked be it grievance or disciplinary and an investigation carried out.
• Staff are encouraged to take care of themselves and their colleagues when it comes to alcohol and to ensure they don’t take unnecessary risks in that regard
• Social Media- set out guidelines on what staff should or should not tweet or post on their accounts.
• Absence – if the event takes place mid-week staff should be reminded that they will still be expected in work the next day unless they have annual leave booked.

Finally, remember to thank your staff for the past year and remind them to have fun.

Support Point Topic

Infection Control
With the winter well underway, and wet and cold weather being a regular occurrence, it may be time to look at the infection control policy in your service.

Information that your infection control policy should include:

• Specifying the procedure to be followed in the service to protect pre-school children attending the service from the transmission of infections
• Specifying the procedure to be followed in the service to protect persons working in the service from the transmission of infections
• The policy should include information on: hand hygiene, toileting/nappy changing, sickness exclusion, cleaning and dealing with outbreaks of infectious diseases.
• It’s always important to keep in mind notifying Tusla of any notifiable diseases, like incidences of the winter vomiting bug (norovirus). A list of notifiable diseases can be found here.

The following documents may be helpful when reviewing your infection control policy.
Management of Infectious Disease in Childcare Facilities and Other Childcare Settings

Management of Infectious Disease in Schools

Christmas plays/concerts, children and consent
Coming into the Christmas period brings with it a lot of exciting times for children, and their parents too, such as plays, carol concerts and other events meant to celebrate and mark the holiday season. With parents rightfully proud of their children, and with the ubiquitous smartphone in hand and a desire to record the event for posterity, it is important to consider the GDPR and consent implications that this has for children.

Recognisable images captured by photos and video are considered personal data. They are therefore subject to the provisions of the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) 2018. If you are allowing photos and videos to be taken at your Christmas event parents/guardians should be made aware of this. Parents/guardians should also know what the images and videos may be used for and that their consent should be sought before photos and videos can be taken. Parents/guardians should also be aware of how they use any photos they take are used, what children are they identifying besides their own on social media?

In addition to this, as an educator it would also be a valuable experience to ask the children if they are comfortable with their picture and video being taken – a quick question of ‘is it ok for people to take your photo during your performance?’ will go a long way. Child-centred practices like these make us mindful of the number of photos we have and what they are used for, while respecting the child’s right to privacy and dignity.

Support Point Question of the Week

Q. Santa will be visiting our service in the run up to Christmas and the children are very excited. Should we ensure that Santa is vetted before visiting the service?
A. No, although the Childcare Regulations 2016 and the Quality and Regulatory Framework both stipulate that any person who has direct contact with children should be Garda vetted, in this case Santa would not be unsupervised and would only be in the service for a short amount of time.