Early Childhood Education and Care Services at Schools

Ways of working with the ECEC service manager

Where ECEC services are located at schools, principals are not responsible for the day-to-day operations of the service or the maintenance of the kindergarten facilities. However, they are responsible for the overall school site and are therefore encouraged to communicate with the ECEC service about any activities or issues that may impact school operations.

The ECEC Service Manager is responsible for all operational and policy matters relating to the ECEC service. It is recommended that principals or school leaders meet with the ECEC service managers and relevant leadership staff to maintain and establish a collaborative relationship.

Some schools find it helpful to have quarterly meetings and formalise communication protocols.

In the event of unresolved issues:

• Principals can escalate issues to the Senior Education Improvement Leader.
• Third-party ECEC Service Managers can escalate issues to the Early Childhood Improvement Branch Manager.
• ELV service managers can escalate issues to the ELV executive team.

Suggestions for discussion with the ECEC Service Manager

Communication: Connect and swap contact details, key dates and social media links, and discuss how and when communication will occur after establishment.

Child Safety: Victorian legislation requires schools, and other organisations working with children, to take specific steps to minimise the risk of child abuse. For guidance, refer to Working with Children Checks and other Suitability Checks for School Volunteers and Visitors. Schools and ECEC services will each have their own policies for child safety and must comply with the Child Safety Standards.

Enrolment: Enrolments for the ECEC services are managed by the service provider. Explore how to manage ECEC service enrolment enquiries if any come directly to the school. Some service providers will manage enrolments directly and others will go via the local council’s central registration and enrolment scheme (see Enrolment guidance for more detailed information).

Early childhood education and care queries: Families can contact the ECEC service provider for specific enquiries, including ELV or third-party providers. General advice about ECEC is available for families on the Department website, at the kinder or Early Learning Victoria sites.

Emergency management: Each organisation must have their own individual emergency management plan. School leaders and ECEC service managers are recommended to undertake joint emergency management planning. For more information about what this looks like refer to the emergency and critical incident management planning policy, and the resource on emergency management for schools on shared sites.

Occupational health and safety (OHS): Where appropriate, coordinate OHS plans. The ECEC service manager may be included in relevant school OHS meetings if mutually agreed.

Site access: Discuss site access for the provider post construction and before Term 1 commencement. Consider security protocols, site inductions and any contractor or visitor requirements.

Developing shared spaces: Discuss how to manage interactions between school students, children attending the kindergarten service, and families. Ensure child safety and site safety principles are embedded in any shared use.

Traffic management: Identify any traffic concerns related to pick-up/drop-off congestion and coordinate planning with the service and local council, noting that your local council oversees traffic management beyond school boundaries.

Maintenance and utilities: The school is not responsible for ECEC building maintenance and utilities. However, it may be helpful to discuss logistics regarding utilities such as waste management and arrangements for mail.