<Service name>
Hygiene and Infection Control Policy
Maintaining an effective level of hygiene is one of the most important and regularly
implemented practices in a service. Effective hygiene strategies and practices assist services
to protect all persons from, and minimise the potential risk of, disease and illness.
Many of the hygiene habits developed during childhood will continue throughout life.
Services should demonstrate to children the hygiene practices which reduce the likelihood of
cross infection and explain the reasons for them. Experiences that promote basic hygiene
awareness assist children to become competent and independent, and develop valuable life
skills.
A service should be committed to protecting its stakeholders through the implementation and
monitoring of simple hygiene and infection control strategies.
Services should regularly review policies in collaboration with educators, families, and if
appropriate, children; and seek recommendations from recognised authorities. The date the
policy is reviewed should be clearly documented on the policy.
Policy Number
<number>
Link to CCQA Principles
Family Day Care Quality Assurance (FDCQA)
Quality Practices Guide (2004) – Principles 4.2, 4.3, 4.4 /
Outside School Hours Care Quality Assurance (OSHCQA)
Quality Practices Guide (2003) – Principles 6.2, 6.3 /
Quality Improvement and Accreditation System (QIAS) Quality
Practices Guide (2005) – Principles 6.2, 6.3, 6.4
Policy statement

The service promotes hygienic practices and prevents the spread of infections
through the following strategies:
o effective handwashing
o hygienic cleaning techniques
o hygienic handling, storage and disposal of body fluids
o maintenance of a hygienic environment
o knowledge of infectious diseases and exclusion guidelines
o having current identifying and excluding sick children and educators
o promoting immunisation and maintaining records of children’s and educators’
immunisation.

<Service name> has a duty of care to ensure that all persons1 are provided with a
high level of protection2 during the hours of the service’s operation.
For the purpose of this policy, 'persons' include <children, families, educators, carers' family, management,
coordination unit educators, ancillary educators (administrative educators, kitchen educators, cleaners,
maintenance personnel), students, volunteers, visitors, local community, school community, licensee, sponsor and/or
service owner>.
2 For the purpose of this policy, ‘protection’ is defined as the service ensuring that it provides a high level of hygiene
to minimise the risk of infection from disease or illness.
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Rationale
The rationale represents a statement of reasons that detail why the policy and/or procedures
have been developed and are important to the service.
Please refer to:
 National Health and Medical Research Council. (2005). Staying healthy in child care:
Preventing infectious disease in child care (4th ed.). Canberra: Author.
Strategies and practices
These are examples. Services are encouraged to develop and adapt the following strategies
and practices as required to meet their individual circumstances.
Standard precautions
‘Standard precautions’ (or Universal Precautions) are used primarily in medical and healthrelated professions, but are also relevant to children’s services. They are a set of practices
that assist in minimising the risk of cross infection and providing a basic level of infection
control. The precautions support the assumption that all body fluids3 are potentially infectious,
therefore all persons are treated equitably when implementing hygiene practices to minimise
cross infection and to protect everyone.
Some of these practices, which are relevant to children’s services are:
 handwashing
 hygienic cleaning techniques
 using protective products and equipment, such as gloves
 safe handling and disposal of body fluids
 safe storage of materials that have come into contact with body fluids; and
 maintaining a hygienic environment.
(School of Medicine, Flinders University, 2010)
Handwashing
 Services should consider the following reflective questions:
o Why, how, when and where do children and educators wash and dry their
hands?
o How does the age and developmental level of a child affect how they wash
and dry their hands?
o How does the service support children with additional needs to wash and dry
their hands?
o How do children and educators wash and dry their hands when they have
abrasions, cuts or open wounds? What practices are implemented?
o Where there is no running water available, how does the service ensure that
effective handwashing, or a similar practice, is able to be implemented?
o How does the service communicate effective handwashing to stakeholders?
For example, are there posters displaying handwashing techniques or signs
near sinks to remind people to wash their hands?
 Services should state how hygiene practices are maintained during excursions,
especially during vacation care or where the excursion venue has no handwashing
facilities. If antiseptic gels or wet-wipes are required, what is the service’s rationale for
using these methods?
 If the outside school hours service uses facilities owned and maintained by an external
operator, for example a service on the same grounds as a primary school, the service
should consider the following reflective questions:
For the purpose of this policy, body fluids are defined as mucus, saliva (including air-borne droplets), urine, faeces,
and blood.
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o
o
o
How does the service ensure that adequate handwashing facilities and
products, such as soap and paper towels are available for children and
educators?
How does the service encourage children to wash their hands effectively
when educators are unable to supervise children in bathrooms or toilets?
What strategies do educators implement to ensure that children maintain
effect hygiene strategies?
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
Use of gloves
 Services should consider the following reflective questions:
o When do educators wear gloves and is this clearly identified in a written
procedure?
o How is handwashing used in conjunction with glove wearing?
Use of dangerous products
The term ‘products’ is a broad term and services may decide to address the chemicals used
for handwashing, cleaning and washing in another policy.
 Services can link this section by stating:
Please refer to the service’s Dangerous Products Policy.
Safe handling of body fluids or materials in contact with body fluids4
 Services should consider the following reflective question:
o How does the service handle different body fluids?
o How do educators transfer materials, which have come in contact with body
fluids, to a storage space? For example, when a child has had a toileting
accident outdoors, how do educators transfer the clothing from the child to a
bucket?
o How do educators clean body fluids from a child? Does this reflect the
service’s toileting and/or nappy changing procedures?
o How do educators clean materials that have come in contact with body
fluids?
o How is the clothing cleaned? Is it stored until the child is collected? Does the
service launder the clothing?
Safe storage of materials in contact with body fluids
 Services should consider the following reflective question:
o How does the service store materials that have been in contact with body
fluids? For example, clothing that is soiled with blood or faeces.
o What equipment is used to store materials? Does this equipment reflect the
service’s occupation health and safety standards? For example, are the bins
used for soiled materials out of reach of children and do they have lids?
 Services can link some practices in this section by stating:
Please refer to the service’s Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Policy.
Safe washing of all materials
 Services should consider the following reflective questions:
o How does the service wash materials?
o How are materials dried after washing?
For the purpose of this policy, ‘materials in contact with body fluids’ can be defined as cloth nappies, children’s
clothing, educators/carer clothing, tissues, face wipes, cleaning cloths, paper towels, kitchen tea towels, linen used
for resting or sleeping, cushion covers, dramatic props and dress ups, children’s toys and resources, such as puppets,
teddy bears, felt books.
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o
o
How can children’s play and learning experiences be incorporated in the
practice of washing and drying materials? For example, how can children
assist educators to hang out washed clothing or linen, wash toys or art and
craft equipment? Are children able to assist educators when folding
materials?
How often are different materials washed in the service? For example,
 cleaning cloths
 clothing used in dress ups
 cloths used during nappy changes
 cushion covers
 face cloths
 kitchen tea towels
 linen used during rest or sleep
 soft toys.
Safe disposal of body fluids or materials in contact with body fluids
 Services should consider the following reflective questions:
o How does the service dispose of body fluids?
o Are there different types of disposal practices for specific materials? For
example, how does the service dispose of nappies, gloves, wipes, paper
towels, tampons/sanitary napkins, tissues and toilet paper.
Maintaining clean and hygienic environments
 The service can state how it maintains the hygienic status of each play and learning
environment including objects. For example,
o babies rest and sleep areas, such as cots
o mouthed toys, dummies, bottles and teats
o children’s bathrooms and nappy change areas
o kitchen and laundry
o mealtime and/or snack areas.
 The service can decide if it includes the procedures for cleaning each area in this
section, along with any products used to maintain a clean and hygienic environment.
 Services should consider the following reflective questions:
o How often is the service cleaned throughout the day?
o If there are different environments to clean, such as a babies nursery and an
older care room, are there different cleaning practices and what are they?
o Who performs cleaning tasks in the service?
o Is the service cleaned daily and by whom? For example, by a contract
cleaner, ancillary staff or other.
Immunisation
 Services can link this section by stating:
Please refer to the service’s Immunisation and Health Related Exclusion Policy.
Exclusion guidelines for an infectious disease
 Services can link this section by stating:
Please refer to the service’s Immunisation and Health Related Exclusion Policy.
Meeting children’s individual needs
Common daily procedures, such as toileting, nappy changing and nose wiping need to
meet recommended hygiene and infection control practices. However, these procedures
also require positive interactions between children and educators, and an understanding of
children individual needs. It may be useful to discuss these common daily procedures in
another policy.
 Services can link this section by stating:
Please refer to the service’s Supporting Children’s Individual Needs Policy.
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Communication with different stakeholders
Children
 It is important for the service to discuss how it will meet the individual needs of, and
protect, children.
 Services should consider the following reflective questions:
o How is handwashing addressed in play and learning experiences?
o How are children involved in learning about the importance of handwashing?
For example, children can produce their own handwashing signs for the
service.
Families
 It is important for the service to discuss how it will meet the individual needs of families.
Educators
 It may be useful for services to state how it supports educators to implement best
practices where they work alone with children.
 Services can link this section by stating:
Please refer to the service’s Child Protection Policy.
 Services should consider the following reflective question:
o How do services support educators to minimise the risk of cross infection?
Management/Coordination unit educators
 Services should consider the following reflective questions:
o How does the service promote hygienic practices? For example, the service
may display written and visual information for children, families and educators.
o How does the service promote the awareness of hygiene practices and
infection control? For example, the service may arrange for health care
professionals to visit the service to discuss with stakeholders about safe and
effective hygiene practices.
Privacy and confidentiality
 The right for children and families to be afforded a level of privacy and confidentiality
in regards to children’s health is paramount.
 Services can link this section by stating:
Please refer to the service’s Privacy and Confidentiality Policy.
Experiences


The service can describe how it plans to encourage the modelling of positive hygiene
and infection control practices, such as washing hands after going to the toilet and
washing before handling food.
Services should consider the following reflective question:
o How are play and learning experiences related to children’s age and
development? For example, when children are toilet training and learning the
process of washing hands.
Excursions
 Services should consider the following reflective questions:
o How does the service ensure that infection control practices are implemented
on an excursion?
o How does the service ensure that there are handwashing facilities available at
the excursion venue or location?
o How do educators safely handle, store or dispose of body fluids on an
excursion?
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Monitoring tools
The service may further specify tools that assist in measuring the effectiveness of the policy.
Services can use a variety of methods to ensure that hygiene practices and infection controls
guidelines are understood, endorsed and implemented by stakeholders. For example:
 The service can measure the knowledge and practices of educators by:
o establishing educator, student and volunteer induction procedures whereby a
‘buddy’ is assigned to demonstrate the service’s practices and procedures; or
o implementing an informal training session by placing an agenda item at
meetings to discuss a routine or procedure, such as nappy change. Educators
can demonstrate a nappy change routine and discuss: the hygiene practices;
the safety of children being changed; any difficulties; and the importance of
interactions. Educators can then initial and date the minutes of the meeting to
establish that they observed and are aware of the service’s nappy change
procedure.
 The service can measure the knowledge of families by:
o placing a survey or quiz in the newsletter about the service’s hygiene practices
o encouraging participation in policy review
o indicating on the enrolment form during orientation that the family has been
informed about the policy and practices.
 The service can measure the knowledge and practices of children by:
o incorporating hygiene strategies and practices in play and learning
experiences and plans.
Links to other policies
The following are a list of examples:
 Child protection
 Employment of edcators
 First aid
 Illness
 Immunisation and health related exclusion
 Maintenance of buildings and equipment
 Medication
 Occupational health and safety
 Privacy and confidentiality
 Supporting children’s individual needs
Source

National Health and Medical Research Council. (2005). Staying healthy in child care:
Preventing infectious disease in child care (4th ed.). Canberra: Author.
Further reading





Childcare and Children’s Health. (2005). Infection control and some common
infections in young children. Childcare and Children’s Health, 8 (3), 1-4.
Matthews, C. (2004). Healthy children: A guide for child care (2nd ed.). NSW: Elsevier.
Oberklaid, F. (2004). Health in early childhood settings. NSW: Pademelon Press.
Owens, A. (2003). Handwashing and nose wiping. Childcare and Children’s Health, 6
(2), 1-2.
Flinders University School of Medicine. (2010). Health advisory booklet for medical
students. Retrieved 24 June, 2010, from
http://www.flinders.edu.au/shadomx/apps/fms/fmsdownload.cfm?file_uuid=763E2CC
8-C1B8-099B-DE12-1C7F2699DA09&siteName=medicine
Current as at September 2010
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Policy created date
<date>
Policy review date
<date>
Signatures
<signatures>
Current as at September 2010
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