Earlier this week, a two-year-old boy named Lachlan died after falling into a pool at a Perth family day care centre. His parents said that Lachlan’s death was preventable, but remained grateful for family day care as “an important part of their son’s development”.
In a statement, Lachlan’s parents said:
“As a family we strongly support change in legislation or regulations that would make family day care safer for children, providing peace of mind to families.
In particular, requirements of day care environments with pools or near water need to be assessed as high risk, with appropriate criteria to counteract any safety concerns. For example, a minimum fence height of 1.8m or more and stricter guidelines about access to outdoor areas.”
The Perth family day care centre would remain closed while the incident was investigated. In a statement by the City of Wanneroo, a pool safety inspection was conducted at the centre in March by Royal Life Saving – which found the pool complied with requirements. The pool was gated and secure, and the operator also held a valid first aid certificate.
(News Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-11/toddler-found-in-day-care-pool-dies-in-hospital/6931504)
At ‘My Place’ Family Day Care, child safety is our number one priority. Our Service has very strict guidelines especially on pool safety. All Family Day Care homes with pools must have a current Pool Safety Certificate, and a copy of this Certificate is kept on the Educator’s file. During regular home visits, the Coordinator will monitor the environment and identify any safety issues all around the Educator’s home.
As summer has arrived, the Educators’ pools will be used more frequently by their own families as well. In non-working hours, the Educators are encouraged to daily assess any pool safety risk by checking the pool fence line, pool gate and inside of the pool area.
Each Educator holds a current first aid certificate and is diligent in ensuring all objects which can enable a child to climb near or on the pool fence are removed.
For more information about current Pool Safety Requirements please follow this link: https://www.qbcc.qld.gov.au/home-building-owners/pool-safety/pool-safety-compliance
If you would like to enquire about our ‘My Place’ Family Day Care Service, please e-mail FDCadmin@ich.org.au or call (07) 3372 1711. We always welcome new Parents/Families and Educators to join our growing family!