📒Nappy Change & Toileting Policy (QA2)

National Quality Standard (NQS) - Quality Area 2: Children's Health and Safety

Implementation

Woodlands accepts enrolments of children who have not yet been toilet trained. Delete if not aligned with your situation.  Nappy Change and Toileting transpires at designated routine times and when meeting children’s individual needs. Educators will collaborate with parents to develop stability with their child’s nappy change and toileting practices. Educators must be responsive to special requirements related to culture, religion, or privacy needs. 

Toileting and nappy change will be carried out at frequent intervals throughout the day, children who are in nappies will have each nappy change recorded in the Nappy Change Register by Educators.  This is situated <insert area>for parents to check.

Having their needs met quickly and in a caring responsive way builds children’s sense of trust and security. Children also benefit from having the pleasant sensory experience of being free of a nappy and the comfort of having a fresh, dry nappy. It is also important to remember that the way that Early Childhood Educators react to soiled or wet nappies, toileting needs, and accidents gives children powerful messages about themselves and their bodies.

Meeting children’s physical needs, nappy changing and toileting is an imperative time for Educators to:

• Conduct one to one interactions with children, and to give them your full attention 
• Build trusting and caring relationships with children
• Interact with children using verbal and non-verbal communication, and respond to children’s communication 
• Participate in age-appropriate activities with children, such as singing, saying rhymes and doing fingerplays
•  Build children’s understanding of what is happening by inviting them to the bathroom, supporting their capability to predict what will happen next in the routine
•  Help children begin to develop and extend their self-help skills, which includes handwashing and dressing and encouraging children to identify the feeling of accomplishment and gratification that comes with this.
• All Educators will carry out nappy changing, however at times if a student is required to carry out this as part of their practical requirements - they will be under constant the supervision of a qualified Educator. Should a parent be in the bathroom helping their child, a staff member must accompany any other children needing to use the bathroom at the same time.
• Appropriate hygiene practices must be maintained and procedures followed to minimise any risk of infection at all times. Educators will continuously promote healthy hygiene practices and handwashing procedures; encouraging the children to follow these practices. 
• The Approved Provider will: 
•  Provide adequate and appropriate hygienic facilities for nappy changing
•  Ensure nappy change facilities are designed and located in a way that prevents unsupervised access by children which is compliant with National Regulations and Health and Safety Standards
• Ensure that adult and children’s handwashing facilities are located within the nappy change area
• Consult the Building Code of Australia for requirements concerning nappy change benches (Centre-based services.)
•  Ensure that the nappy change facilities are designed and maintained in a way that facilitates the supervision of children at all times, having regard to the need to maintain the rights and dignity of the children
• Ensure nappy change bins have a ‘hands-free’ lid
•  Ensure nappy bins are located out of children’s reach, in a child-proof cupboard where possible
•  Ensure the Nappy change procedure remains compliant and up to date. 

The Nominated Supervisor will: 

• Implement policies, procedures, and training with educators to ensure nappy change procedures that support children’s safety, protection, relationships, and learning. 
• Develop systems with educators to ensure that soiled clothing and soiled nappies are disposed of or stored in a location children cannot access.
• Ensure children’s nappies are changed at scheduled intervals.
• Ensure Educators check nappies throughout the day to ensure children are not susceptible to nappy rash and discomfort. A system to record this routine will be maintained for reporting purposes which will be kept up to date. 
• Ensure nappy change and handwashing procedures are displayed visually and in community languages as appropriate in the nappy change area.
• Ensure nappy bins are emptied once during the day and at the end of each day. This may need to be done more regularly if there are soiled nappies.                                                                                                                                        Educators will:
• Discuss children’s individual needs professionally with families to ensure practices are reflective of their home environment and are culturally sensitive
• Provide information to families regarding children’s nappy change outlines 
•  Utilise nappy change times to interact with children on an individual basis. The nappy change time will allow educators to converse, sing, play, and generally interact with the child. This time allows educators and children to learn more about each other and understand each child’s personality and personal strengths
•  Organise the nappy change area to promote positive interactions and promote positive learning experiences, e.g. place pictures or mobiles to stimulate children’s interactions and to encourage learning.
• Ensure physical contact and direct supervision with children throughout the nappy change experience
• Ensure no child is left alone on a nappy change mat or bench
• Keep nappy change areas fully stocked with all required materials at all times. 
• Nappy Change and Toileting supplies are readily accessible to staff to ensure efficiency and the health and safety of each child.
• Encourage mobile children to walk to the nappy change area. 
• Assist the child to walk up the steps onto the nappy change bench to decrease monotonous movements by educators and to promote children’s agency. Where a child is not walking, educators will follow manual handling practices to lift and carry the child to the nappy change mat.
•  Follow service’s documentation requirements for nappy changing and toileting  

Nappy Changing Procedure

Changing

1. The person changing the nappy should wash their hands three times during the entire procedure: before they start, after changing the nappy and after cleaning the change table.
2. Educators should ensure the required equipment is available and within reach prior to beginning the nappy change. During a nappy change, a child should never be left alone on the change table and physical contact should always be maintained with the child.
3. Educators must always ensure to wear disposable gloves when changing nappies and dealing with toileting accidents.
4. Paper or a similar product must be placed on change mats – (this is to be discarded with the old nappy and gloves, prior to the new nappy and clothes being put on)
5. Educators should position themselves directly in front of the child – Remove the child’s nappy and soiled clothes.
6. Educators must place soiled disposable nappies in a closed bin lined with a plastic bag.
7.  Soiled clothes must be sealed in a plastic bag and sent home with the family at the end of the day.
8. Clean the child’s bottom, wiping from front to back with a moist disposable wipe and dispose into a plastic bag. (Keep all wipes, soiled nappies, and clothes inaccessible to children)
9. Remove the paper and put it in a hands-free lidded bin
10. Remove gloves before you touch the child’s clean clothes, by peeling them back from your wrists. Do not let your skin touch the contaminated surface of the gloves, dispose of gloves in a plastic bag to minimise cross infection.
11. Place a clean nappy on the child
12. Wash your hands and dress the child
13. Take child away from change table or area and ensure that the child washes their hands.

Applying Creams, Lotions and Powders during the nappy changing procedure:

Where written authorisation is provided for the use of creams, lotions or powders Educators should:

• After disposing of gloves Place the nappy under the child and before closing the nappy, apply the product using a clean glove
• Remove glove and dispose
• Finish securing nappy and dress child.

Cleaning:

14. The nappy change area including the mat, bench tops, bin, soap and paper towel dispensers and other surfaces touched throughout the day should be cleaned using a detergent-based product and a paper towel. Discard the paper towel.

15. Educators must ensure to wash their hands following the cleaning procedure.

Recording and communication

16. Educators must ensure to log the nappy change information on the Xplor app to ensure that the child’s toileting incidents can be shared with families. Where a child is checked, but not changed, this should also be recorded.

Toilet Training:

• Woodlands accepts enrolments of children who have not yet been toilet trained.  Toileting occurs at any time of the day and is specific to individual needs. Educators will communicate with parents/guardians to develop consistency with their child’s toileting habits. Educators must be aware of and consider any special requirements related to culture, religion, or privacy needs.
•  Decisions about when to begin toilet training will be made by families or may occur through shared decision making between families and early childhood professionals. This decision is based on mutual respect and open communication, which is crucial for a good outcome. Families may have strong views and preferences about when and how their child learns to use the toilet, which may come from their cultural background or individual preferences which must be respected by Educators and Staff.  
• The priority of the individual child’s wellbeing is paramount, and the decision to begin assisting the child to learn to use the toilet should be based on signs of readiness from the child and discussion with families. 

Early signs of readiness, will often start to appear when children are around 18-24 months old and may include:

• Showing interest in the toilet, including having an interest in others using the toilet
• Indicating a need to go to the toilet either before, or while they are passing urine or doing a poo.
• Staying dryer for longer
• Begins to dislike wearing a nappy and perhaps tried to pull it off when it’s wet or soiled
• Indicating a desire to sit on the toilet.
• It is important to keep the process subdued and not place unnecessary attention and pressure on the child to prosper. Acknowledging children’s successes, no matter how infrequent or small is vital for their self-esteem and confidence. Families and Educators can expect accidents, which should be treated respectfully and in a supportive manner. 
• Educators and families will collaborate and communicate how toilet learning is going, both in care and at home. This will support children to become more familiar and comfortable with the toilet training process. Children should be given the opportunity to complete the toileting procedure, such as toileting, washing hands, flushing the toilet, keeping the bathroom environment clean independently, while at the same time keeping in mind the importance of hygiene and providing assistance when needed.
• During this milestone, children should be empowered and encouraged to be successful. Toilet training varies for individual children, as Educators, we can take advantage of the child being in a group and the many opportunities that provide for learning from each other. Educators and Families need to remember that comparing children is inappropriate and unacceptable behaviour.