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RISK MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR A CHILDCARE CENTRE

Prepared By:

Name

Institution Affiliation

BSBRK501: Manage Risk

Presented to:

Instructors Name

Institution Affiliation

Date of Submission
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Risk Management Plan for a Childcare Centre

Description of the Organisation

My Childcare Centre is known as Levis Day Care Centre which is mandated with

ensuring high-quality upkeep for children who are enrolled in the institution. The institution

has a capacity of holding one hundred children and is managed by the parents and is located

in Western Australia. The director is the head of the institution and the child center manager

is entrusted with overseeing the daily activities of the institution. The child center runs from

Monday to Friday for ten hours; from seven in the morning to five in the evening. The child

care manager is entrusted with providing care as well as supervising how the children are

catered for in the institution through directing daily operations and all the center personnel

(Lim et al., 2010). The manager is also tasked with ensuring that daily activities such as

tailored development, implementation of children programs, coordination of the child

caregivers and lively interactions with the parents and guardians go on smoothly.

The child care manager is entrusted with creating of programs and events for all the

children having special needs as well as those with disabilities. In addition, the center

manager oversees the business activities that the center engages in and other related tasks

such as the keeping of books and other particular administrative obligations. The institution

has around twenty-five childcare workers who assist in ensuring that the child care center

provides high-quality care to the children. The childcare workers also keep direct

communication with the families thereby ensuring that they provide the best welfare that is in

the interest if the child (Goldfeld et al., 2016). Moreover, the child care workers greatly

contribute in developing and implementing the program in the institution, and they work

under the care center manager who is always present in the institution. The child care workers

are also entrusted with equipping the children with relevant early childhood education and

positively socialize with the children through nurturing their self-esteem and confidence.
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Risks in Terms of Industry Sector Requirements

Opening a child care center comes with various risks that come with the requirements

of any child care center. Leading the factors is the expensive nature of opening any child care

center more so our institution which is a non-profitable center aimed at helping members of

the local communities and specific groups (Li et al., 2014). The cost of constructing and

equipping any child care center requires considerably good amounts of money as there are

standards set by the state of any child care center. The center has to have toilets, sinks of

appropriate height, books, toys, refrigerator, and drinking water among other requirements.

Furthermore, each parent comes with their own expectations and requirements that they need

the institution to have even though there are subsidies by the government. The state recently

introduced a benchmarking rate by a commission that expects all the child care centers to

meet. It is, therefore, worth noting that our institution has to meet these requirements

regardless of the high number of children it caters for on a daily basis. The child care center

also has to have facilities that accommodate children of the different ages who are enrolled in

the center. The fact that children are brought up differently with distinct food and toys makes

the situation complicated as the institution is required to have all the facilities that suit the

children who are left there to be catered for by the caregivers. It is, therefore, worth noting

that one may set up the child care center only to be closed down due to inadequate facilities.

The other challenge is the licensing process. It is not easy to be handed a license as it

comes at a fee and after all the requirements have been verified. The application process is

long as the licensing agency has to fulfill its role in ensuring that the child care center is of

the required standard. There are also clearances as well as permits to be acquired from state

agencies for the center to be fully operational. It is, therefore, worth that the management

becomes aware of the process and the requirements lest the center run illegally thereby

attracting huge fines and worse off closure (Grace et al., 2014). The agencies mandated with
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licensing the child care centers to include the community care and the department of social

services. There are also orientations that are conducted before the center is opened and it is

mandatory that the institution becomes part of the process before it starts operating.

There is also the risk of losing your license if the right regulations are not followed

during location of the child care center. The center has to be in a secure place that is easily

accessible but where the noise does not affect the livelihood of the residents. The right

regulations have to be followed when zoning the center as it also has to be a clean place and

away from any kind of pollution as the kids are usually very young with weak immune

systems. The state has strict planning regulations if not well checked; an institution may end

up suffering losses. It is, therefore, worth checking the barriers before investing in the child

care center. The regulations on zoning refer to the centers physical location and how the

county zones the buildings. A child center may decide on applying for a building use permit

in order to get access to a building for use in certain circumstances.

A child care center runs the risk of being closed or getting itself in serious legal cases

in case a child is hurt or harmed by any worker or equipment. There are strict measures that

ensure that the children are well protected from harm and that they are under the care of

responsible caregivers. An irresponsible care worker may make the center lose a lot of

money. It is important to understand all the children and give them the care they need.

Reasons for Initiating and Implementing Risk Management Plan

A risk management plan is essential in any day care center. The guidelines help in

interpreting the legal requirements that run any child care center as it states the practices

which are appropriate to the center and those that are inappropriate. The guidelines help in

directing the child care workers in day care centers as they interact with the children

(ODonnell et al., 2016). Basically, these guidelines offer a blueprint of what is expected of

the workers and how the children should be treated in the center least one gets sacked or
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faces disciplinary action from the institution. The guidelines are also important as they

deliberate on the legal requirements as well as regulations in regard to how adults relate to

children in order to bring about proper guidance as stipulated in the regulations.

A risk management plan is also important as it provides an elaborate framework in

which development policies can be implemented. It is these development management

guidelines which enable and also inspire the application of efficient positive guidance

approaches in a child care center. There are various positive guidance policies such as

managing and organizing the environment for studies as well as modeling and initiating

practices that meet the daily regulations for characteristic behaviors in children. The practices

are usually in accordance with the objectives to be met during the early childhood program.

The risk management plan also clarifies on the relationship between the behavior of the child

care workers towards the children and curriculum development. Furthermore, the plan also

includes various efficient strategies that the child care workers are required to use as they

interact with the children.

The Risk Management Process

a) Context of Risk

A day care center basically involves children being left at the center by the parents during

the day as the parents go about their daily activities. However, the child is exposed to many

dangers when left in the custody of the child care worker as this is usually a new person who

is tasked with bonding with the kid. Nonetheless, it is the responsibility of the facility to offer

the best care services to the kids so that they may feel home and have new friends. The

bondage that the children create is very important to their growth and the experiences they go

through during their early childhood life greatly impacts on the life that they live in future.

Day care centers offer an alternative to home workers who are sometimes not dependable.

The children learn the art of socializing even though there are several risks as stated below.
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b) Identification of Risks
The child is exposed to dangers of being hurt while playing or even falling sick due to

exposure to a new environment. The child may also be hurt while fighting or worse off by

the child care worker due to negligence.

It has been noted that children who spend most of their time during the week with non-

maternal caregivers tend to exhibit challenging socialbehavioural adjustment (Hamilton

et al., 2015). These socialbehavioural change tendencies include less social competency

as well as cooperation. The children also tend to show many problematic behaviors,

severe mood swings, aggression and are usually in conflict with others. It is estimated that

the effect of the number of hours spent while in the care of child caregivers before a child

joins kindergarten is proportional to the impact that poverty has in forecasting behavioral

complications.
Children who spend most of their time with child care workers tend to have relatively less

social skills as well as poorer working manners during their third grade (Tayler et al.,

2013). This is compared to their counterparts who tend to score highly and have high

social skills due to high self-esteem. The undesirable impacts that are associated with the

quality of care carry on during the entire development of the child. It has also been

experiential that children from child care centers exhibited problematic behaviors even

during their sixth grade.

All the same, when the children from child care centers hit fifteen years, tend to exhibit

risk-taking manners. However, the children also show impulsive behaviors such as taking

alcohol and other drugs as well as behaving in means that threatened their safety.

Furthermore, the children tend to be overcome by their impulsive behavior as they grow

up.
The children who spend their childhood in child care centers tend to exhibit extremely

low levels of sensitive behavior (Dodds et al., 2014). This sensitivity reduces with a

number of hours spent in daycare centers. There is also the risk of attachment insecurity
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as the children are always away from their parents and it is linked with bad social

manners during their development.

The children are also likely to undergo social withdrawal as well as depression as they do

not experience secure attachments with their mothers. The long distance coupled with a

lot of tasks makes it difficult for the mother to have a harmonious relationship with her

child. The boys are likely to show bad tendencies such as constant conflict and

aggression.
c) Analysis of Risks
Example 1

Medium High Critical

Being hurt while playing Difficult social, behavioral Hurt by worker due to

adjustment negligence

Low Medium High

Hurt during conflicts with Less social skills and poorer impulsive behaviors like

friends working manners taking alcohol

Low Low medium

Not being close to the mother Social withdrawal and Low levels of sensitive

depression behavior

Low medium High

Impact

Example 2

Risk assessment scope

(social risk and impact)

Risk Risk/ likelihood Severity of impact

identificatio High Med Low High Med Low

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n Attributes

Social impact Aggressive

Playful

Negative moods

Conflicts

Being hurt Aggressive

Playful

Negative moods

conflicts

Impulsive Alcoholism

behaviour
Use of tobacco

Fighting

School drop out

d) Risk management Treatments

The child center can avoid children from being hurt by first identifying the locations where

the children get hurt when in the child care centers. It is common for children to be hurt in the

afternoon and during the summer when the environment is good for playing (Brennan and
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Fenech, 2014.) It is, therefore, worth being close and careful with the children during these

periods so as to prevent them from being hurt. It is also good for the caregivers to be attentive

to the children more so when they are stressful, when they are sick or when they are

experiencing difficult times such as the loss of a loved one. A child may be hurt while in a

state of confusion due to these factors. It is also important for the parents to ensure that they

have adequate time with their children when they are at home with them. Being close with

the kids enables the children to be more respectful and also grows a sense of attachment with

them. A parent can try and get out of work early enough so that they can be with their

children and have a good time with them.

The caregivers should also give adequate reports to the parents on the behavior of

their children. Proper reports ensure that the parent guides their children in the right way

more so when they are engaging in the disrespectful behavior. The parent can then know how

to correct their children thereby ensuring that they have a proper future. The child care

centers should employ qualified and competent workers so as to avoid instances where

children are mistreated by the care workers. It is the accountability of the directors to employ

competent caregivers who ensure that the children are well brought up and who can easily

understand the children. When an institution has the right employees, then it is less likely that

the children will have poor habits.

Strengths and weaknesses of the current risk management policies, processes, and

procedures

a) Strengths
The policies ensure that the institution follows the expected regulations and that the

children are safe when they are in the center. The policies also provide a sense of

direction as they stipulate the type of disciplinary action a person is likely to face if

they commit a particular offense.

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The procedures put forward in the center ensure that the parents follow the required

steps when enrolling their children. The set procedures furthermore show a sense of

organization, and it is a requirement by the state regulations.

The set policies put every staff member to task on their responsibilities and stipulate

what is expected of every individual.

b) Weaknesses
The set policies restrain the caregivers on what to do thereby preventing them from

providing services they deem important to the children. For instance, a center may bar

male employees from interacting with the female children while a male employee

may have the solution on how a female child may be helped adapt to a new

environment.
There are some policies which may prevent potential employees from joining the

center to help the children grow. Some workers may find the policies so stringent that

they decide to do other jobs for fear of going against the policies.

Risk management scope

It is important to establish the framework in which risks are managed in the child

center. For instance, in the child care center, the important parameters include the safety of

the children, the competency of the employees and the environment in which the center is

established. The children should be safe, competent employees should be employed, and a

hygiene environment should be vital in locating the child care center. These are the basic

factors which define the process of risk management (King and Leask, 2017. There could be

some factors which define the external environment of the institution such as the general

objectives and the activities that the care center engages in on a daily basis.
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the impact of the duration spent in a child care centre

one year nine months

six months three months
a pie chart of how the
children perform in regard
to the time they spend in
child care centres

Impact of the important factors on the organizations risk management

i. Political

There are some political factors that may influence the type of policies that are set in an

institution. The day care center cannot come up with its own safety measures without the

consultation of relevant political offices. They relevant politicians must append to their

policies before they start enacting them in the center. This means that the regulations that the

politicians do not deem fit may be scraped from the policies before the center becomes

operational.

ii. Economic
The center is expected to establish fees that can be paid by all the parents in regard to

the economic situation. The institution cannot impose exorbitant amounts when the

economy is on a decline, and it cannot just adjust the fees upwards without notice.
iii. Social
The manner in which the society relates in the neighborhood greatly determines how

the children interact when they are brought in the child care center. It is easier for the

children to bond if they play freely in the neighborhood during weekends.

iv. Legal
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The child care center is expected to run within the set legal standards and if possible

employ their own advocate.

v. Technological
It would be the responsibility of the center to conform to the technological standards

of the neighboring society for it to be fully effective.

vi. Policy context
The policies established are to be in line with the policies that run the county. The center

cannot just come up with strange policies to run the center.

Tools and techniques to measure and analyze risks

Analyzing the number of children hurt per week can be a great indication of how safe the

institution is to the children.

Taking statistics of how the children behave after getting out of the child care center can

help in indicating how well the workers are working

Critical success factor

The most critical factor that can be used to determine the success of the child center is

determining the number of parents who bring their subsequent siblings after their first

siblings have gone through the center.

Objectives

To help the needy parents in the society take care of their children.
To instill good manners in children
To nurture unity among upcoming children

Legislation and regulations

All workers to be competent and qualified

The director to foresee on how the regulations are being followed
Parents to pay their fees in time
All children should be taken in the evening in time

Internal & external stakeholder groups

The Western Australia parents association

Required support
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The center requires additional buildings to accommodate the children properly. Three

medium sized rooms are to be constructed

Prioritize risk treatments

a) Parents to consider the duration of time they spend with their children
b) The director to ensure that only competent workers are in the care center
c) Child care workers to establish the periods when the children are most at risk
d) Caregivers to provide parents with proper reports
Below is a graph of how the students perform in regard to their traits
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Series 1
3
Series 2
Series 3
2

0
aggressive impulsive conflicts hurt

Situation Tender children in a child care center

Risk associated with situation Poor social association with parents

Identifying risks Being hurt

Intrusive manners
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Existing controls Proper care

Identifying time when they are likely to be hurt

Desired situation Less number of children per care worker

Few injuries

Risks associated with the desired High number of workers

High expenditure
situation

Identification of risks Injuries

Poor social association

Impact of risk management plan Huge expense

Any new risks Lack of housing

Benefits the children as they are well taken care of by the

Who and how does the plan benefit caregivers

It helps the entire society

Why should organization support it

Workers

Resources used and personnel institution

involved in developing, implementing

& monitoring planned risk control

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Toys

Cost factors involved Transport

drugs
Expanding the institution

How to ensure that risk treatment was

sponsored & supported by

organization

The state

Who authorizes plan

Determining The students brought up in the institution

Performance expectations Many children to be brought up

How to monitor operational plan Sending assessors

Who would be responsible for Any state representative because they are answerable to

monitoring the risk controls and why the government

would this person (people) be most

suited to the task

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How to measure its success The number of children who graduate successfully from

I.e. what measurement processes will the institution

you

Asking the parents on how the children are fairing

Determining

Excellent

Performance expectations

How to monitor operational plan Sending representatives

Any state representative because they are answerable to

Who would be responsible for the government

monitoring the risk controls and why

would this person (people) be most

suited to the task

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How to measure its success The number of children who are not hurt

I.e., what measurement processes will

you
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market-based system?. An Equal Start?: Providing Quality Early Education and Care

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