Immunisation Policy and Procedure

At our service we keep an immunisation register to document the progress of each child’s journey to becoming immunised. This is recorded at the time of enrolment on our Student Management System (SMS). Capturing this information can help reduce the spread of vaccine-preventable diseases in early childhood services as well as the wider community and protect those who are more vulnerable. We view our role as one of supporting the process and journey to immunisation whilst not making judgements on those families who choose not to immunise. At no time will the immunisation status of a child affect their right to enrol at our centre.

Procedure

We will request a copy of a child’s immunisation certificate at the time of their enrolment.
-Persons not required to be on the register are staff (and educators), volunteers or students.

Only information from the certificate (not provided verbally or by other means) can be recorded on the register, and exactly as shown on the certificate.

• the full name of the child
• the child’s date of birth
• if the child’s parent or caregiver has provided an immunisation certificate
• whether the child has been immunised against the diseases outlined on the national immunisation schedule in relation to their age
• If the child has not been fully immunised, supporting documentation from a medical professional that in their opinion the child has developed a laboratory proven natural immunity.

Where an outbreak of an illness listed on the national immunisation schedule occurs, any child who is not immunised will be required to remain at home until the incubation period of the disease has passed and no further cases are reported. This is for the safety and protection of any un-immunised persons and those who are most vulnerable such as other children or infants who have not yet received immunity.

Where parents or guardians have not provided a child’s certificate this will be recorded on the register until such time as it is provided or noted that the child will not be immunised by choice.

The centre will ensure that the immunisation register is available for inspection by the Medical Officer of Health, Health Protection Officers, and any persons who are authorised in writing, by a Medical Officer of Health or a Health Protection Officer, to inspect the register.

It is important for the centre to maintain immunisation records; in order to do this, we rely on parents updating the centre each time their child receives an immunisation. Updated immunisations can be provided to the centre via a printout or email from the medical practice that issued the immunisation or by citing the immunisation register in the child’s Plunket book.

We will respect the privacy of each child and their family – no vaccination status will be shared to any other family and will remain confidential.

In the event that any person in direct contact with a child from the centre (i.e a parent or sibling) contracts a contagious illness outlined on the immunisation schedule the centre will need to be notified immediately. The Manager will then determine the next step which will be on a case-by-case scenario.

Staff Immunisation

Staff members have an increased risk of exposure to communicable diseases, some of which can pose a more serious risk for adults. We recommend that all staff who have received childhood immunisations to have a booster dose of adult tetanus-diphtheria vaccine every 10 years or sooner if injured.

Procedure

An up-to-date record of staff health conditions such as allergies, food intolerances and medical conditions will be kept for each staff member. This will remain confidential.

A record of staff immunisations will be kept with individual staff personnel information and recorded in the Student Management System (SMS).

The procedure in the event of an outbreak in the centre for a child who is not immunised will also apply for any staff member that are un-immunised. This is for the of the safety and protection of any un-immunised persons and those who are most vulnerable such as other children or infants who have not yet received immunity.