As of the 24th January the advice for Early Childhood Education is as follows:
FDC are required to submit a notification through National Quality Agenda IT System (NQAITS) if a child / staff member tests positive to COVID-19 (via a PCR or rapid antigen test), but only where the case was onsite within the 48 hours prior to the onset of symptoms consistent with COVID-19 or if non-symptomatic 48 hours prior to taking a test.
When there is a positive case in family day care, any children and adults in attendance are defined as a household contact or house-like contact. This means they have spent more than four hours with someone who has COVID-19 inside a house, accommodation, or care facility and must get tested and quarantine for seven days from the date of exposure regardless of test result.
Staff and Children can return to Childcare on day 7 providing they return a negative test result on day 6.
All families and Educators must notify Ignite Minds if they are confirmed Covid case or Covid Contact.
FINANCIAL implications.
The department has said that Ignite Minds can, at its absolute discretion, waive 'gap' fees when children are isolating due to COVID. The 'gap' fee is the amount of money the parent pays on top of the Child Care Subsidy up to the Educators hourly rate.
This is not an easy fix and this situation will not suit everyone. Some educators work in postcodes where the parent contribution is 30% of their total fees and they cannot survive without the parent contribution. Other educators work in postcodes where families pay as little as 15 % of the total fees. Ignite Minds strongly encourages families who are not impacted financially by COVID isolation periods to continue to pay their educator for the child absences during isolation.
Ignite Minds is allowing Educators to choose if they waive gap fees during COVID closures. They cannot waive for some families and not others. If an educator chooses to waive GAP fees it will be available for all families during COVID closures.
Further information
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