Mundarda child care centre deemed St John Safe

In a move that reflects the childcare industry’s commitment to safety, Mundarda childcare centre in Seville Grove has been the first childcare facility in Armadale to receive accreditation through the St John Safe school program.

The program, which was launched in June last year, officially recognises schools and childcare centres that are ready for any first aid situation and the accreditation process involves a safety assessment of the facility conducted by a St John first aid officer.

General Manager First Aid Services and Training Aaron Harding said he was pleased that Mundarda childcare centre received the accreditation.

“Mundarda has shown their dedication to safety through becoming a St John Safe childcare centre and they have worked hard with our safety specialist to ensure that they comply with the guidelines and have every base covered in the event of an incident,” he said.

“This is significant given the recent media reports where adequate first aid training had not been provided to staff at a childcare facility in Perth. St John would like to see the regulations stipulated by the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority to be tightened to ensure more childcare educators are trained in life saving first aid.

“The St John Safe program is a way of communicating to parents and the wider community that the facility has first aid training, equipment and systems in place to deal with an emergency situation,” Mr Harding said.

Recommendations from the St John Safe assessment may include: signing up educators for first aid courses, the provision of defibrillators at the facility, ensuring the appropriate number of first aid kits are provided at the centre, and running child-specific first aid sessions for groups of parents and caregivers onsite.

Mundarda director Claire Siaus said the childcare centre prides itself on ensuring the utmost safety and care of its children at all times.

“We are pleased to be working with St John Ambulance WA on our first aid training and emergency readiness, and we view the St John Safe accreditation as a positive partnership focused on the wellbeing of our children and staff,” she said.

St John has recently developed two accredited first aid courses on anaphylaxis and asthma which will be of great value to early childhood educators.

The courses run for an hour and a half and cost $49 each.