Victorian Numbered Regulations

CHILDREN'S SERVICES AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 2011 (SR NO 162 OF 2011) - REG 44

r. 44

After regulation 52 of the Principal Regulations insert —

        " 52A     Minimum hours of teaching staff—services educating or caring for fewer than 25 children

    (1)     This regulation applies to—

        (a)     a standard children's service that is licensed or, in the case of an approved associated children's service, approved to care for and educate fewer than 25 children at any one time; or

        (b)     an integrated service that includes a standard service component that is licensed to care for and educate fewer than 25 children at any one time.

    (2)     The proprietor of the service must ensure that the standard service or each standard service component has access to a teaching staff member working with the service for at least 20 per cent of the time the service provides education or care.

Penalty:     10 penalty units.

    (3)     If a teaching staff member is absent from the service because of illness or annual leave, the following persons may be taken for the purposes of subregulation (2) to be a teaching staff member during that absence—

        (a)     a qualified staff member; or

        (b)     a person who holds a qualification in primary school teaching.

    (4)     To avoid doubt, subregulation (3) does not apply in the case of maternity leave, long service leave or other similar leave.

    (5)     For the purposes of subregulation (2)—

        (a)     a teaching staff member is working with the service if he or she is carrying out activities for the service, including caring for and educating children and planning programs;

        (b)     the teaching staff member may be working with the service by means of information communication technology.

    (6)     For the purposes of this regulation the period that a teaching staff member works with a service may be calculated on a quarterly basis.".