personal presentation and uniform standards in childcare

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8.24 Educator Uniform and Personal Presentation

The Approved Provider requires that educators and other staff, engaged to work with children in OSHC, present themselves and wear a standard of dress appropriate to the circumstances and environment in which they will be working. In administering this policy, consideration will be given to any work, health and safety requirements as well as the need to ensure that clothing worn by educators is neither offensive nor hazardous.

Relevant Laws and other Provisions

The laws and other provisions affecting this policy include:

Procedures

A high standard of personal presentation is required from all educators and other staff at all times whilst on duty at the service. Educators are required to maintain a high level of personal hygiene and all clothing should be clean, pressed and in good condition.

Failure to follow the coordinator’s direction and/or blatant violation or repeated violations of this policy may result in disciplinary action.

Educator’s dress and appearance should be professional and conducive to active participation with children. Clothing worn to comply with cultural or religious standards is allowable as long as it does not pose a foreseeable risk to health and safety at work.

Upon employment, educators and other staff will be issued with a service uniform shirt which must be kept laundered and in good condition. Educators will receive a weekly laundry allowance, as per the relevant industrial award

All educators and other staff will be required to wear the service uniform shirt while on duty at the service. The service uniform shirt can be worn prior to, and after their designated shift however, whilst in the public view, the educator will be required to conduct themselves in a manner that will not be detrimental to the reputation of the service.

Prior to receiving their allocated service uniform shirt, educators will not be permitted to wear clothing that is:

Educators will be required to supply their own shorts or pants with consideration given to the appropriateness of such clothing when actively working with the children. Shorts and/or pants are required to be no shorter than mid-thigh length with consideration given to ensuring that no part of their buttocks are exposed.

Where educators are required to attend special events, conferences, courses or seminars the service uniform requirements still apply unless specifically directed by the coordinator or approved provider.

Educators will be provided with a service name badge and/or identification card which must be worn whilst on duty at the service. Name badges and/or identification cards must be kept clean and should be worn so that they are clearly visible.

In some circumstances it may not be practicable for educators or other staff to wear the service uniform such as during pregnancy or for religious requirements. In such cases, educators and other staff should comply with the general presentation requirements and seek approval from the coordinator or approved provider.

If the coordinator determines that the educator’s dress or appearance does not comply with this policy, a determination will be made as to whether the educator is allowed to remain at work or must leave work to change his/her dress. In any circumstance that an educator is requested to return home and change the coordinator will ensure that the educator/child ratios of the service are maintained.

Educators who leave the employ of the service will be required to return all service uniform shirts in a clean and laundered state. Old or unwanted uniform items should not be given to charities, other people or organisations but should be returned to the coordinator for disposal.

Personal Protection Clothing

The service will ensure that uniform shirts supplied comply with recommended Sunsmart guidelines and include a collar and mid-length sleeve.

In order to comply with the Sunsmart Policy of the service, educators and other staff will be required to wear a broad-brimmed hat when outdoors. Educators will be responsible for supplying their own broad-brimmed hat and ensuring it is at the service when required.

Educators will be required to wear enclosed and protective footwear at all times. The standard requirement will be a sandshoe or jogger however, consideration may be given to other types of footwear provided that it encloses the foot and is not a strap-on type of footwear. All footwear must meet the work, health and safety requirements of the service and be conducive to active participation with the children.

Personal Safety

Educators or other staff with long hair are required to secure their hair and tie it back when working with the children and/or handling and preparing food.

Work, health and safety requirements must be considered when determining if excessive jewellery, jewellery, body piercings and/or other accessories worn by educators are appropriate when working with children. Educators will be encouraged to:

To ensure their safety and that of the children and colleagues, educators are requested to maintain their fingernails at a safe and workable length and to minimise any nail decorations and/or embellishments.

Personal Appearance

Educators are expected to maintain a high standard of personal care, ensuring that their:

The service acknowledges the educator’s’ right to individual cultural and creative expression through piercings (facial, tongue or body) and/or tattoos however, there is an expectation for educators to ensure that:

Tablelands Regional Council. (2014, December). Staff Uniform and Presentation Policy. Retrieved from Tablelands Regional Council: http://www.trc.qld.gov.au/sites/default/files/Staff%20Uniform%20and%20Presentation%20Policy.pdf

University of Wollongong. (2014, February). Educator Dress code Policy. Retrieved from UniCentre – University of Wollongong: http://unicentre.uow.edu.au/content/groups/public/@web/@unic/@mrkt/documents/doc/uow146232.pdf

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QLD Education

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personal presentation and uniform standards in childcare

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Now's a good time to get rid of uniforms in early education

Ditching dress codes can be a small win to boost staff retention.

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In a rush? Here's the quick run-down.

• The idea of uniforms and dress codes in early education can cause a bit of friction. Some might feel they're convenient and practical, while others might find them stifling and impersonal.

• But when staff retention is a pressing issue in early education, ditching dress codes and uniforms can be an easy way to hang on to staff, by giving them more ways to feel like themselves at work.

• Down below, we'll look at how you can get that sense of a "team look," while leaving more room for everybody to express themselves however they like.

In early education, it's getting harder than ever to recruit good team members, and get them to stick around.

Could ditching the branded polo and khaki trouser uniforms be the solution?

Well, by itself, no. These staffing problems are way bigger than a dress code. But as we'll discuss, revisiting your dress code and uniform policies might be a step in the right direction toward easing the pressure of this recruitment crisis.

Imogen Edmunds, CEO of the early education HR consultancy Redwing Solutions , says the current challenges with recruiting and retaining educators ought to make us reflect on the policies that affect our teams.

"Now's the time when we really have to ask ourselves which policies are working for us, and the dress code is a classic example of that," she says. "Every time you say 'I don't want that in my setting, you're shrinking your potential labor pool. Can we really afford to do that?"

At the end of the day, how you dress should be about the children’s experience. What makes you feel best-equipped and most confident to play and explore with children, to give them the most enriching early years experience you can? And how can you strike that balance, while giving your team plenty of room express themselves at work?

That’s what we’re here to talk about.

In this piece, we’ll explore some of the most common considerations that shape dress code and uniform policies in the early education. We’ve sourced these from research and interviews with early education HR experts, and also from discussions with dozens of practitioners on social media.

We’re not here to give you a concrete “do exactly this” answer, so much as offer some ideas that might help inform how you approach a dress code in your own setting.

Ready? Let’s get into it.

What's the point of dress codes in early education?

Deciding how everyone should dress for work is about balancing some practical considerations with your team’s personal comfort. Both of these factors are important, because they’re key parts of a bigger goal: Giving the best possible care to children.

For a dress code to feel meaningful and useful, it’s got to strike a balance between the following factors.

Practical considerations

Personal needs

Ultimately, your policy needs to tie back into that fundamental question: How does this help enrich and improve children’s everyday experiences with you? As we move ahead, that’s a helpful question to evaluate what your own policy is all about. This isn't about a branding exercise, or some abstract idea of professionalism. Your policy should be there to help your team feel comfortable and confident, so they're in the best mindset to play and learn with children.

The big ideas

Uniforms vs. dress codes: what's the difference.

Let’s take a second to clarify the difference between uniforms and dress codes. The two are close cousins, but there are a couple important distinctions that shape what they mean for the educators on your team.

Here’s how we’ll define the two terms:

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Why it's time to ditch the dress codes

In the wider discussion of how we dress in early education, specific uniform policies are often the biggest point of friction. Here are a few of the biggest reasons why they aren’t a big hit:

This isn’t to say that uniforms are always wrong. But there are a lot of ways that a dress code can meet those same practical needs, while leaving a lot more room for your team to feel expressive and comfortable in their own clothes.

Solutions to meet everybody’s needs

So when we’re figuring out how to dress for work, how do we get everybody’s needs met? If you’re looking to implement some sort of dress code at your own Early Years setting, there are plenty of ways to make room for comfort and self-expression, while also making sure everyone is wearing what they need for the job.

Here are a few options you might want to consider:

Coming to a decision as a group

At the end of the day, it’s tough to make a one-size-fits all recommendation for something like dress codes. Perhaps everybody on your team loves the idea of an embroidered staff T-shirt, or maybe everyone would rather be left to make those clothing choices on their own. Either way, you won’t know until you ask your team.

So if you’re looking to have a dress code at your setting, or just revisiting what you’ve got, it’s probably best to invite everyone to weigh in on it. That way, you can get the best understanding of everybody’s needs on each side of the balance, and work together to find a policy that fits you best.

Again, a dress code needs to speak to the bottom line: Children’s everyday experience. The best policy is the one that helps your staff feel comfortable and confident about the work they do, and the care they give to the children in your care.

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Please note: here at Famly we love sharing creative activities for you to try with the children at your setting, but you know them best. Take the time to consider adaptions you might need to make so these activities are accessible and developmentally appropriate for the children you work with. Just as you ordinarily would, conduct risk assessments for your children and your setting before undertaking new activities, and ensure you and your staff are following your own health and safety guidelines.

Aaron Hathaway

Aaron is the lead reporter for Famly's Early Years blog. He's here to explore the big ideas about what makes little ones tick.

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Staff Dress Code

Staff Dress Code Overview

While most workplaces have some sort of staff dress code, early childhood settings are an unusual style of workplace to begin with -there’s exponentially more movement and mess than a typical office setting. For your staff, this means they need a supportive policy that allows them to be comfortable and connected with their environment; at the same time, the way your staff dresses will send a message to the families and children you serve -intentional or not.

This post is intended to spark reflection and suggest ways of addressing the topic covered when writing or updating policies and procedures . Your policies and procedures should be written to meet your program’s needs and unique circumstances. Browse More Policy & Procedure Resources Here

The reality is that there isn’t one ‘set’ list of staff dress code points that any center or program can stick into their policies. Your staff dress code expectations depend on a variety of things -the culture of your community and the climate being the most prevalent. If you’re in a very sporty, outdoor-centered neighborhood, perhaps athletic clothing makes sense for your staff. If you’re in a corporate building surrounded by business people, you might want your staff to dress in matching polo shirts to distinguish them as caregivers. If it gets warm where you live, you might allow staff to wear tank tops or shorts.

Staff dress codes can also extend to ‘personal appearance’ -that is, hair color and style, visible tattoos, facial hair, and piercings. Much like clothing, these are personal, often cultural or artistic choices that your individual staff members make. Ensure that any policies you create are free of bias or profiling. For example, if no tattoos are allowed to be visible or no colored hair is allowed because you think these things are ‘unprofessional’, unpack that and consider how your policy upholds barriers to employment.) Just as we do with young children, consider offering your staff examples of what they can wear, instead of going heavy on what they can’t.

At the end of the day, there’s a balance of personal trust -that the adults on your staff know how to dress for their work -and professionalism -that there is an image you want to cultivate. Consider a guiding question for your staff dress code: do these guidelines allow my staff to work comfortably, feel comfortable, and respect their needs, the needs of the children, and the norms of our community?

Where To Include

At Playvolution HQ, we recommend using the Three Handbook Method .

Consider adding this policy to your Staff Handbook.

Considerations

Sample Policies

NOTE: The following samples are provided as a reference for creating your own policies and procedures. Sharing them does not mean we recommend them, they are simply real-world examples relating to this post’s topic that may help you decide how–or how not–to compose your policies and procedures.

Dress professionally, yet comfortably. Our dress code permits slacks, nice blue jeans, and suitable tops, dresses, skirts and knee-length shorts or Capri pants. Halters, tops with spaghetti straps, midriffs, tops with low cleavage, clothing with inappropriate wording, short shorts or skirts are not considered suitable. Shoes or sneakers must be worn at all times. Sandy Springs United Methodist School Preschool , Georgia, USA

Employees represent the Children’s Center to the community. It is important that employee’s appearance and attire be neat, clean and appropriate for working with young children, as well as meeting with parents and campus representatives. Classroom Teachers, the Assistant Director and the Director may set reasonable standards and have the authority to relieve employees from duty who do not meet the appearance and attire standards. Whenever possible, an alternative will be provided so that the employee may remain at work. Humboldt State University Children’s Center , California, USA

Employees will arrive at the center with a neat appearance. Employees will be well groomed and appropriate clothing will be worn. No clothing with holes, lettering, or logos (controversial or otherwise) should be worn. If the director feels your dress is inappropriate, you will be asked to go home and change, with loss of pay. Appropriate dress while working with children in a classroom environment is clothing that allows the staff person to be comfortable and professional. Joyful Noise staff follows a strict dress code. Employees must adhere to the following guidelines: –Polo shirts or business casual are suggested for everyday wear. –Pants and slacks must be clean and free of holes and can include: khaki pants/shorts, jeans/shorts, skirts/skorts and scrub pants/shorts –Shorts, skirts and skorts must go down to the knees (they should be at a minimum as long as your fingertips when your arms are at your sides) –No polos, scrubs, shorts, skirts, skorts, or pants should show any undergarments or too much skin (cleavage, belly, armpit, bra, or underwear) –No stressed clothing or frayed clothing –No clothing with logos that may be considered offensive to different family cultures/values –Bring proper outdoor wear every day to work ( this may include a coat/sweater, boots , tennis shoes, hats and gloves-ask your lead teacher for a full list) –You must wear proper footwear to work. Foot wear should fit your feet and should meet the following criteria: o Heels max 1” o No flip flops or slippers o Closed toe shoes only for indoor and outdoor play o No outdoor shoes in the Nursery; Nursery caregivers will keep a pair of indoor shoes in the nursery to be worn indoors only o Sandals may be worn in the summer only, and at “downtimes” only (i.e. nap/lunch time) –Piercing, other than on the ear, must be taken out before your shift begins. –Tattoos must also be covered by clothing or a Band-Aid. Please remember that, as a childcare provider, you are modeling behavior and appearance for your students. Your daily appearance is reflective of our center as a whole. While it is important to wear clothing that allows full participation in all activities (including appropriate shoes and outdoor gear) and a level of comfort, it is imperative that your clothing adequately covers your body and projects a professional image to all those around you. If you need to be asked to go home to change more than twice, employment may be terminated. Joyful Noise Christian Childcare , Michigan, US

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Standards of Personal Presentation and Hygiene

Interactive Quiz

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Personal Presentation & Hygiene Standards
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Childcare & Education Uniforms
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COMMENTS

8.24 Educator Uniform and Personal Presentation
A high standard of personal presentation is required from all educators and other staff at all times whilst on duty at the service.
Dress Code, Policies & Procedures in an Early-Childhood Center
Legal requirements discuss safety and health issues, while individual centers ... checks and regular CPR and first-aid training for childcare workers.
Policies 4 Professional Practice
care or protection of children shall conform with the standards established by competent authorities, ... Ongoing reading, discussion, and self-reflection.
Dress Code and Personal Presentation Policy
The Fortitude Valley State Secondary College formal uniform is to be worn daily to and from school and all school activities, including excursions (unless
Now's a good time to get rid of uniforms in early education
Dress codes set out certain rules and expectations for how you should dress, without dictating your exact outfit. Dress code guidelines might
FACILITIES SERVICES DIVISION
Maintenance personnel are expected to report to work properly attired in their uniforms. Shirts - It is mandatory that employees wear shirts provided by the
Staff Dress Code
For your staff, this means they need a supportive policy that allows them to be comfortable and connected with their environment; at the same
Dress Code Policy NQS
All employees must present a professional image with high standards of personal hygiene and grooming. Clothing must neat, clean and in good repair
Standards of Personal Presentation and Hygiene
Standards of Personal Presentation and Hygiene · Hair should be neat and clean; long hair should be tied back for safety as well as for neatness. · Hair should be
Head Start Policy Head Start Personal Appearance (Dress Code
Staff members should wear clothing they feel comfortable getting dirty or stained, as staff members are expected to assist various children and