POLICY COTENT

There may be occasions when an uninvited dog manages to enter the School playground. To ensure children are not placed at risk, all precautions will be taken to minimise the likelihood of this situation, and should it occur, all staff will respond immediately in accordance with this policy. 
 

NATIONAL QUALITY STANDARD (NQS)

QUALITY AREA 2: Children's Health and Safety

2.2	Safety	Each child is protected.
2.2.1	Supervision	At all times, reasonable precautions and adequate supervision ensure children are protected from harm and hazard.
2.2.2	Incident and emergency management	Plans to effectively manage incidents and emergencies are developed in consultation with relevant authorities, practiced and implemented.

QUALITY AREA 7: Governance and Leadership

7.1.2

Management Systems

Systems are in place to manage risk and enable the effective management and operation of a quality school.

PURPOSE 

We aim to ensure that all children, educators, families, and visitors remain safe from unexpected situations such as an uninvited dog entering the playground. 
 

SCOPE 

This policy applies to management and staff of the School. 
 

DEFINITIONS 

A companion animal is a dog, cat or other animal prescribed by the regulations and includes pets, working dogs on rural properties, guard dogs, police dogs, and corrective services dog (Companion Animals Act 1998). 
 
Approved animal welfare organisation are the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), and the Animal Welfare League. 
 

IMPLEMENTATION 

There are many reasons why an uninvited dog may enter a School playground, whether a companion dog, or a stray. It may be that the dog has been frightened by a thunderstorm and escaped his yard and somehow found his way into ours. It could be that a hungry stray has been attracted to the smell of food scraps, or it may be that a friendly but lonely neighbourhood dog has been attracted to the yard by the sounds of children playing. However regardless of the cause, our School will take immediate action to ensure the children’s safety. 
 
In Australia dogs must be registered and micro-chipped. If a dog is then ‘lost’, the dog and owner can be reunited to its owner by scanning and reading the microchip, which can be done by the local council, a vet, or an approved animal welfare organisation. However, the owner must legally notify the local council within 72 hours of the dog known to be missing so that it can be placed on a ‘lost dog register’. It is therefore always best to make the local council the first point of contact should an uninvited dog make its way into a School playground.  
 
Note some councils will ask you to bring the dog to them, but as it is illegal to have a dog at a childcare centre, they will come and collect him/her if made aware that you are calling from an early education and care service. 
 
Dog body language or signs that a dog may be scared or aggressive:

• Shrill barking 
• Teeth bared (may or may not be growling) 
• Closed, tight mouth 
• Stiff, rigid body with legs braced 
• Tail held rigid in any position, between the legs, or a slow stiff wag 
• Ears back against the head or flattened (ears pricked up or forward demonstrate interest in something – continue to use caution) 
• Hackles raised 
• Staring directly at you 
• Approaching you with head lowered

 As a dog’s intent and behaviour can change rapidly, it is always best to exercise caution when the safety of children is involved and treat all dogs as dangerous unless extremely obvious that it is friendly (loose body movements, tail wagging and held high, ‘bounding’ and ‘jumping’ on the spot, or not hesitating in enthusiastically approaching people).  Source: Best Friends Animal Society (2018); Dog’s Home (2014); Pet Source (2010). 
  
Management will ensure that:

• daily checks are made of the outdoor learning environment to ensure fencing is intact, gates locked and there is no sign of an unidentified dog or animal on the premises 
• any outdoor area that is used by children is enclosed by a fence that prevents the intrusion of unwanted dogs and/or other animals 
• following the entry of an uninvited dog into the playground, immediate steps will be taken to secure the fencing to eliminate the possibility of this situation being repeated 
• the external rubbish bin is not filled to a point that the lid will not securely close, and all staff are aware to tightly bag all food scraps before placing them in the bin to avoid attracting hungry strays 
• educators are proactive in ensuring all children use the playground rubbish bins if eating outside 
• all staff follow the policies and procedures of our School.

 

IN THE EVENT OF AN UNIDENTIFIED DOG OR OTHER ANIMAL ENTERING THE PREMISES

The Nominated Supervisor/responsible person and educators will:  

• calmly guide children indoors by approaching groups of children and giving instruction to quietly move inside: Shouting to all children or using a bell could frighten the dog (If a dog has entered the yard during or just after a thunderstorm, the children will likely already be inside). 
• if the position of the dog is preventing the children’s re-entry to the building, children will be guided quietly via the emergency playground exit to enter the building from the front door 
• implement ‘External threat’ procedures (See Lockdown Policy) 
• contact local council for assistance
• avoid confronting the dog: Do not try to chase it out of the playground or touch it 
• contact the local council immediately and advise them of the situation. Ensure that you tell them the dog is in an early education and care service (ECRU) 
• ensure the children remain inside until the dog has been collected 
• provide support for children who are afraid of dogs.

 Educators will:

• discuss with the children how to behave with a dog or puppy (e.g. calmly, no aggressive patting, no pulling tails, use quiet voices, etc.) as part of the curriculum to minimise the risk of provoked dog attacks outside the School 
• develop children’s understanding that the owner should always be asked before patting a dog 
• teach children how to tell if a dog is happy, scared, or aggressive but ensure they know never to approach a strange dog.  

STATE-BY-STATE DOG REGISTRATION AND MICROCHIPPING REQUIREMENTS

WESTERN AUSTRALIA (WA)

Dogs must be registered with the local council by three months of age  Section 21 of the Dog Act 1976 requires dogs to be micro-chipped when they have reached 3 months of age regardless of registration status.

Source: RSPCA Australia  
 
 

SOURCE

Best Friends Animal Society. (2018). Dog body language. bestfriends.org/resources/dog-body-language 
Companion Animals Act 1998: www8.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdb/au/legis/nsw/c... 
RSPCA Australia: rspca.org.au 
Dog’s Home. (2014). Don’t pet that dog: 3 signs most people don’t know. dogshomepa.org/dont-pet-that-dog-3-signs-mos... 
Royal Society for the Protection of Animals NSW (RSPCA):  rspcansw.org.au