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Early childhood education and care (ECEC) services are where child safety starts through actions, not just intentions. From daily environmental scans to active supervision and responsive practices, educators play the most immediate and important role in making sure every child is safe, every day.

Situational prevention – a strategic approach

Using a situational prevention approach helps ECEC services to identify and effectively respond – and be effectively responsive – to potential risks of harm and abuse specific to their context.

Situational prevention focuses on creating and maintaining environments that reduce opportunities for harm through organisational policies, procedures and practice. The approach aims to:

• remove excuses that could lead to harm
• decrease the possibility for anyone to cause harm
• decrease the vulnerability of individuals
• foster a culture of reporting and shared accountability.

The Dynamic Prevention Model

Professor Keith Kaufman’s (2017) dynamic prevention framework provides a practical approach for organisations to identify and develop strategies to remove or mitigate risks within their environment that could lead to child harm and abuse. It requires organisations to:

• brainstorm vulnerabilities or past issues, acknowledging that each staff member, child and parent will have a different outlook on what is considered a risk, what is considered an issue and what they are concerned about
• develop targeted solutions for each situation
• prioritise based on level of risk or likelihood
• take action and monitor effectiveness.

Conducting environmental scans is a technique ECEC services can use to apply a situational prevention approach in their settings. It supports services to be situationally aware – that is, to notice things around them and adopt a mindset that helps them see potential issues and respond effectively by modifying their environment to reduce the opportunities for harm to occur.

By scanning the environment regularly, ECEC services can:

• prevent harm before it happens
• spot things others might miss
• create spaces where children feel safe and confident
• make sure all staff know what to look for and what to do.

What is an environmental scan?

Environmental scanning is an element of active supervision. It is a simple but effective tool that can help services build a strong safeguarding culture and meet its responsibilities under the National Quality Framework. This includes but is not limited to:

• Children (ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø and Care Services) Law (NSW) – , and
• ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø and Care Services National Regulations – and
• – Quality Area 2 and 3
• NSW Child Safe Standards – Standards 1, 7, 8 and 9.

Scanning the environment regularly helps ECEC educators to:

• make sure the physical space is safe and set up in a way that supports active supervision (for example, to provide clear lines of sight)
• create and maintain spaces where children feel safe, confident and supported to participate
• be responsive to children’s needs and changes to the environment
• spot risks early and prevent harm before it happens
• understand what to look for and what to do if they identify potential risks to children’s safety or wellbeing.

When to conduct environmental scans

Conducting environmental scans is a key part of supervising and engaging with children in an ECEC setting. In addition to continuous scanning throughout the day, services can schedule designated times for staff to complete focused environmental scans, for example:

• before children arrive – to make sure everything is safe and ready
• during transitions – when moving between areas or activities
• after lunch or rest time – when routines shift or new groups form
• at the end of the day – to tidy, check for damage or hazards, and reset the space.

Environmental scanning in practice

Below are some scenarios and examples of what to be aware of while scanning your environment. Use these as prompts to stay alert and be consistent when conducting scans across your service. Think about your service environment and add any other considerations specific to your context.

While scanning the environment, you should consider the following:

• Can I see all of the children in my area?
• Is there anything that could hurt/harm a child?
• Do I need to move anything to make this space safer?
• Are there enough staff here for the number of children and activities?

Teamwork is key

Environmental scanning is most powerful when everyone is on the same page. Share and reflect regularly on your observations as a team.

For example:

• talk about environmental scans and identified risks during team meetings or handovers, including risks or concerns that may happen or incidents that have happened
• point out potential risks when you notice them
• share what works and what doesn’t
• draw on your team’s knowledge of the children – what do certain children need to stay safe today?

Draw on any learnings to continuously improve your service’s child safe policies, practices and the environment.

Managing risks

Every time you reposition furniture, when you check the child proof gate latch is working or notice that something isn’t sitting right, you’re not just doing your job – you’re actively safeguarding children and reducing their risk of harm.

By scanning the environment regularly, you help create a safe, welcoming place where children can learn, explore and thrive – that’s what quality care is all about.

If something isn’t safe:

• Fix it straight away if you can (for example, pick up a hazard, close a gate).
• Tell your team leader or nominated supervisor if it’s a bigger issue.
• Document it if required (for example, broken furniture, injury risk).
• Follow up to make sure the hazard, concern or risk has been removed or is being effectively managed.
• Review your supervision plan and risk assessment.

Always speak up. If something feels off, trust your gut and raise it. You are the eyes and ears on the ground.

• Be proactive – scan before something goes wrong.
• Stay alert – even familiar spaces can become risky.
• Talk about what you see – share hazards, risks and solutions, and report any concerns to your leadership team.
• Know your policies – make sure you understand how your service handles safety issues.
• Ask for help – don’t stay silent if something feels unsafe or not quite right.