Everyone thinks about the children, rarely about the educators. Yet lifting 10-15 kg children dozens of times a day, crouched at child-furniture height, wears out a back faster than many factory jobs. If your childcare service employs even one person, the OHS action plan is mandatory.
Lifting an infant out of the crib, into the high chair, up from the floor — dozens of lifts daily, combined with crouched work at low furniture. Back and shoulder injuries dominate CNESST claims in the sector.
Diaper changes, hand-foot-and-mouth disease, gastro outbreaks. A written hygiene protocol (gloves, handwashing, surface disinfection) is part of the "biological" risk category CNESST requires you to assess.
Child bites are incidents to log in your register, not anecdotes. And a group room easily reaches 80 dB and above at peak times — an exposure worth documenting.
Confrontations at pickup, threats after a report, constant pressure. Since Bill 59, assessing psychosocial risks — including external violence — is no longer optional.
Structures compliant with CSA Z614, maintained impact surfaces, defined supervision zones. An educator injured catching a child on a non-compliant structure is an OHS file too.
A questionnaire built for childcare — child lifting, hygiene, playground, difficult parents. Auto-generated plan, CNESST-compliant PDF.
Start — free trialIf the provider works alone, no — the OHS Act targets employers. As soon as she employs an assistant or a substitute, even part-time, she becomes an employer and the action plan becomes mandatory.
The written and posted action plan, the designation and training of the liaison officer, the incident register, the hygiene protocol for biological risks, and how psychosocial risks are handled. Inspectors often question an educator directly.
No, ratios are regulated by the ministère de la Famille. But chronic understaffing creates overload — a psychosocial risk your OHS plan must document, with measures like calling in substitutes.
Yes. Measurements in Quebec CPEs regularly exceed 80 dB. You won't always hit the 85 dBA regulatory threshold, but the resulting auditory fatigue and stress belong in your physical-risk assessment.