Policies and Procedures

Our Pre-school has a wide range of policies and procedures; we have broken them down for you into sections.  If you wish to see them in more detail please speak to a member of staff. Confidentiality:  It is our intention to respect the privacy of children and their families, while ensuring that they access high quality early years care and education in our Pre-school.  We aim to ensure that all parents/carers can share information in the confidence that it will only be used to enhance the welfare of their children. Admissions:  It is our intention to make our Pre-school accessible to all children and their families, from all areas of the community, through open, fair and clearly communicated procedures. Complaints:  Our Pre-school believes that children and their families are entitled to receive courteous, prompt and careful attention to meet their needs and wishes.  We welcome suggestions on how to improve our setting, and will give prompt and serious attention to any concerns regarding the running of our setting.  We anticipate that most concerns will be quickly resolved by an informal discussion with a staff member; if this does not achieve the desired outcome, we have a set of procedures to follow, which include referring to the committee.  We aim to bring all concerns regarding the running of our Pre-school, to a satisfactory conclusion for all parties involved. Parent/Carer Involvement:  We believe that children and their families benefit from Early Years Education, especially when parents and settings work together as a partnership.  Our aim is to support parents/carers, as you are your children’s first and most important educators.  We also aim to support parents in their own education and personal development. Child Protection:  Our Pre-school will work with children, parents/carers and the community to ensure the safety of the children in our care, and to give them the best start in life.  Our aims are to carry out this policy by helping children to establish and sustain satisfying relationships with their families, peers and with other adults.  We will work with families to help build an understanding of, and commitment to, the principles of safeguarding all children in our care. Healthy Eating:  It is our intention to make the sharing of refreshments an important part of the social life of the Pre-school as well as reinforcing children’s understanding of the importance of healthy eating.  Milk and water are available to drink and the snack is a piece of fruit/veg.  The Pre-School will ensure that particular dietary requirements are respected and met in appropriate ways.  We ask all parents and carers to keep the Pre-school nut-free and ask that they do not send children in with peanut butter sandwiches or any other product containing nuts. Sun Safety: It is our intention to use the sunny weather as an opportunity to educate the children on sun safety as well as enjoying the garden are as much as possible.  All children will be required to wear a hat when playing outside, we would also encourage children to cover exposed areas of the skin such as shoulders.  We ask parents to apply a waterproof sun cream (SPF 50) to their child before they come to Pre-school during the summer months.  Children staying all day must bring a named bottle of sun cream to Pre-school each day.  Sun cream must be a new bottle each year with the date opened clearly marked.  Children who are not wearing sun cream will not be allowed to play outside.  Parents will be asked to sign a consent form to allow staff to re-apply sun cream when necessary. Health and Safety:  Our Pre-school believes that the welfare of children is of paramount importance.  We ensure that our setting is a safe and healthy place for the children, their families and staff.  We aim to make children, their families and staff aware of health and safety issues and to minimise hazards and risks. In the event of your child having sickness or diarrhoea, please do not return your child to Pre-school for 48 hours after the illness. This table shows the Pre-school’s minimum time periods of exclusion for different illnesses which may affect your child.  If your child does become ill and you are unsure whether to send them to Pre-school that day, then please contact a member of staff and we will be able to advise you.

Disease/Illness	Minimum Exclusion Period
Prescribed Antibiotics	First 2 days at home
Temperature	If sent home, the child must be off for 24 hours
Vomiting	48 hours after the last episode, or 48 hours if sent home from Pre-school
Conjunctivitis	No exclusion
Diarrhoea	48 hours after the last episode, or 48 hours if sent home from Pre-school
Gastroenteritis	Until authorised by G.P.
Infective Hepatitis	7 days from the onset of Jaundice
Measles	7 days from the appearance of rash
Meningococcal infection	Until recovered from illness
Mumps	Until swelling has subsided but not less than 7 days from onset of illness
Whooping Cough	21 days from onset of paroxysmal cough or 5 days after antibiotics
Poliomyelitis	Until declared free from infection by G.P.
Rubella (German Measles)	4 days from the appearance of rash
Scarlet Fever and Streptococcal Throat Infection	Until appropriate medical procedure has been given
Tuberculosis	Until declared free from infection by G.P.
Typhoid	Until declared free from infection by G.P.
Impetigo	Until the skin has healed
Head lice	No exclusion, treatment recommended
Planter Warts	No exclusion, should be treated and covered
Ringworm	Until cured
Scabies	No need to be excluded once treatment has been given
Chickenpox	Until all spots have dried

Equal Opportunities:  Our Pre-school is committed to achieving a service for children and their families that provides equality of opportunity.  We are open to all families within the community and all needs will be met when possible.  Resources are chosen to give children a balanced view of the world and to represent a multi-racial society.  Opportunities will be provided for children to recognise, acknowledge and value differences between themselves and others in society.