Safeguarding
At Peapods Nursery, we work with children, parents, external agencies and the community to ensure the welfare and safety of children and to give them the very best start in life. Children have the right to be treated with respect, be helped to thrive and to be safe from any abuse in whatever form.
Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, in relation to this policy is defined as:
· Protecting children from maltreatment
· Preventing the impairment of children’s health or development
· Ensuring that children are growing up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care
· Acting to enable all children to have the best outcomes.
The nursery is aware that abuse does occur in our society and we are vigilant in identifying signs of abuse and reporting concerns. Our practitioners have a duty to protect and promote the welfare of children. Due to the many hours of care we are providing, staff may often be the first people to identify that there may be a problem. They may well be the first people in whom children confide information that may suggest abuse or to spot changes in a child’s behaviour which may indicate abuse.
Our prime responsibility is the welfare and well-being of each child in our care. As such we believe we have a duty to the children, parents and staff to act quickly and responsibly in any instance that may come to our attention. This includes sharing information with any relevant agencies such as local authority services for children’s social care, health professionals or the police. All staff will work with other agencies in the best interest of the child, including as part of a multi-agency team, where needed.
The nursery aims to:
· Keep the child at the centre of all we do
· Ensure staff are trained right from induction to understand the child protection and safeguarding policy and procedures, are alert to identify possible signs of abuse (including the signs known as softer signs of abuse), understand what is meant by child protection and are aware of the different ways in which children can be harmed, including by other children through bullying or discriminatory behaviour
· Be aware of the increased vulnerability of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and other vulnerable or isolated families and children
· Ensure staff understand how to recognise early indicators of potential radicalisation and terrorism threats and act on them appropriately in line with national and local procedures
· Ensure that all staff feel confident and supported to act in
the best interest of the child, share information and seek the help that the
child may need
· Ensure that all staff are familiar and updated regularly with child protection training and procedures and kept informed of changes to local/national procedures, including thorough annual safeguarding newsletters and updates
· Make any child protection referrals in a timely way, sharing relevant information as necessary in line with procedures set out by the Safeguarding Children Board
· Make any referrals relating to extremism to the police (or the Government helpline) in a timely way, sharing relevant information as appropriate
· Ensure that information is shared only with those people who need to know to protect the child and act in their best interest
· Keep the setting safe online using appropriate filters, checks and safeguards, monitoring access always
· Ensure that children are never placed at risk while in the charge of nursery staff
· Identify changes in staff behaviour and act on these as per the Staff Behaviour Policy
· Take any appropriate action relating to allegations of serious harm or abuse against any person working with children or living or working on the nursery premises including reporting such allegations to Ofsted and other relevant authorities
· Ensure parents are fully aware of child protection policies and procedures when they register with the nursery and are kept informed of all updates when they occur
· Regularly review and update this policy with staff and parents where appropriate and make sure it complies with any legal requirements and any guidance or procedures issued by the Safeguarding Children Board.
We will support children by offering reassurance, comfort and sensitive interactions. We will devise activities according to individual circumstances to enable children to develop confidence and self-esteem within their peer group and support them to learn how to keep themselves safe.
Health and safety policy
At Peapods Nursery, we provide and maintain safe and healthy working conditions, equipment and systems of work for all our employees and a safe early learning environment in which children learn and are cared for. To develop and promote a strong health and safety culture within the nursery for the benefit of all staff, children and parents, we provide information, training and supervision. We also accept our responsibility for the health and safety of other people who may be affected by our activities.
Legal framework
We follow all relevant legislation and associated guidance relating to health and safety within the nursery including:
· The requirements of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) 2017
· The regulations of the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 and any other relevant legislation such as Control Of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulation (COSHH)
· Any guidance provided by Public Health England, the local health protection unit, the local authority environmental health department, fire authority or the Health and Safety Executive.
Responsibilities
The designated Health and Safety Officer in the nursery is Pouja Magdani.
The nursery manager/deputy nursery/ or the operational manager will be responsible in her absence.
All employees have the responsibility to cooperate with senior staff and the manager to achieve a healthy and safe nursery and to take reasonable care of themselves and others. Neglect of health and safety regulations/duties will be regarded as a disciplinary matter.
Whenever a member of staff notices a health or safety problem which they are not able to rectify, they must immediately report it to the appropriate person named above. Parents and visitors are requested to report any concerns they may have to the senior member of staff in the area/deputy manager/manager.
Health and safety arrangements
· All staff are responsible for general health and safety in the nursery
· Risk assessments will be conducted on all areas of the nursery, including rooms, activities, outdoor areas, resources and cleaning equipment
· These are reviewed at regular intervals and when arrangements change
· All outings away from the nursery (however short) will include a prior risk assessment – more details are included in our outings policy
· All equipment, rooms and outdoor areas will be checked thoroughly by staff before children access them or the area. These checks will be recorded and initialled by the staff responsible. Unsafe areas will be made safe/removed from the area by this member of staff
to promote the safety of children. If this cannot be achieved
the manager will be notified immediately
· We provide appropriate facilities for all children, staff, parents and visitors to receive a warm
welcome and provide for their basic care needs, e.g. easy to access toilet area and fresh drinking water
· The nursery will adhere to the Control Of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulation (COSHH) to ensure all children, staff, parents and visitors are safe in relation to any chemicals we may use on the premises
· All staff and students will receive appropriate training in all areas of health and safety which will include risk assessments, manual handling and fire safety. We may also use benefit risk assessments for activities and resources for children
· We have a clear accident and first aid policy to follow in the case of any person in the nursery suffering injury from an accident or incident
· We have a clear fire safety policy and procedure which supports the prevention of fire and the safe evacuation of all persons in the nursery. This is to be shared with all staff, students, parents and visitors to the nursery
· We review accident and incident records to identify any patterns/hazardous areas
· All health and safety matters are reviewed informally on an ongoing basis and formally every six months or when something changes. Staff and parents will receive these updates, as with all policy changes, as and when they happen
· Staff and parents can contribute to any policy through the suggestion scheme and during the regular meetings held at nursery.
Sickness and Illness policy
At Peapods Nursery, we promote the good health of all children attending. To help keep children healthy and minimise infection, we do not expect children to attend nursery if they are unwell. If a child is unwell it is in their best interest to be in a home environment with adults they know well rather than at nursery with their peers. Please give the nursery a call if you require more information on our exclusion for any particular infections.
Our procedures
To take appropriate action of children who become ill and to minimise the spread of infection, we implement the following procedures:
· If a child becomes ill during the nursery day, we contact their parent(s) and ask them to pick up their child as soon as possible. During this time, we care for the child in a quiet, calm area with their key person, wherever possible
· We follow the guidance given to us by Public Health England (formerly the Heath Protection Agency) in Guidance on Infection Control in Schools and other Child Care Settings and advice from our local health protection unit on exclusion times for specific illnesses, e.g. sickness and diarrhoea, measles and chicken pox, to protect other children in the nursery
· Should a child have an infectious disease, such as sickness and diarrhoea, they must not return to nursery until they have been clear for at least 48 hours. We notify Ofsted as soon as possible and in all cases within 14 days of the incident where we have any child or staff member with food poisoning. We inform all parents if there is a contagious infection identified in the nursery, to enable them to spot the early signs of this illness. We thoroughly clean and sterilise all equipment and resources that may have been in contact with a contagious child to reduce the spread of infection
· We exclude all children on antibiotics for the first 48 hours
of the course (unless this is part of an ongoing care plan to treat individual
medical conditions e.g. asthma and the child is unwell). This is because it is important that
children are not subjected to the rigours of the nursery day, which requires socialising with other children and being part of a group setting, when they have first become ill and require a course of antibiotics
· We have the right to refuse admission to a child who is unwell. This decision will be taken by the manager on duty and is non-negotiable
· We make information/posters about head lice readily available and all parents are requested to regularly check their children’s hair. If a parent finds that their child has head lice we would be grateful if they could inform the nursery so that other parents can be alerted to check their child’s hair.
Meningitis procedure
If a parent informs the nursery that their child has meningitis, the nursery manager will contact the Infection Control (IC) Nurse for their area. The IC Nurse will give guidance and support in each individual case. If parents do not inform the nursery, we will be contacted directly by the IC Nurse and the appropriate support will be given. We will follow all guidance given and notify any of the appropriate authorities including Ofsted if necessary.
Medication policy
At Peapods Nursery, we promote the good health of children attending nursery and take necessary steps to prevent the spread of infection (see sickness and illness policy). If a child requires medicine, we will obtain information about the child’s needs for this, and will ensure this information is kept up to date.
Medication prescribed by a doctor, dentist, nurse or pharmacist
· Prescription medicine will only be given when prescribed by the above and for the person named on the bottle for the dosage stated
· Medicines must be in their original containers
· Those with parental responsibility for any child requiring prescription medication should hand over the medication to the most appropriate member of staff who will then note the details of the administration on the appropriate form and another member of staff will check these details
· Those with parental responsibility must give prior written permission for the administration of each medication. However, we will accept written permission once for a whole course of medication or for the ongoing use of a medication under the following circumstances:
1. The written permission is only acceptable for that brand name of medication and cannot be used for similar types of medication, e.g. if the course of antibiotics changes, a new form will need to be completed
2. The dosage on the written permission is the only dosage that will be administered. We will not give a different dose unless a new form is completed
3. Parents must notify us IMMEDIATELY if the child’s circumstances change, e.g. a dose has been given at home, or a change in strength/dose needs to be given.
· The nursery will not administer a dosage that exceeds the recommended dose on the instructions unless accompanied by written instructions from a relevant health professional such as a letter from a doctor or dentist
· The parent must be asked when the child has last been given the medication before coming to nursery; and the staff member must record this information on the medication form.
Similarly, when the child is picked up, the parent or
guardian must be given precise details of the times and dosage given
throughout the day. The parent’s signature must be obtained at both times
· At the time of administering the medicine, a senior member of staff will ask the child to take the medicine, or offer it in a manner acceptable to the child at the prescribed time and in the prescribed form. (It is important to note that staff working with children are not legally obliged to administer medication)
· If the child refuses to take the appropriate medication, then a note will be made on the form
· Where medication is “essential” or may have side effects, discussion with the parent will take place to establish the appropriate response.
Non-prescription medication
The nursery will not administer any non-prescription medication containing aspirin
· The nursery will only administer non-prescription medication for a short initial period, dependant on the medication or the condition of the child. After this time, medical attention should be sought
· If the nursery feels the child would benefit from medical attention rather than non-prescription medication, we reserve the right to refuse nursery care until the child is seen by a medical practitioner
· On registration, parents will be asked if they would like to fill out a medication form to consent to their child being given a specific type of liquid paracetamol or anti-histamine circumstances such as an increase in the child’s temperature or a wasp or bee sting. This form will state the dose to be given, the circumstances in which this can be given e.g. the temperature increase of their child, the specific brand name or type of non-prescription medication and a signed statement to say that this may be administered in an emergency if the nursery CANNOT contact the parent
· An emergency nursery supply of fever relief (e.g Calpol) and anti-histamines (e.g. Piriton) will be stored on site. This will be checked at regular intervals by the designated trained first aider to make sure that it complies with any instructions for storage and is still in date
· If a child does exhibit the symptoms for which consent has been given to give non-prescription medication during the day, the nursery will make every attempt to contact the child’s parents. Where parents cannot be contacted then the nursery manager will take the decision as to whether the child is safe to have this medication based on the time the child has been in the nursery, the circumstances surrounding the need for this medication and the medical history of the child on their registration form. Giving non-prescription medication will be a last resort and the nursery staff will use other methods first to try and alleviate the symptoms, e.g. for an increase in temperature the nursery will remove clothing, use fanning, tepid cooling with a wet flannel. The child will be closely monitored until the parents collect the child
· If any child is brought to the nursery in a condition in which he/she may require medication sometime during the day, the manager will decide if the child is fit to be left at the nursery. If the child is staying, the parent must be asked if any kind of medication has already been given, at what time and in what dosage and this must be stated on the medication form
· As with any kind of medication, staff will ensure that the parent is informed of any non-prescription medicines given to the child whilst at the nursery, together with the times and dosage given
· The nursery DOES NOT administer any medication unless prior written consent is given for each medicine.
Complaints and compliments policy
At Peapods Nursery, we believe that parents are entitled to expect courtesy and prompt, careful attention to their individual needs and wishes. We hope that at all times parents are happy with the service provided and we encourage parents to voice their appreciation to the staff concerned.
We have a formal procedure for dealing with complaints where we are not able to resolve a concern. Where any concern or complaint relates to child protection, we follow our Safeguarding/Child Protection Policy.
If the matter is still not resolved, the nursery will hold a formal meeting between the manager, parent and a senior staff member to ensure that it is dealt with comprehensively. The nursery will make a record of the meeting and document any actions. All parties present at the meeting will review the accuracy of the record, and be asked to sign to agree it and receive a copy. This will signify the conclusion of the procedure.
A record of complaints will be kept in the nursery. The record will include the name of the complainant, the nature of the complaint, date and time complaint received, action(s) taken, result of any investigations and any information given to the complainant including a dated response.
Parents will be able to access this record if they wish; however, all personal details relating to any complaint will be stored confidentially and will be only accessible by the parties involved. Ofsted inspectors will have access to this record at any time during visits to ensure actions have been met appropriately.
