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| Policies
The following are summaries only – full policies are available at the preschool for parents and carers to look at. 'Clear and exceptionally well-presented policies and procedures, clearly linked to the relevant welfare requirements, are in place to underpin the setting's practices and day-to-day operation.' (Ofsted report 12/05/2010)
1.1 Children’s rights and entitlements We promote children's right to be strong, resilient and listened to § by creating an environment in our setting that encourages children to develop a positive self image, which includes their heritage arising from their colour and ethnicity, their languages spoken at home, their religious beliefs, cultural traditions and home background § by encouraging children to develop a sense of autonomy and independence § by enabling children to have the self-confidence and the vocabulary to resist inappropriate approaches § by helping children to establish and sustain satisfying relationships within their families, with peers, and with other adults. We work with parents to build their understanding of, and commitment to, the principles of safeguarding all our children.
1.2 Safeguarding children and child protection
(Including managing allegations of abuse against a member of staff) Little Owls Preschool believes that safeguarding children is everyone’s responsibility and should be reflected in every aspect of our work with children. It is the duty of every worker, volunteer, student and trustee to safeguard children. § We abide by Ofsted requirements in respect of references and Criminal Record Bureau checks for staff and volunteers, to ensure that no disqualified person or unsuitable person works at the setting or has access to the children. § Volunteers do not work unsupervised. § We have procedures for recording the details of visitors to the setting. § We take security steps to ensure that we have control over who comes into the setting so that no unauthorised person has unsupervised access to the children. § All members of staff are familiar with the Local Safeguarding Children Board procedures for reporting and referral and follow these procedures. 1.3 Looked after children We are committed to providing quality provision based on equality of opportunity for all children and their families. All staff are committed to doing all they can to enable ‘looked after’ children in their care to achieve and reach their full potential. 1.4 Confidentiality and client access to records
It is our intention to respect the privacy of children and their parents and carers, while ensuring that they access high quality early years care and education in our setting. We aim to ensure that all parents and carers can share their information in the confidence that it will only be used to enhance the welfare of their children. 1.5 Information sharing A copy of this policy is given to every parent when their child starts at the setting. We are obliged to share confidential information without authorisation from the person who provided it or to whom it relates if it is in the public interest. That is when: § it is to prevent a crime from being committed or intervene where one may have been, or to prevent harm to a child or adult; or § not sharing it could be worse than the outcome of having shared it. § The three critical criteria are: · Where there is evidence that the child is suffering, or is at risk of suffering, significant harm. · Where there is reasonable cause to believe that a child may be suffering, or at risk of suffering, significant harm. · To prevent significant harm arising to children and young people or serious harm to adults, including the prevention, detection and prosecution of serious crime. § We seek consent to share information, unless it puts the child at risk or undermines a criminal investigation. 1.6 Uncollected children In the event that a child is not collected by an authorised adult at the end of a session, the setting puts into practice agreed procedures. These ensure the child is cared for safely by an experienced and qualified practitioner who is known to the child.
1.7 Missing child
Children’s safety is of the highest priority at all times both on and off premises. Every attempt is made through carrying out the outings procedure and the exit/entrance procedure to ensure the security of children is maintained at all times. In the unlikely event of a child going missing, our missing child procedure is followed.
1.8 Supervision of children on outings and visits
Children benefit from being taken out of the setting to go on visits or trips to local parks or other suitable venues for activities which enhance their learning experiences. Staff in our setting ensure that there are procedures to keep children safe on outings; all staff and volunteers are aware of and follow the procedures. 1.9 Maintaining children’s safety and security on premises We maintain the highest possible security of our premises to ensure that each child is safely cared for during their time with us. § We ensure all employed staff have an enhanced disclosure from the Criminal Records Bureau.
§ Whenever children are on the premises at least two adults are present. § We carry out risk assessment to ensure children are not made vulnerable within any part of our premises, nor by any activity. § The arrival and departure times of adults - staff, volunteers and visitors - are recorded. § Our systems prevent unauthorised access to our premises. § Our systems prevent children from leaving our premises unnoticed. 1.10 Making a complaint
Our setting believes that children and parents are entitled to expect courtesy and prompt, careful attention to their needs and wishes. We welcome suggestions on how to improve our setting and will give prompt and serious attention to any concerns about the running of the setting. We anticipate that most concerns will be resolved quickly by an informal approach to the appropriate member of staff. If this does not achieve the desired result, we have a set of procedures for dealing with concerns. We aim to bring all concerns about the running of our setting to a satisfactory conclusion for all of the parties involved. 1.11 Valuing diversity and promoting equality
We will ensure that our service is fully inclusive in meeting the needs of all children, particularly those that arise from their ethnic heritage, social and economic background, gender, ability or disability. Our setting is committed to anti-discriminatory practice to promote equality of opportunity and valuing diversity for all children and families. 1.12 Supporting children with special educational needs
We provide an environment in which all children, including those with special educational needs, are supported to reach their full potential. § We have regard for the DfES Special Educational Needs Code of Practice (2001). § We ensure our provision is inclusive to all children with special educational needs. § We support parents and children with special educational needs (SEN). § We identify the specific needs of children with special educational needs and meet those needs through a range of SEN strategies. § We work in partnership with parents and other agencies in meeting individual children's needs. § We monitor and review our policy, practice and provision and, if necessary, make adjustments. 1.13 Achieving positive behaviour
Our setting believes that children flourish best when their personal, social and emotional needs are met and where there are clear and developmentally appropriate expectations for their behaviour. Children need to learn to consider the views and feelings, needs and rights of others and the impact that their behaviour has on people, places and objects. This is a developmental task that requires support, encouragement, teaching and setting the correct example. 1.14 Administering medicines
While it is not our policy to care for sick children, who should be at home until they are well enough to return to the setting, we will agree to administer medication as part of maintaining their health and well-being or when they are recovering from an illness. 1.15 Managing children with allergies, or who are sick or infectious (Including reporting notifiable diseases)
We identify allergies and prevent contact with the allergenic substance and prevent cross infection of viruses and bacterial infections. Parents are asked to notify us of any allergies and staff are familiar with the procedures we follow to prevent a child coming into contact with an allergen. We also follow precedures which minimise the risk of cross infection. 1.16 Nappy changing
No child is excluded from participating in our setting who may, for any reason, not yet be toilet trained and who may still be wearing nappies or equivalent. Our toilet facilities accommodate children who are not yet toilet trained. 1.17 No-smoking
We comply with health and safety regulations and the Welfare Requirements of the EYFS in making our setting a no-smoking environment - both indoor and outdoor. 1.18 Food and drink
This setting regards snack and meal times as an important part of the setting's day. Eating represents a social time for children and adults and helps children to learn about healthy eating. At snack and meal times, we aim to provide nutritious food, which meets the children's individual dietary needs. 1.19 First aid
In our setting staff are able to take action to apply first aid treatment in the event of an accident involving a child or adult. At least one member of staff with current first aid training is on the premises or on an outing at any one time. The first aid qualification includes first aid training for infants and young children. 2.1 Employment and staffing (Including vetting, contingency plans, training and development)
We provide a staffing ratio in line with, and usually exceeding, the welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage, which are: - children aged two years of age: 1 adult : 4 children
- children aged three to five years of age: 1 adult : 8 children.
Our staff are appropriately qualified and we carry out checks for criminal and other records through the Criminal Records Bureau in accordance with statutory requirements. 2.2 Induction of staff, volunteers and managers
We provide an induction for all staff, volunteers and managers in order to fully brief them about the setting, the families we serve, our policies and procedures, curriculum and daily practice. 2.3 Student placements Qualifications and training make an important contribution to the quality of the care and education provided by early years settings. As part of our commitment to quality, we offer placements to students undertaking early years qualifications and training. We also offer placements for school pupils on work experience.
3.1 Risk assessment
The health and safety of children is of paramount importance. We make our setting a safe and healthy place for children, parents, staff and volunteers by assessing and minimising the hazards and risks to enable the children to thrive in a healthy and safe environment. 3.2 Health and safety general standards This setting believes that the health and safety of children is of paramount importance. We make our setting a safe and healthy place for children, parents, staff and volunteers. We have a designated member of staff for Health and Safety, who has undertaken training. We have public liability insurance and employers' liability insurance. 3.3 Fire safety and emergency evacuation We ensure our premises present no risk of fire by ensuring the highest possible standard of fire precautions. We have a fire drill every half term to familiarise children and adults with the evacuation procedure. 3.4 Recording and reporting of accidents and incidents We follow the guidelines of the Reporting Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences (RIDDOR) for the reporting of accidents and incidents. Child protection matters or behavioural incidents between children are NOT regarded as incidents and there are separate procedures for this. 3.5 Food hygiene In our setting we provide or serve food for children on the following basis : § Snacks. § Packed lunches. We maintain the highest possible food hygiene standards with regard to the purchase, storage, preparation and serving of food. We are registered as a food provider with the local authority Environmental Health Department. 4.1 Admissions It is our intention to make our setting accessible to children and families from all sections of the local community. § We arrange our waiting list in birth order. Preference will be given to children who live within the Parish of Boxted. In addition our policy may take into account the following: · the presence or absence of other preschool provision accessible to the family; · siblings already attending the preschool; and · whether a child already attends another preschool setting. § Children are admitted from the age of 2 years. Preference for admission may be given to children whose families live in Boxted and are unable to access other childcare. 4.3 The role of the key person and settling-in
We believe that children settle best when they have a key person to relate to. § We allocate a key person as soon as the child starts. § The key person is responsible for the settling the child into our preschool. § The key person acts as the key contact for the parents and has links with other carers involved with the child, such as a childminder, and co-ordinates the sharing of appropriate information about the child’s development with those carers. § The key person is responsible for developmental records and for sharing information on a regular basis with the child’s parents to keep those records up-to-date, reflecting the full picture of the child in our setting and at home. § We provide a back-up key person so the child and the parents have a key contact in the absence of the child’s key person. 4.4 Parental involvement
We believe that children benefit most from early years education and care when parents and settings work together in partnership. Our aim is to support parents as their children's first and most important educators by involving them in their children's education and in the full life of the setting. We also aim to support parents in their own continuing education and personal development. 4.5 Working in partnership with other agencies We work in partnership with or in tandem withlocal and national agencies to promote the well-being of children. Procedures are in place for sharing of information about children and families with other agencies. These are set out in the Information Sharing policy, Safeguarding Children procedures and SEN policy. 5.1 Children’s records We keep two kinds of records on children attending our setting:
Developmental records § These include observations of children in the setting, photographs, video clips and samples of their work and summary developmental reports. These are known as the child’s Learning Journey records and are usually kept in the playroom. They can be freely accessed, and contributed to by staff, the child and the child’s parents. Personal records § These include registration and admission forms, signed consent forms, and correspondence concerning the child or family, reports or minutes from meetings concerning the child from other agencies, an ongoing record of relevant contact with parents, and observations by staff on any confidential matter involving the child, such as developmental concerns or child protection matters. § These confidential records are stored in a lockable cabinet and are kept secure. 5.2 Provider records We keep records for the purpose of maintaining our business. These include: § Records relating to our registration. § Landlord/lease documents and other contractual documentation relating to amenities, services and goods. § Financial records relating to income and expenditure. § Risk assessments. § Employment records of staff.
Our records are regarded as confidential on the basis of sensitivity of information.
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