At The Village Nursery Bellingdon 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 parents rather than at nursery. If a child requires medication, we will obtain information about the child’s needs for this and will ensure this information is kept up to date.
Procedures In order to take appropriate action of children who become ill and to minimise the spread of infection we will implement the following procedures: If a child becomes ill during the nursery day, a member of staff will contact their parent(s) to inform them of their child’s illness and request that they pick up their child as soon as possible. The child will be cared for in a quiet, calm area. We follow the guidance given to us by Public Health England in Guidance on Infection Control in Schools and other Child Care Settings. 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 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 come into contact with a contagious child to reduce the spread of infection. Please keep children with colds at home, again to reduce the spread of infection. If a child develops a temperature above 38 degrees centigrade, a senior member of staff will contact the child’s parent(s) to inform them of the illness and obtain verbal permission to administer liquid paracetamol and ask them to pick up their child as soon as possible. During this time the child will be cared for in a quiet, calm area. We exclude all children on antibiotics or other medication for the first 24 hours of the course as per Public Health England guidance (unless this is part of an ongoing care plan to treat individual medical conditions e.g. asthma and the child is not 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.
Allergens All parents will have completed the registration form highlighting the presence of any allergies. It is parents’ responsibility to inform the nursery of any changes to their child’s allergies and a care plan must be in place to manage an incident. Piriton is kept on site in the case of an emergency and will be administered with consent from a parent. Transporting children to hospital procedure Should the need arise, children may be transported to hospital via ambulance under the following procedures: An ambulance will be called immediately if the illness is severe. Whilst waiting for the ambulance, parents will be contacted and if necessary, arrangements made to meet at the hospital. Two members of staff will accompany the child and remaining staff will be redeployed if necessary to ensure there is adequate staff deployment to care for the remaining children. This may mean temporarily grouping the children together All relevant information such as registration forms, relevant medication sheets, accident form, medication and the child’s comforter will be gathered. Children who witness an incident may well be affected by it and may need lots of cuddles and reassurance. Staff may also require additional support following the accident. We will always encourage privacy for the affected child to prevent any unnecessary distress to other children or staff.
Protocol for responding to a suspected case of coronavirus
Should there be a confirmed case Public Health England’s local health protection teams will conduct a rapid investigation and will advise on the most appropriate action to take.
This policy was adopted by The Village Nursery Bellingdon Ltd on 1st May 2020 and will be subject to regular reviews to reflect the ongoing coronavirus situation.