Policies

1. ADDITIONAL NEEDS POLICY
  • The spectrum of special needs is broad and therefore, the setting welcomes the opportunity for parents and children who come for visits to discuss the best ways in which the setting can meet the child’s individual special educational needs.
  • Children with additional needs are valued, respected and welcomed at Daisy Day Setting. Our role in meeting individual needs is very much collaborative. As such, the setting manager is the nominated Additional Needs Co-ordinator. The ANCO‘s role is to:
    • Support your child’s additional needs by liaising with and supporting setting staff and parents.
    • Be the contact with outside agencies including Health Visitors and Play Therapists.
    • Apply for one-to-one funding if needed.
    • Support the key carer to create an Individual Care Plan.
    • Review the Individual Care Plan as needed.
    • Support the childcare staff in understanding the child’s individual needs.
  • Individual Care Plans (ICP) capture all the information required to best support your child and their progress.
  • The needs and preferences of all children, relating to their home language, intended medium of education, and their social, cultural and religious practices are embraced and catered for, ranging from our activity planning to our menu.
  • Our team has the skills and experience of caring for a number of children with additional and medical needs. In these cases, the ANCO and the team in the child’s room worked together with external agencies and parents to ensure the care suited their needs and the child was given the best possible experiences. Where we find a skills gap, we will source suitable training.
  • We have not had need yet to adapt the physical environment to suit a child with additional needs. However we know where to source information and support to facilitate this.
  • We follow the current Code of Practice for Additional Learning Needs for Wales.
  • At all times, confidentiality and privacy is paramount.
2. BEHAVIOUR MANAGEMENT POLICY
  • We believe that support and prevention are the most effective ways of promoting positive behaviour. At all times we respect your child and their rights.
  • A positive approach to behaviour management that is based on nurturing, supporting and prevention is most effective and respectful to your child. Ways we do this include the staff:
      • Modelling positive behaviour
      • Giving lots of praise and encouragement
      • Consistently following the methods outlined in our behaviour policy.
    • Inappropriate behaviour, including bullying, is discouraged and managed. Staff are alert to the signs of bullying.
    • Physical punishments, or the threat of them, are prohibited. Children are never shaken, smacked, humiliated, shouted at, humiliated or shamed.
    • We do not use any form of physical intervention, e.g. holding or restraint, unless it is absolutely necessary to prevent personal injury to your child, other children or an adult, or serious damage to property. Any such incident is recorded and you are informed on the day.
    • The managers hold overall responsibility for behaviour management and have the experience and skills to train and support their team of nursery nurses and assistants.
    • At all times our aim is to work with you to ensure your child is safe, secure and happy in our care.
    • Confidentiality is always maintained.

We have several techniques we use to promote positive behaviour depending on the age and development of each child:

    • Reward charts.
    • Praising positive behaviour.
    • Encouraging children to take an active part in deciding the room rules.
    • Role play and circle time is facilitated for children to discuss their emotions and feelings daily.

For children aged 2½ and under, in addition to the above techniques we may consider:

    • Showing them the acceptable way to play e.g. we don’t hit our friend with the car, we race it.
    • Removing the child from the situation.
    • Redirecting the child’s attention.
    • Redirecting the child’s activity e.g. let’s take your tower and build it over here instead.

For children aged 2½ and over we introduce a Traffic Light System (TLS). The aim of the TLS is to motivate the children to behave positively and give them the opportunity to take ownership of their behaviour.

Each member of staff has three coloured circles. A green, orange and red, which signify different things:

Green – a child is behaving/ playing appropriately or the first time a child is asked to do something.

Orange – a child demonstrates inappropriate behaviour or has to be asked a second time.

Red – a child continues to behave inappropriately or still hasn’t done what they have been asked several times, they will be moved to a red card. This is what we are trying to avoid by implementing the TLS.

In the event that we have a child persistently demonstrating negative behaviour we would move to using a behaviour chart alongside the TLS to identify any patterns in the behaviour so we can best support the child. We would discuss with you if we introduce a behaviour chart.

If, after completing a behaviour chart, there are no improvements, we would invite you in for a meeting with the setting manager. The aim of the meeting is to:

    • Strengthen partnership with you by unifying behaviour management techniques between home and setting in order to reinforce a consistent approach.
    • Discuss if there are any changes at home that may be affecting their behaviour that we can support you and your child with e.g. a new sibling or house move.
3. SUN SAFETY POLICY

Whilst we recognise that some sun is good for us, over-exposure to Ultraviolet Radiation (UVR) is an important safeguarding issue. During warmer months, a child’s skin can easily burn, causing cumulative and irreparable damage. Sun exposure in the first 15 years of life contributes significantly to a person’s lifetime risk of skin cancer, highlighting the importance of working together with parents, to increase knowledge and influence behaviours, to ensure children are protected against UVR and learn how to enjoy the sun safely.

Clothing and sunhats

  • We request that you supply your child with a suitable sun hat for outdoor play – please avoid baseball caps as they do not protect the back of the neck. We have spare hats for any children who do not come in with one.
  • We actively encourage children to wear a sunhat in the sunshine.
  • We also request that you dress your child in suitable clothes, ensuring that their shoulders are covered.

Sunscreen

  • Sunscreen will be applied to any skin that is not covered when the UV levels are 3 or above. The PIC (person in charge) will check the met office website daily to see what the levels are.  We provide sunscreen, but please bring in your own if you prefer.
  • The sunscreen we provide is a minimum of SPF 30, protects against UVA & UVB and labelled with a UVA symbol (minimum of 4 stars). We apply sunscreen generously to exposed skin, 20 minutes before the children go outdoors, and then reapply every two hours (or more frequently if the children have had water play).

Shade

  • Gardens have shaded areas for outdoor play and we will be increasing the amount of shaded areas in our outdoor space. This protects the children against all weathers.
  • The children are encouraged to play in the shade when the UV levels are 3 or above, particularly between 11am & 3pm.
  • Time in the sun is monitored and limited during these times.

Hydration

  • The children are kept hydrated with water which is available and encouraged regularly throughout the day, especially during warmer weather and physical activity.

Sun Safety Awareness

  • We educate children on the importance of sun safety and regularly reinforce this during warmer months to influence behaviours and embed key messaging. We do this through discussions about the keeping safe, arts and crafts sessions, and role play.
4. MEDICATION POLICY
  • If your child requires medication during their day with us, you will be asked to complete our online medication form; this will be sent to you via email upon you notifying us about the medication. You must confirm the type of medication, what it is treating, and dosage and frequency.
  • Medication administered throughout the day is then recorded on the form immediately after it has been given. The staff member records the time the medication is given, and both they and a witness sign to confirm the medication was administered.
  • As the parent/carer, you must:

(a) Complete the medication form in full.

(b) Acknowledge, by way of signature, when you pick your child up that the medication has been administered as required.

(c) Sign to confirm you have had the medication returned to you.

  • The medication is taken from you on arrival and stored securely in the room’s medication box or cupboard, out of children’s reach.
  • Medication must be provided in the original container and be labelled with your child’s name. If it is prescribed, the pharmacists label must be visible and intact, with your child’s name clearly displayed, on the container.
  • Children who are receiving anti-biotic medication will be allowed to return to the setting 24 hours after the first dose is given. Exceptions to this policy are detailed in the exclusions policy.
  • Where a child is unwell and receiving non-anti-biotic medication, they will be allowed to return to the setting in line with the Infection Control Guidelines and exclusion policy.
  • If a child comes into nursery and they have a slight cold or are teething, you may leave medication (e.g. paracetamol suspension) in their bag and inform the team so it can be provided to the child should they need it. If the child’s temperature reaches 38°C or they become unwell or distressed during the day, we will phone you to seek permission to administer the medication. You will be asked to complete our online medication form as written confirmation of permission.
  • In the case that, during their time with us, a child’s temperature increases unexpectedly, this will be closely monitored by staff. Staff will seek permission from yourself as above to administer medication from the child’s bag, or request that you bring medication to the setting to give them.
  • If your child’s temperature rises above 38°C, we will contact you to advise that you collect them and seek medical attention.
  • Children with lifesaving medication (i.e. epilepsy medication, asthma pumps, or Epipens for severe allergies) will only be permitted entry to nursery if they have their medication with them, and if the team caring for your child have had the appropriate training if necessary. We request that, where feasible, a package of the medication stays at nursery.
  • The expiry date of lifesaving medication kept on the premises is checked monthly by a manager. If the medication is due to expire, or the medication is running out, we will inform you and request a new one. If it does go out of date, your child will not be permitted into setting before a new one is provided. We return all expired medication to you.
  • From time to time, staff may require specialist training to care for individual needs to administer certain medication such as Epipens. We ensure that staff have the necessary training from a qualified medical professional.
  • An ongoing medication form will be provided to you to complete in the above case, and for any longer-term medications such as topical ointments.
5. PLAY POLICY

We ensure the children’s right to play is upheld and at the centre of all that we do and we will strive to ensure every child’s individual needs, rights and play preferences are recognised and met.

Play is a biological, psychological and social necessity and is fundamental to the healthy development and wellbeing of children.

It is the role of the childcare team to offer a wide range of play opportunities to enable children to play and choose freely, in turn leading their play themselves.

Our role in supporting play

The team and management ensure the play environment is safe, secure and reflects the needs and preferences of all children.

Both adult led and child led activities are to be available through the day, and activity planning facilitates this, in addition to varied and stimulating resources and toys.

Children are offered the opportunity to take part in planned activities but we recognise the importance of offering the children choices, and if they don’t want to take part in these activities, they will never be forced to.

Outdoor Play

Outdoor play plays a vital role in children’s development, and as such we ensure children have regular access to the outdoor space at least once a day except in inclement weather.

We encourage activities and resources to be moved between the indoor space and outdoor space to reflect children’s needs and, where possible, ‘free flow’ is promoted.

Risky Play

Risk taking is a natural and beneficial aspect of the children’s play. Through controlled risky play, children can learn about their limits and what they are capable of, and develop vital skills such as problem solving and resilience.

Rather than eliminate risks in their entirety, we actively minimise the risks that are deemed unnecessary. Further to this. children are supported in their play and the team ensure they feel safe through close supervision and intervention as necessary.

Risk assessments are carried out for specific activities such as fire play and water play.

Staff are trained on risky play as part of their induction programme.