This section contains the policies, procedures and guidelines of Buttercups Nursery School and information which relates to the Early Years Foundation Stage.

It is designed to inform all those involved with the nursery school (staffs, parents and regulatory bodies) of the aspirations, care and principals of the running of the nursery school.

Should it be in the interests of staff, parents, children or the nursery school to deviate from these policies and procedures, then the nursery school will do so, always providing that the alternative in no way brings it into conflict with the regulations, nor comprises safety or fairness.

This handbook remains the property of Buttercups at all times and can be recalled at any time. They are confidential to Buttercups and should only be shared with those employed by, or working closely with, or have children at, the nursery school.

Within the documents of Buttercups Nursery School various terms and abbreviations are used and these terms are explained herein.

The partners and staff of Buttercups Nursery School – The management between Hazel Scott and Helen Akerman

Nursery school – Buttercups Nursery School

We – The partners and staff of Buttercups Nursery School

Parent – Parent or legal guardian or other persons authorised by the parent to be responsible for the child(ren) whilst under the supervision of Buttercups

Family – Those with whom the child(ren) resides and/or accompanies the child(ren) to Buttercups

Nursery School Leader (s) Owner(s) – Hazel Scott and Helen Akerman

The group – Anyone involved in/with/at Buttercups during its opening hours

EYFS – Early Years Foundation Stage

The following procedures, along with risk assessment, help us to ensure the on-going health and safety of pupils and staff during their attendance at the nursery school.  The health and safety of Buttercups Nursery School children and staffs are paramount. 

To maintain the safety of all those involved in the setting we have an Accident and Incident Policy to clarify the procedure during an accident or incident. Buttercups will ensure at all times the safety and security of the children in their care. 

Measures to support this include:
•    All staff will hold a current first aid certificate, which will be up-dated every 3 years.
•    Regular assessments of the safety of the nursery school areas and equipment.

Should there be a mayor accident or incident, the most senior person on site must be informed immediately. In the event of an accident or incident once the child is secure and comforted the staff member who dealt with the incident will complete and sign the company’s accident or incident report form. 

The senior manager will read and then sign the form as a true statement, having investigated as necessary. The matter will be brought to the attention of the parent when they collect the child – the matter discussed and the actions taken. 

The parent will also be required to sign the form to indicate their agreement to the action taken and the fact that the matter has been brought to their attention. If the parent is in any doubt about an injury – however minor – Buttercups recommends that the parent takes the child to their own GP.

Where the incident or accident is of a more serious nature; the situation will be assessed by two first aiders and a decision will be made to either;
•    Contact the parent/carer and ask them to collect their child from Buttercups immediately and seek the appropriate medical advice, or Buttercups will call an ambulance and the child will be taken to hospital.
•    Again the most senior person on site must be informed immediately and if an ambulance is called the most senior person (or their nominated representative) will accompany the child to hospital if the ambulance services considers this to be the most appropriate action.
•    The person accompanying the child will take with them the child’s registration form with the child’s personal information thereon.  They will ensure that the medical authorities are aware of any wishes of the parents regarding medical interventions, allergies etc.
•    The parent will be contacted and kept fully informed of developments.
•    As above, once the emergency is over Buttercups’ staff will complete the Company’s incident or accident report form in the manner described above.

Ofsted will be notified of, any injury requiring treatment by a general practitioner or hospital doctor or, the death of a child or adult.

Any serious accident or incident, which is not witnessed by a member of staff, (i.e. injury to a limb, bruising as a result of a fall or knock) the manager will inform Ofsted and the Child Safeguarding Body.

Please refer to Health and Safety Policy and Procedure and Safeguarding Children and Child Protection Policy and Procedure 

If a child is on prescribed medication the following procedures will be followed

Where ever possible the child’s parents will administer medicine

Where staffs are required to administer medication; Only qualified members of staff / first-aiders will administer medicines

Written information must be obtained from the parent/carer/guardian giving clear instructions about the dosage, administration of the medication and permission for a qualified member of staff / first aider to follow the instructions.

All medications will be kept in the back storage room or in the refrigerator if required.

A medication book will be available to log in the following information: name of child receiving medication; times that the medication should be administered; date and time when medication is administered; together with the signature of the person who has administered each dose and signature of the parent/carer/guardian.

If a child has been prescribed Antibiotics by their doctor the child must have been taking the Antibiotics for 48 hours (from the first dose) before returning to Buttercups Calpol Staff will only administer calpol if a child in their care develops a high temperature (38.5) during their attendance at Buttercups Nursery School.

Where a child requires calpol or another similar product
• All attempts must be made to locate a parent/guardian/carer for permission to administer the medicine.
• Should it not be possible to locate a parent/guardian/carer a qualified member of staff should check the child’s file to see if the parent has given written permission for the administration of the medicine and supplied sachets of calpol or other paracetamol based medication.
• The smallest possible amount should be administered as to be effective.
• A medication book will be available to log in the following information: name of child receiving medication; date and time when medication is administered; together with the signature of the person who has administered each dose.

PLEASE DO NOT ASK STAFF TO ADMINISTER CALPOL OR ANOTHER SIMILAR PRODUCT UNDER ANY OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES

When the parents collect the child they must be told of the actions taken. With regard to the administration of life saving medication such as insulin/adrenaline injections or the use of nebulisers, the position will be clarified by reference to the nursery school’s insurance company.

With regards to the administration of non-prescribed oral medication i.e. cough mixture staff will not administer any medication brought in by the parent/carer, which has not been prescribed by a doctor.

With regards the application of non-prescribed creams, i.e. nappy creams etc., staff will apply if a written request is provided by a parent/carer

 It is our intention to make Buttercups genuinely accessible to children and families from all sections of the local community. 50 weeks of the year.

In order to accomplish this, we will:
• Describe the nursery school and its practices in terms which make it clear that it welcomes fathers and mothers, other relations and carers, including childminders and people from all cultural, ethnic, religious and social groups, with and without disabilities.
• Monitor the gender and ethnic background of children joining the group to ensure that no accidental discrimination is taking place.
• Make our equal opportunities policy widely known.
• Ask parents to choose which hours they would like their children to attend subject to availability.

Admisson Fee

• £100 will be charged to secure a place at Buttercups Nursery School.
• £50 of this amount will be charged at the time of registration and is non-refundable. As part of this non-refundable fee you will be given a yellow crewneck t-shirt, a book bag and a blue shoe bag
• The final £50, of the above £100 payment, will be required 12 months prior to your child’s start date, along with confirmation of days and hours attending. (This charge will be refunded when your child/children leave Buttercups Nursery School).
• This payment will not be refunded if you cancel your registration with us before your child has started at the setting.

Admission

• We only reserve places for children who are joining Buttercups at 2yrs 9mths to the term before the Government Funding commences.
• Funded places cannot be reserved unless the funding period commences from the beginning of the academic year, (September)
• If you defer your child’s starting date by 4 weeks or more you will be asked to pay a retainer of 50% of your monthly fees to keep your child’s space at Buttercups Nursery School.
• If you reduce your child’s days and/or hours by more than 2 weeks or more you will be asked to pay full fees to keep your child’s space at Buttercups Nursery School.
• Alternatively you can apply for a space when the funding commences.

Hours (subject to availability)

• Extra hours will be charged at £6.75
• We do not permit any swapping of hours between children/siblings at the nursery school.
• We do not permit any swapping of hours/days when children cannot attend their booked in sessions.
• We do not charge for Bank Holidays.

Notice

• We require a written notice period of 6 weeks for any reduction in days/hours, (subject to availability).
• Non Funded Children – 6 weeks written notification must be given to terminate your contract with Buttercups Nursery School.
• Funded Children – 6 weeks written notification must be given to terminate your contract with Buttercups Nursery School.
• School Leavers – 12 weeks written notice must be given to terminate your contract with Buttercups Nursery School. NB please note that if you wish your child to leave before the end of the month 19th July / 10th August) no refunds will be given for the remaining weeks of that month.

NB We will require a copy of your child’s birth certificate, please bring with you on your child’s 1 hour visit to Buttercups, many thanks.  

At Buttercups Nursery School we have an adverse weather policy in place to ensure our nursery is prepared for all adverse weather such as wind, snow / icy conditions and heat waves.

If any of these incidents impact on the ability for the nursery to operate, we will contact parents via *phone/*parent mail/*face book site.

Where possible, we aim to keep the nursery school open in all conditions. To support this we will:
• Have on-going risk assessments throughout the day of the safety of the outside areas etc., so that areas can be closed / cordoned off if necessary.
• Work with community centre management to ensure areas of danger are gritted / entrances and exits (including fire exits) to the community centre are cleared and safe to use. Snow / Icy Conditions If snowfall is forecast the nursery will endeavour to open as usual. The decision to stay open will take into account:
• The safety of the children, their parents/carers and the staff team.
• If it is safe to make the journey safely to and from nursery due to local road conditions.
• Management of the community centre have made all entrances / exits safe.
• Heating / running water are not affected. If it is deemed unsafe for pupils / staff to access to the nursery school time may be needed to clear access routed and make the site safe. In the event of a planned closure we will contact all parents to inform them of our decision. If high snowfall is threatened during a nursery day then the manager will take the decision as to whether to close the nursery. This decision will take into account:
• The safety of the children, their parents/carers and the staff team.
• If it is safe to make the journey safely to and from nursery due to local road conditions.
• Management of the community centre have made all entrances / exits safe.
• Heating / running water are not affected. In the event of a planned closure during the nursery day we will contact all parents to arrange for collection of their child.

In the event of staff shortages due to snow we will contact all available off duty staff and group the children differently until they are able to arrive.

If we are unable to maintain statutory ratio requirements after all avenues are explored we will contact Ofsted to inform them of this issue, recording all details in our incident file.

If we feel the safety, health or welfare of the children is compromised then we will take the decision to close the nursery. It is good for children to evaluate their safety, therefore, with help from an adult, they will risk assess their own safety while being out in the snow / icy conditions.

If it is deemed unsafe for pupils / staff to access to the nursery school time may be needed to clear access routed and make the site safe.

Severe Wind If severe windy conditions have made the nursery area unsafe, we will assess the damage and make a decision based on our findings whether we remain open.

If it is deemed unsafe for pupils / staff to access to the nursery school time may be needed to clear access routed and make the site safe.

Please refer to our Sun Screen Policy and Procedure for matters pertaining to heat.

EYFS Key Themes and Commitments

A Unique Child
1.3 Keeping Safe
1.4 Health & Well-being

Positive Relationships
2.2 Parents as Partners
2.4 Key Person Enabling Environments
3.3 The Learning Environment
3.4 The Wider Context

Learning & Development

Buttercup’s requires that all parents complete the form relating to the disclosure of any allergies, intolerances or medical problems that the child may have.

Buttercups will require this form to be completed on an annual basis, but parents must inform Buttercups if a child develops an allergy, intolerance or medical problem during the year.

Where such a problem is disclosed, Buttercups will seek the permission of the parent, by obtaining the parent’s consent on the form, to correspond with the child’s doctor or other health professional. If, for any reason, the parent withholds this permission, then Buttercups will require the parent to obtain the necessary information from the doctor or health professional and make that information available to Buttercups. Where Buttercups is not informed of a problem or the relevant information relating to the problem is not obtained and/or passed to Buttercups, then whilst Buttercups will make their best endeavours to ensure the child’s safety it cannot be held responsible for problems arising from lack of information.

All children with allergies, intolerances or medical problems will have their photograph displayed. All children with allergies, intolerances will have their own sandwich storage container clearly labelled with their name.

Buttercups will endeavour to have alternative snacks available for the child’s special requirements i.e. if a child has a dairy allergy we will provide cookies made with soya spread.

Nuts (e.g. peanuts) are not allowed in Buttercups

8am
Parent/ Carers are asked to hang their child’s coat/shoe bag/carrier bag containing their wet weather gear in the community centre coffee lounge on the coat pegs provider by Buttercups.

Please place your child’s lunch box on the trolley provider. You will then enter Buttercups by ringing our doorbell. Please be aware that if you arrive later than 8.50am you will need to follow the procedure for 9am arrival.

9am
Parent/Carers are asked to hang their child’s coat/shoe bag/carrier bag containing their wet weather gear in the community centre coffee lounge on the coat pegs provider by Buttercups. Please place your child’s lunch box on the trolley provider. Parent/Carers are asked to wait in the foyer for Buttercups door to open at 9am

We would like to ask all Parent / Carers to ensure that they arrive by no later than 9am so that we can commence our day at 9.10am.

1pm
Parent/Carers are to enter the community centre garden by the side entrance and are asked to wait behind Buttercup’s fence until their child is greeted. The wooden double gates will be un-locked at 12.55pm.
Parent/Carers are asked to leave their child’s coat on, as they will be staying out to play (winter months).
Parent/Carers are asked to hand their child’s water bottle to a member of staff.
Parent/Carers are then asked to take their child’s shoe bag / carrier bag / yellow/blue bag to the community centre coffee lounge to place on their child’s peg.

We would like to ask all Parent / Carers to ensure that they arrive by no later than 1pm so that we can commence our day at 1.10pm.

NB The garden gate will be locked by 1.10pm, if you arrive after this time please return to Buttercups main door and ring the doorbell to make yourself known.

At all times Parent/Carers are encouraged to:
o Help their child place their book bags and water bottles in the boxes provided inside the classroom.
o Help to settle their child before saying good-bye. Some children can find this a very stressful time therefore please speak to your child’s key/co-person for any help or ideas you might need with this matter.
o If you wish to speak to your child’s key-person or manager(s) please inform the member of staff on the door.

Departure Procedures

1pm & 3.30pm
Parent/Carers are to enter the community centre garden by the side entrance and are asked to wait behind Buttercup’s fence (1pm) or inside garden (3.30pm) until their child is handed over. The wooden double gates will be un-locked at 12.55pm and 3.25pm

Your child will have their book bag/water bottle and coat (winter months) with them.

If you wish to speak to your child’s key-person or manager(s) privately please inform the member of staff on the door.

4pm
Parent/Carers are asked to wait in the community centre foyer until their child is handed over. The door will be opened at 4pm. Your child will have their book bag/water bottle and coat (winter months) with them.

If you wish to speak to your child’s key-person or manager(s) privately please inform the member of staff on the door.

6pm
Parent / Carers are asked to ring the doorbell to collect their child from Buttercups.

Parent / Carers are asked to take their child’s book bag / water bottle from the boxes provided inside of Buttercups. In the winter months their coat will be inside of Buttercups.

Important Information

o Your child’s sun hat must be kept in your child’s book bag at all times.
o Parent/Carers are asked to take all items belonging to their child home at the end of the day. Buttercups will not be responsible for any items lost or stolen if they have been left on our coat pegs at the end of the day.
o Please ensure all items of clothing are clearly labelled with your child’s name.
o Any items of clothing, which are not named and remain in our lost property box for more than 1 week will be given to our parent committee and, if in good condition will be sold. All other items will be disposed of.
o Parent/Carers are encouraged to be aware of notices put on the main door.
o If a Parent/Carer does not collect their child at the agreed time with Buttercups a staff member shall ask the Parent/Carer to sign the Late Collection book. A late collection charge will be made.
o If a Parent/Carer informs’ us that another person is collecting their child from Buttercups we will ask the Parent/Carer to sign an Alternative Collection form.

Please ensure that all other people who bring or collect your child from Buttercups is aware of this policy and procedure  

We believe that children and adults flourish best in an ordered environment in which everyone knows what is expected of them and children are free to develop their play and learning without fear of being hurt or hindered by anyone else. At Buttercups we aim to work towards a situation in which children can develop self-discipline and self-esteem in an atmosphere of mutual respect and encouragement.

In order to achieve this:
• Rules governing the conduct of the group and the behaviour of children will be discussed and agreed within the nursery school and explained to all newcomers, both children and adults.
• All adults in the nursery school will ensure that the rules are applied consistently so that children have the security of knowing what to expect and can build up useful habits of behaviour.
• All adults will try to provide a positive model for the children with regard to friendliness, care and courtesy.
• Adults in the nursery school will praise and endorse desirable behaviour such as kindness and willingness to share. • We will take positive steps to avoid a situation in which children receive adult attention only in return for undesirable behaviour.
• To support children and their families we will communicate with other services. This may involve, for example, working outreach workers, health and social care professionals and other settings. When children behave in unacceptable ways: Physical punishment, such as smacking or shaking, will be neither used nor threatened.
• Restrictive physical intervention should only be used in the context of positive behaviour management.
• Children will never be sent out of the room by themselves.
• Techniques intended to single out and humiliate individual children such as the ‘naughty chair’ will not be used.
• Where behaviour is not acceptable, children will be given individual adult support in seeing what was wrong and working towards a better pattern, this will be achieved by the use of the settings mood monsters. As well as showing the children the mood monsters, language such as ‘I can see that you are very angry like the red monster’ will be used. Staff members will label the emotion so that children understand where the behaviour has come from, children will be given the opportunity to talk through their emotions and given tools to help them manage them. Where appropriate children may need a period of ‘time in’ with an adult. In some cases, the child will be referred to the setting EY-ELSA for the period of six weeks where individual activities will be planned to help the child understand different emotions, feelings and behaviours. Different tools/technique, such as calm bags, a place for the child to go during periods of high emotions, will be explored and put in place. All interventions put in place will be shared with all staff within the setting so that a consistent approach can be used.
• In cases of serious unacceptable behaviour, such as racial or other abuse, the unacceptability of the behaviour and attitudes will be made clear immediately, but by means of explanation rather than personal blame.
• In any case of unacceptable behaviour, it will always be made clear to the child or children in question, that it is the behaviour and not the child that is unwelcome.
• Adults will not shout or raise their voices in a threatening way.
• Adults in the nursery school will make themselves aware of, and respect, a range of cultural expectations regarding interactions between people.
• Any behaviour problems will be handled in a developmentally appropriate fashion, respecting individual children’s level of understanding and maturity.
• Recurring problems will be tackled by the whole nursery school in partnership with the child’s parents, using objective observation records to establish an understanding of the cause. The setting EY-ELSA will help to support the child during periods of unwanted behaviour
• Adults will be aware that some kinds of behaviour may arise from a child’s special needs/speech and language/level of understanding of their feelings and emotions.

Bullying

Bullying involves the persistent physical or verbal abuse of another child or children. We take bullying very seriously.

If a child bullies another child or children:
• We intervene to stop the child harming the other child or children;
• We explain to the child doing the bullying why her / his behaviour is inappropriate;
• We help the child who has done the bullying to understand his / her actions;
• We make sure that children who bully receive praise when they display acceptable behaviour;
• We do not label children who bully;
• When children bully, we discuss what has happened with their parents and work out with them a plan for handling the behaviour;

When children have been bullied:
• We share what has happened with their parents, explaining that the child who did the bulling is being helped to adopt more acceptable ways to behaviour;
• We fully support the child / children who has been bullied and their parent(s);
• We give reassurance to the bullied child / children and work closely with those children to build their confidence;

Behaviour Management Co-ordinators and Support Team is:

Helen Akerman (EY-ELSA)

EYFS Key Themes and Commitments

A Unique Child
1.2 Inclusive Practice
1.3 Keeping Safe
1.4 Health & Well-being Positive Relationships
2.1 Respecting Each Other
2.2 Parents as Partners
2.4 Key Person Enabling Environments
3.1 Observation, Assessment & Planning
3.2 Supporting Every Child Learning and Development
4.4 Personal, Emotional & Emotional Development

All staff at Buttercups Nursery School aim to help children take responsibility for their own behaviour. This can be done through a combination of approaches which include:
• positive role modelling
• planning a range of interesting and challenging boundaries and expectations
• providing positive feedback. encourage the children to talk about their feelings and emotions encourage the use of the settings mood monsters However, there are very occasional times when a child’s behaviour presents particular challenges that may require physical handling. This policy sets out expectations for the use of physical handling. Definitions There are three main types of physical handling:

Positive handling. The positive use of touch is a normal part of human interaction. Touch might be appropriate in a range of situations:
• giving guidance to children (such as how to hold a paintbrush, or when climbing)
• providing emotional support (such as placing an arm around a distressed child)
• physical care (such as first aid or toileting).

Staff must exercise appropriate care when using touch. There are some children for whom touch would be inappropriate such as those with a history of physical abuse, or those from certain cultural groups. Buttercups policy is not intended to imply that staff should no longer touch children.

Physical intervention. Physical intervention can include mechanical and environmental means such as high chairs, stair gates or locked doors. These may be appropriate ways of ensuring a child’s safety.

Restrictive physical intervention. This is when a member of staff uses physical force intentionally to restrict a child’s movement against his or her will. In most cases this will be through the use of the adult’s body rather than mechanical or environmental methods. This guidance refers mainly to the use of restrictive bodily physical intervention and is based on national guidance.

Principles for the use of restrictive physical intervention: Firstly
• Restrictive physical handling should be used in the context of positive behaviour management approaches
• Buttercups will only use restrictive physical intervention in extreme circumstances. It will not be the preferred way of managing children’s behaviour.
• Buttercup’s recognises that physical intervention should only be used in the context of a well-established and well implemented positive framework.
• Buttercup’s aims to do all it can in order to avoid using restrictive physical intervention. However, there are clearly rare situations of such extreme danger that create an immediate need for the use of restrictive physical intervention. Restrictive physical intervention in these circumstances can be used with other strategies such as saying ‘stop’.

Secondly: paramountcy
• Restrictive physical intervention will only be used when staffs believe it’s use in the child’s best interests: their needs are paramount.

Thirdly: duty of care.
• Staffs have a duty of care towards the children in Buttercups. When children are in danger of hurting themselves, others or of causing significant damage to property, staffs have a responsibility to intervene. In most cases, this involves an attempt to ‘stop!’ However, if it is judged as necessary, staff may use restrictive physical intervention.

Fourthly: reasonable minimal force.
• When physical intervention is used, it is used within the principle of reasonable minimal force. This means using an amount of force in proportion to the circumstances. Staff should use as little restrictive force as necessary in order to maintain safety. Staff should use this for as short a period as possible. When can restrictive physical intervention be used?

Buttercups identifies that restrictive physical intervention can be justified when:
• Someone is injuring themselves or others
• Someone is damaging property
• There is suspicion that, although injury, damage or other crime has not yet happened, it is about to happen.

Buttercup’s states that duty of care means that staff might use restrictive physical intervention if a child is trying to leave the site and it is judged that the child would be at risk. Staff should also use other protective measures, such as securing the site and ensuring adequate staffing levels.

This duty of care also extends beyond the site boundaries: when staffs have control or charge of children off site (e.g. on trips). This policy highlights that there may be times when, restrictive physical intervention is justified but the situation might be made worse if restrictive physical intervention is used. If staff judge that restrictive physical intervention would make the situation worse, staff would not use it, but would do something else (like issue an instruction to stop. Seek help, or make the area safe) consistent with their duty of care.

Buttercup’s emphasises that the aim in using restrictive physical intervention is to restore safety, both for the child and those around him or her. Restrictive physical intervention must never be used out of anger, as a punishment or as alternative to measures which are less intrusive and which staff judge would be effective.

Who can use restrictive physical intervention?

It is recommended that a member of staff who knows the child well is involved in a restrictive physical intervention. This person is most likely to be able to use other methods to support the child and keep them safe without using physical intervention. In an emergency, anyone can use restrictive physical intervention as long as it is consistent with the setting’s policy.

Where individual children’s behaviour means that they are likely to require restrictive physical intervention, staff should identify members who are most appropriate to be involved. It is important that such staff have received appropriate training and support behaviour management as well as physical intervention. Buttercup’s emphasises that staff and children’s physical and emotional health is considered when such plans are made. What type of restrictive physical intervention can and cannot be used?

Any use of physical restrictive intervention in Buttercups shall be consistent with the principle of reasonable minimal force. Where it is judged that restrictive physical intervention is necessary, staff should:
• aim for side-by-side contact with the child. Avoid positioning themselves in front (to reduce the risk of being kicked) or behind (to reduce the risk of allegations of sexual misconduct)
• aim for no gap between the adult’s and child’s body, where they are side by side. This minimises the risk of impact and damage
• aim to keep the adult’s back as straight as possible
• beware in particular of head positioning, to avoid head butts from the child
• hold children by ‘long’ bones, i.e. avoid grasping at joints here pain and damage are most likely
• ensure that there is no restriction to the child’s ability to breathe. In particular, this means avoiding holding a child around the chest cavity or stomach
• avoid lifting.

Staffs at Buttercups are not allowed to use seclusion (which is where children are forced to spend time alone in a locked room) except in an emergency situation.

Restrictive physical intervention is not used to bring children to, or hold them in, time-in.

Staff will receive specific training in the use of restrictive physical intervention and appropriate refresher training. This training is accredited through the national accreditation system set up by BILD (British Institute of Learning Disabilities).

Planning

In an emergency, staffs do their best within their duty of care and using reasonable minimal force. After an emergency the situation is reviewed and plans for an appropriate future response are made. This will be based on a risk assessment which considers:
• what the risks are
• who is at risk and how
• what can be done to manage the risk.

A risk assessment is used to help write the individual behaviour plan that is developed to support a child. If this behaviour plan includes restrictive physical intervention it will be just one part of a whole approach to supporting a child’s behaviour. The behaviour plan should outline:
• an understanding of what the child it trying to achieve or communicate through their behaviour
• how the environment can be adapted to better meet the child’s needs
• how the child can be taught and encouraged to use new, more appropriate behaviour
• how the child can be rewarded when he or she makes progress
• how staff respond when the child’s behaviour is challenging (responsive strategies).

Buttercup’s emphasises that staff pay particular attention to responsive strategies. There are a range of approaches such as humour, distraction, relocation, and offering choices which are direct alternatives to using restrictive physical intervention. Responsive strategies are chosen in the light of a risk assessment, which considers:
• the risks presented by the child’s behaviour
•the potential targets of such risks
• Preventative and responsive strategies to manage these risks.

Buttercups will draw from as many different viewpoints as possible when it is known that an individual child’s behaviour is likely to require some form of restrictive physical intervention. In particular, the child’s parent/carers will be involved with staff from Buttercups who work with the child and any visiting support staff (such as Area SENCO’S, Educational Psychologists, PORTAGE Plus workers, the Behaviour Support Team, Speech and Language Therapists and Social Workers). The outcome from these planning meetings will be recorded and signature will be sought from the parent/carer to confirm their knowledge of the planned approach. These plans will be reviewed at least once every four to six months or more frequently if there are major changes to the child’s circumstances.

Recording and reporting

Restrictive physical intervention will be recorded by Buttercups and will be done as soon as possible and within 24 hours of the incident. According to the nature of the incident, the incident shall be noted in other records, such as the accident book or child tracking sheets.

After using restrictive physical intervention Buttercups shall inform the parent/carer by telephone (or by letter or note home with the child if this is not possible). Parents/carers shall be given a copy of the record form. The manager and local authority (where required) shall also be informed.

The records will show:
• who was involved (child and staff, including observers)
• the reason physical intervention was considered appropriate
• how the child was held
• when it happened (date and time) and for how long
• any injury or subsequent distress, and what was done in relation to this.
• supporting and reviewing.

Buttercup’s emphasises that it is distressing to be involved in a restrictive physical intervention, whether as the person doing the holding, the child being held, or someone observing or hearing about what has happened.

After restrictive physical intervention support is given to the child so that they can understand why they were held. A record is kept about how the child felt about this where this is possible. Where appropriate, staff may have the same sort of conversations with other children who observed what happened. In all cases, staff should wait until the child has calmed down enough to be able to talk productively and understand this conversation. If necessary, an independent member of staff will check for injury and provide appropriate first aid.

Buttercup’s emphasises that support is given to the adults who were involved, either actively or as observers. The adults should be given the chance to talk through what has happened with the most appropriate person from the staff team. A key aim of after-incident support is to repair any potential strain to the relationship between the child and the adult that restrained him or her.

Buttercup’s emphasises that after a restrictive physical intervention, staff consider reviewing the individual behaviour plan so that the risk of needing restrictive physical intervention again is reduced.

Monitoring

This policy shall be reviewed annually (more often if needed) by Hazel Scott (SENCO Co-ordinator).

Buttercups will take the opportunity to seek support from the Area SENCO where appropriate.

Monitoring the use of restrictive physical intervention will help identify trends and therefore help develop Buttercups ability to meet the needs of children without using restrictive physical intervention.

Complaints

The use of restrictive physical intervention can lead to allegations of inappropriate or excessive use. Where anyone (child, carer, staff member or visitor) has concern, this should be dealt with through Buttercups usual complaint’s procedure.

This policy was adopted on 16th January 2023 and will be reviewed annually from the date shown. 

Nursery children and their families may experience grief and loss of close family members or friends whilst with us in the nursery. We understand that this is not only a difficult time for families but it may also be a confusing time for young children, especially if they have little or no understanding of why their parents are upset and why this person is no longer around.

We aim to support both the child and their family and will adapt the following procedure to suit their individual needs and wants:

We ask that if there is a loss of a family member or close friend that the parents inform the nursery as soon as they feel able to. This will enable us to support both the child and the family wherever we can and helps us to understand a potential change in behaviour of a child who may be grieving themselves.

The key-person and/or the manager will talk with the family to ascertain what support is needed or wanted from the nursery. This may be an informal discussion or a meeting away from the child to help calm a potentially upsetting situation.

The child may need extra support or one-to-one care during this difficult time, the nursery will adapt their staffing arrangements so they are fully supported by the most appropriate member of staff on duty, preferably the child’s key person.

The nursery will be flexible wherever possible to adapt the sessions the child and family may need during this time.

The death of family pets is also an area that children and their families may need support with. We follow the above procedure wherever it is appropriate to support the child to understand their loss and support through this time.

On 1st July 2015 the Common Inspection Framework requires Providers to actively promote British Values as defined by the Prevent Strategy, building resilience in children to challenge extremist views.

Democracy
Making decisions together

Rule of Law
Understanding that rules matter

Individual Liberty
Freedom for all

Mutual Respect and Tolerance
Treating others, as you want to be treated

Democracy

At Buttercups we encourage the children to develop their self-confidence and self-awareness through the learning outcome Personal, Social and Emotional development. We encourage the children to make choices and decisions about what they would like to explore and how they are going to use the resources we provide for them.

Through collaborative play and negotiation, children turn take, share and make decisions together – skills that are essential for the adult world. Children are shown that their decisions count, as they are given the opportunity to vote for their favourite story or song.

Rule of law

At Buttercups Nursery School we help the children to understand that rules matter, that rules play an important part in keeping us safe. We encourage the children to follow our Golden Rules, both inside and outside the setting and that there are consequences to breaking our rules. Children are encouraged to ‘police’ themselves and their friends. The children are given clear and consistent boundaries so they are able to learn right from wrong and expected expectations of behavior.

Individual Liberty

At Buttercups we help the children to develop a positive sense of themselves through Personal, Social and Emotional development and Understanding of the World. Every time we challenge the children to carry out a task we are developing their self-knowledge, self-esteem and increasing their confidence in their own abilities.

Through our new experiences we teach the children to reflect on differences, develop their opinions, ensuring that they understand that everyone is free to have their own opinion and feel valued.

Mutual Respect and Tolerance

At Buttercups we teach the children to treat others as we would like to be treated. Through feelings flashcards we can discuss how we have made others feel and how this has impacted on ourselves.

We encourage the children to have respect for their peers. This is achieved through modeling behavior and language and during play situations. We build on friendships through small group work, common interests, play and role modeling.

At Buttercups we have four key groups with a keyworker and co keyworker. This allows the children to feel part of a small community, mixing with children who are older or younger than them selves. For the larger community we are Buttercups Nursery School.

Our Equality and Diversity policy is committed to providing equal opportunities and anti discriminative practice for all children and families for example; we do not provide ‘girls toys’ or ‘boys toys’, children are encouraged to explore all areas and toys within the continuous provision.

We respect and value different faiths, views, cultures and races; this is developed through our wider community. We invite parents/carers into the setting to celebrate their cultures and provide opportunities for families to share their own traditions. We teach the children that different cultures celebrate different traditions for example Chinese New Year and Diwali. During our New Experiences and everyday practice children can explore similarities and differences between themselves and others, among families, faiths, community and traditions.es

At Buttercups we aim to provide the highest education and care for all the children. To offer a welcome to each individual child and family and to provide a warm and caring environment, within which all children can learn and develop as they play.

We believe that children and parents are entitled to expect courtesy and prompt, careful attention to their needs and wishes. Our intention is to work in partnership with parents and the community generally and we welcome suggestions on how to improve the nursery school at any time.

Making concerns known

A parent who is uneasy about any aspect of Buttercups’ provision and staff should first of all talk over any worries and anxieties with the nursery school manager(s).

If this does not have a satisfactory outcome within a couple of weeks, or if the problem recurs, the parent should put the concerns or complaint in writing and request a meeting with the nursery school managers (the owners of Buttercups). Both parents and the manager(s) may have a friend or partner present if required and an agreed written record of the discussion will be made. A copy of our complaints procedure is available to all parents in the parent pack.

Most complaints should be resolved informally or at this initial stage.

However should the matter still not be sorted out to the parent’s satisfaction, the parent should again contact the manager(s).

If the parent and Buttercups cannot reach agreement, it might be helpful to invite an external mediator (one who is acceptable to both parties) to listen to both sides and offer advice.

Mediation

A mediator has no legal powers but is a help to clarify the situation.

The mediator will help define the problem, review the action(s) so far and suggest further ways in which it might be resolved.

The mediator will keep all discussions confidential. S/he will meet with the pre-school if requested and will keep an agreed written record of any meetings that are held and of any advice s/he has given.

If you wish to contact Ofsted for further advice or information you may telephone their office on the telephone below. (Please refer to Ofsted Publication enclosed)

0300 1231 231 Royal Exchange Buildings, St Annes Square, Manchester, M1 7LA

The role of the registering authorities

In some circumstances it will be necessary to bring in the local authority and inspection unit, who have a duty to ensure laid down requirements are adhered to. The registering authority would be involved if a child appeared to be at risk or where there seemed to be a possible breach of registration requirements. In these cases both parent and the nursery school would be informed and Ofsted would work with the Social Services Department to ensure a proper investigation of the complaint, followed by appropriate action.

Buttercups believe that most complaints are made constructively and can be sorted out at an early stage. We also believe that it is in the best interests of the nursery school and parents that complaints should be taken seriously and dealt with fairly and in a way which respects confidentiality.

In the event of an agreement not being reached

Should the parties concerned not reach an amicable agreement, Buttercups reserves the right to decide the best course of action for the majority of those involved and/or likely to be affected. That decision will be final and binding on all parties.

At Buttercups Nursery School we understand we need to plan for all eventualities to ensure the health, safety and welfare of all the children we care for. With this in mind we have a critical incident policy in place to ensure our nursery is able to operate effectively in the case of a critical incident. These include:
Flood
Fire
Burglary
Abduction or threatened abduction of a child
Bomb threat/terrorism attack
Any other incident that may affect the care of the children in the nursery.

If any of these incidents impact on the ability for the nursery to operate, we will contact parents via *phone/*parent mail.

Flood

There is always a danger of flooding from adverse weather conditions or through the water/central heating systems. We cannot anticipate weather; however we can ensure that we take care of all our water and heating systems through regular maintenance and checks to reduce the option of flooding in this way. The Whiteley Community Association management team are responsible for ensuring our central heating systems are checked and serviced annually by a registered gas engineer and they conform to all appropriate guidelines and legislation.

If flooding occurs during the nursery day, the nursery manager will make a decision based on the severity and location of this flooding, and it may be deemed necessary to follow the fire evacuation procedure. In this instance children will be kept safe and parents will be notified in the same way as the fire procedure.

Should the nursery be assessed as unsafe through flooding, fire or any other incident we will follow our operational plan and provide care in another location.

Fire

Please refer to the fire safety policy.

Burglary

The managers of the community centre follow a lock up procedure, which ensures all doors and windows are closed and locked before vacating the premises. Alarm systems are used and in operation during all hours the community centre is closed.

The manager of the nursery, alongside the duty manager of the community centre will always check the premises as they arrive in the morning. Should they discover that the nursery has been broken into they will follow the procedure below:

Dial 999 with as many details as possible, i.e. name and location, details of what you have found and emphasise this is a nursery and children will be arriving soon.

Contain the area to ensure none enters until the police arrive. The staff will direct parents and children to a separate area as they arrive. If all areas have been disturbed staff will follow police advice, including following the relocation procedure under flood wherever necessary to ensure the safety of the children.

The manager/s will help police with the enquiries, e.g. by identifying items missing, areas of entry etc.,

The manager/s will be available at all times during this time to speak to parents, reassure children and direct enquiries.

Management will assess the situation following a theft and ensure parents are kept up-to-date with developments relating to the operation of the nursery.

Abduction or threatened abduction of a child

At Buttercups Nursery School we take the safety and welfare of the children in our care extremely seriously. As such we have secure safety procedures in place to ensure children are safe whilst within our care, this includes safety from abduction. Staff must be vigilant at all times and report any persons lingering on nursery property immediately. All doors and gates to the nursery are locked and unable to be accessed unless staff members allow individuals in. Parents are not permitted to allow anyone into the building whether they are known to them or not.

Children will only be released into the care of a designated adult, see the arrivals and departures policy for more details. Parents are requested to inform the nursery of any potential custody battles or family concerns as soon as they arise so the nursery is able to support the child. The nursery will not take sides in relation to any custody battle and will remain neutral for the child. If an absent parent arrives to collect their child, the nursery will not restrict access unless a court order is in place. Parents are requested to issue the nursery with a copy of these documents should they be in place. We will consult our solicitors with regards any concerns over custody and relay any information back to the parties involved.

If a member of staff witnesses an actual or potential abduction from nursery the following procedure will be followed:

The police must be called immediately.
The staff member will notify management immediately and the manager will take control.
The parents(s) will be contacted.
All other children will be kept safe and secure and calmed down where necessary.
The police will be given as many details as possible including details of the child; description of the abductor, car registration number if used, time and direction of travel if seen and any familiar situations that may impact on this abduction.

Bomb threat/terrorism attack

In the unlikely event of a bomb alert at the Whiteley Community Centre if the telephone call is received by Buttercups then the person taking the call must remain calm and write down as many details as possible during the conversation. When the caller rings off the telephone should not be replaced.


The police should be informed by using a different telephone by dialling 999 and saying we have received a bomb alert at Buttercups Nursery School, Whiteley Community Centre, Gull Coppice, Whitley PO15 7LA.

Other people in the building should be alerted. Do not use the fire alarm button (as this will immediately make people evacuate the building and if the bomb is outside this would be the wrong place for them to congregate).

If the bomb is said to be placed within the community centre the children should be evacuated in line with the fire procedures.

If the bomb is said to be outside, then all windows should be closed, curtains/blinds drawn and all children placed beneath tables.

Once the area has been declared safe you will be contacted immediately and asked to collect your child.

Other incidents

All incidents will be managed by the manager on duty and all staff will co-operate with any emergency services on the scene. Any other incident that requires evacuation will follow the fire plan. Other incidents will be dealt with on an individual basis taking into account the effect on the safety, health and welfare of the children and staff in the nursery.

NB Managers from Buttercups, Whiteley Pre-school, Whiteley Community Centre; Whiteley Primary School and Kiddi Caru have joined forces with Hampshire County Council Emergency Planning Unit to produce an evacuation plan that will enable us to relocate children in the event of a major emergency to a place of safety. This joint working between the sites will strengthen resilience, with minimal disruption and shared use of facilities if necessary – should one of our buildings be affected by an emergency. Examples of these types of emergencies could include loss of electricity / heating; flooding; gas leaks; suspect packages reported or fire. Whilst Hampshire County Council has a statutory duty to provide care and support during these kind of emergencies, these arrangements will enable the staff and children to act quickly, without delay whilst waiting for support to arrive.

Parents should be aware that in the event of an evacuation we will be walking the children of Buttercups Nursery School to the Solent Hotel. From this location parents will be contacted and notified as to where their children are. Be assured that the welfare and safety of your children will remain a priority and staff will retain responsibility for their care until parents have collected them.

At Buttercups we recognise that we hold sensitive/confidential information about children and their families and the staff we employ. This information is used to meet children’s needs, for registers, invoices and emergency contacts. We store all records in a locked cabinet or on the office computer with files that are password protected in line with data protection principles. Any information shared with the staff team is done on a ‘need to know’ basis and treated in confidence. This policy will work alongside the Privacy Notice to ensure compliance under General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR).

Legal requirements
• We follow the legal requirements set out in the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) 2017 and accompanying regulations about the information we must hold about registered children and their families and the staff working at the nursery
• We follow the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR) and the Freedom of Information Act 2000 with regard to the storage of data and access to it.

Procedures
It is our intention to respect the privacy of children and their families and we do so by:
• Storing confidential records in a locked filing cabinet or on the office computer with files that are password protected
• Ensuring staff, student and volunteer inductions include an awareness of the importance of confidentiality and that information about the child and family is not shared outside of the nursery other than with relevant professionals who need to know that information. It is not shared with friends and family, discussions on the bus or at the local bar. If staff breach any confidentiality provisions, this may result in disciplinary action and, in serious cases, dismissal. Students on placement in the nursery are advised of our confidentiality policy and required to respect it
• Ensuring that all staff, volunteers and students are aware that this information is confidential and only for use within the nursery and to support the child’s best interests with parental permission
• Ensuring that parents have access to files and records of their own children but not to those of any other child, other than where relevant professionals such as the police or local authority children’s social care team decide this is not in the child’s best interest
• Ensuring all staff are aware that this information is confidential and only for use within the nursery setting. If any of this information is requested for whatever reason, the parent’s permission will always be sought other than in the circumstances above
• Ensuring staff do not discuss personal information given by parents with other members of staff, except where it affects planning for the child’s needs
• Ensuring staff, students and volunteers are aware of and follow our social networking policy in relation to confidentiality
• Ensuring issues concerning the employment of staff remain confidential to the people directly involved with making personnel decisions
• Ensuring any concerns/evidence relating to a child’s personal safety are kept in a secure, confidential file and are shared with as few people as possible on a ‘need-to-know’ basis. If, however, a child is considered at risk, our safeguarding/child protection policy will override confidentiality.

All the undertakings above are subject to the paramount commitment of the nursery, which is to the safety and well-being of the child.

General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR) compliance

In order to meet our requirements under GDPR we will also undertake the following:
1. We will ensure our terms & conditions, privacy and consent notices are easily accessed/made available in accurate and easy to understand language
2. We will use your data only for reasons as stated in our Privacy Notice and we will not share or use your data for other purposes.
3. Everyone in our nursery understands that people have the right to access their records or have their records amended or deleted (subject to other laws and regulations).

Staff and volunteer information
• All information and records relating to staff will be kept confidentially in a locked cabinet
• Individual staff may request to see their own personal file at any time.

The sharing of refreshments can play an important part in the social life of the nursery school, as well as reinforcing children’s understanding of the importance of healthy eating.

Buttercups will ensure that:

Before a child starts to attend the nursery school we find out from parents/carers their children’s dietary needs, in

cluding any allergies.

We record information about each child’s dietary needs in his/hers registration record and parents/carers sign the record to signify that it is correct.

We regularly consult with parents/carers to ensure that our records of their children’s dietary needs – including any allergies – are up to date. Parents/carers sign the up-dated record to signify that it is correct.

We display current information about individual children’s dietary needs so that all staff and volunteers are fully informed about them. We implement systems to ensure that children receive only food and drink, which is consistent with their dietary needs and their parent/carers wishes. We plan menus of meals/snacks for the information of parent/carers.

We display the menus/snacks for the information of parents/carers.

We provide nutritious food at all meals and snacks, avoiding large quantities of fat, sugar, salt and artificial additives, preservatives and colourings.

We include the following elements in meals, which are offered: protein for growth – essential minerals and vitamins in raw foods, salads and fruits.

Through discussions with parents/carers and research reading by staff, we obtain information about the dietary rules of the religious groups to which children and their parents/carers belong and of vegetarians and vegans and about food allergies. We take account of this information in the provision of food and drinks.

We require staff to show sensitivity in providing for children’s diets and allergies. Staffs do not use a child’s diet or allergy as a label for the child, or make a child feel singled out because of her/his diet or allergy.


We organise meal and snack times so that they are social occasions in which children and staff participate.

We use meal and snack times to help children to develop independence through making choices, serving food and drink and feeding themselves.

We provide children with utensils which are appropriate for their ages and stages of development and which take into account the eating practices in their cultures.

We have fresh drinking water constantly available for the children. The children use their own water bottles throughout the day and we inform children how to obtain more water if needed.

1.11 Valuing diversity and promoting equality

Policy Statement

At Buttercups we will ensure that our service is fully inclusive in meeting the needs of all children, particularly those that arise from 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.

We aim to:

provide a secure and accessible environment in which all our children can flourish and in which all contributions are considered and valued. include and value the contribution of all families to our understanding of equality and diversity. provide positive non-stereotyping information about gender roles, diverse ethnic and cultural groups and disabled people. improve our knowledge and understanding of issues of anti-discriminatory practice, promoting equality and valuing diversity; and make inclusion a thread that runs through all of the activities of the setting.

Admissions

Our setting is open to all members of the community.

We advertise our service widely.
We reflect the diversity of our society in our publicity and promotional materials.
We provide information in clear, concise language, whether in spoken or written form.
We base our admissions policy on a fair system.
We ensure that all parents are made aware of our equal opportunities policy.
We do not discriminate against a child or their family, or prevent entry to our setting, on the basis of colour, ethnicity, religion or social background, such as being a member of a travelling community or an asylum seeker.
We do not discriminate against a child with a disability or refuse a child entry to our setting for reason relating to disability.
We ensure wherever possible that we have a balanced intake of boys and girls in the setting.
We develop an action plan to ensure that people with disabilities can participate successfully in the services offered by the setting and in the curriculum offered.
We take action against any discriminatory behaviour by staff or parents. Displaying of openly discriminatory and possibly offensive materials, name calling, or threatening behaviour are unacceptable on or around the premises and will be dealt with in the strongest manner.

Employment

Posts are advertised and all applicants are judged against explicit and fair criteria.

Applicants are welcome from all backgrounds and posts are open to all. We may use the exemption clauses in relevant legislation to enable the service to best meet the needs of the community.

The applicant who best meets the criteria is offered the post, subject to references and checks by the Criminal Records Bureau. This ensures fairness in the selection process. All job descriptions include a commitment to promoting equality and recognising and respecting diversity as part of their specifications. We monitor our application process to ensure that is fair and accessible.

Training

We seek out training opportunities for staff and volunteers to enable them to develop anti-discriminatory and inclusive practice, which enable all children to flourish.

We ensure that staffs are confident and fully trained in administering relevant medicines and performing invasive care procedures when these are required.

We review our practices to ensure that we are fully implementing our policy for promoting equality, valuing diversity and inclusion.

Curriculum

The curriculum offered in the setting encourages children to develop positive attitudes about themselves as well as to people who are different from them selves. It encourages children to empathise with others and to begin the skills of critical thinking.

Our environment is as accessible as possible for all visitors and service users. If access to the setting is found to treat disabled children or adults less favourably then we make reasonable adjustments to accommodate the needs of disabled children and adults. We do this by:

making children feel valued and good about themselves; ensuring that children have equality of access to learning; undertaking an access audit to establish if the setting is accessible to all children; making adjustments to the environments and resources to accommodate a wide range of learning, physical and sensory impairments;
making appropriate provision within the curriculum to ensure each child receives the widest possible opportunity to develop their skills and abilities, e.g. recognising the different learning styles of girls and boys; positively reflecting the widest possible range of communities in the choice of resources;
avoiding stereotypes of derogatory images in the selection of books or other visual materials;
celebrating a wide range of festivals;
creating an environment of mutual respect and tolerance; differentiating the curriculum to meet children’s special educational needs;
helping children to understand that discriminatory behaviour and remarks are hurtful and unacceptable;
ensuring that children learning English as an additional language have full access to the curriculum and are supported in their learning; and
ensuring that children speaking languages other than English are supported in the maintenance and development of their home languages.

Valuing diversity in families

We welcome the diversity of family lifestyles and work with all families. We encourage children to contribute stories of their everyday life to the setting.

We encourage parents/carers to take part in the life of the setting and to contribute fully.

For families who speak languages in addition to English, we will develop means to ensure their full inclusion. We offer information regarding sources of financial support.

Food

We work in partnership with parents to ensure that the medical, cultural and dietary needs of children are met.

We help children to learn about a range of food, and of cultural approaches to mealtimes and eating, and to respect the differences among them.

Meetings

Meetings are arranged to ensure that all families who wish to may be involved in the running of the setting. Information about meetings is communicated in a variety of ways – written, verbal and in translation – to ensure that all parents have information about access to the meetings.

Monitoring and reviewing

To ensure our policies and procedures remain effective we will monitor and review them annually to ensure our strategies meets the overall aims to promote equality, inclusion and valuing diversity. We provide a complaints procedure and a complaints summary record for parents to see.

Legal Framework

The Equality Act 2006
Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1995, 2005
Race Relations Act 1976
Race Relations Amendment Act 2000
Sex Discrimination Act 1976, 1986
Children Act 1989, 2004
Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001

This policy should be read in conjunction with the Health & Safety Policy and the Emergency Evacuation Procedure.

Buttercups will ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that the risk from fire will be managed in compliance with the Fire Precautions Act

EP1 = Evacuation Point – walk out of the community centre, turn right, go through railings, turn left and our point of meeting is the first lamp post on the left.

EP2 = Once a head count and register has been made walk to our meeting point at Whitley Primary School.

In the unlikely event of a fire at the Whiteley Community Centre the children will leave the building and will be taken to EP1 where we will proceed to take the register and a head count is made.

From here we will take the children to EP2 and for their safety we will take shelter in Whiteley Primary School.

It is from this location that you will be contacted and from where you will be able to collect your child.

We do have regular fire drills at Buttercups with the children. Centre management control these fire drills by using the centre alarm system. This can upset some of the children, but we make every effort to reassure them and explain the importance of what we are doing.

Parent Procedures

This procedure has been adopted to ensure the safe removal of all the children and staff from the building without panic.

Where are you? – In the coffee lounge or foyer, you have not entered the Nursery School.

What you should do – Leave via the main entrance and go to EP2

Where are you? – In the Nursery School room and your child has been signed in the register by a staff member on the door.

What you should do – Follow the Nursery School team to the EP1. You can stay with your child but they are the Nursery School responsibility.

Where are you? – You have LEFT your child and they have been registered as attending Buttercups but you are still in the community centre building or outside garden area.

What you should do – Leave the building or garden area and go to EP2. Your child will be escorted to the EP1 by Nursery School staff who will remain RESPONSIBLE for your child. The children and staff will then make their way to EP2.

NB: If the fire alarm is activated the door of the Nursery School will be closed immediately.

NB: If your child has been registered as attending Buttercups they cannot be taken home without first speaking to a member of staff Staff Procedures

In the Event of a Fire or Other Event When the Building Must be Cleared:

All staff and children will go to Door 1; from here the children will be led to the community centre garden gate at the side of the building.

If any of the children are already in the inside garden they will wait at the Buttercups Gate 1. If there are children in the outside garden area, they will be taken to Gate 2 by a staff member who is in the outside garden area.

Any staff member will lead the children to the allocated assembly point for Buttercups. Any staff member who is not in Buttercups main room will exit the building by the nearest fire exit and make their way to the allocated assembly point for Buttercups.

Hazel Scott (Mon, Tues, Weds) Helen Aklerman (Thurs) Rachel Wilson (Fri) will collect the register, mobile phone, children’s medications and will check all areas of Buttercups to ensure that everyone has left and will then walk to the allocated assembly point for Buttercups where the register and head count will be made.

The children will then be escorted to EP2 and for their safety we will take shelter in Whiteley Primary School.

Once the children are settled from any dangers Hazel Scott/Helen Akerman/Rachel Wilson will contact parent/carers and ask them to collect their child immediately from the collection point.

At all times the health and safety of the children will be considered.

In the event of a fire drill or false alarm the children will not be taken inside Whiteley School.

Temporary staff/helpers will be notified of their responsibilities for a fire procedure on arrival at Buttercups.

All visitors will be requested to sign a form confirming that they have read and agreed to follow our fire evacuation procedures.

This setting believes that the health and safety of children is of paramount importance. We make our setting a safe and healthy place for the children, parents, staff and volunteers.

Aim

We aim to make children, parents and staff aware of health and safety issues and to minimise the hazards and risks to enable the children to thrive in a healthy and safe environment.

Insurance Cover

We have Public Liability Insurance and Employer’s Liability Insurance. This certificate for Public Liability Insurance is displayed on the parent’s notice board and can be found in your parent pack.

Method

In order to achieve these aims we adhere to the following procedure

Our designated member of staff responsible for Health and Safety is Hazel Scott.

She is competent to carry out these responsibilities. She has undertaken Health and Safety training and regularly updates her knowledge and understanding.

We display the necessary Health and Safety poster in our servery.

Risk Assessment

Our risk assessment process covers adults and children and includes:

Checking for and noting hazards and risks, indoors, outside, and on our premises and our activities

Assessing the level of risk and who might be affected

Deciding which areas need attention

Developing an action plan that specifies the action required, the time-scales for action, the person responsible for the action and any funding required

Where more than 5 staff and volunteers are employed this risk assessment is written and is reviewed regularly

We maintain lists of Health and Safety issues, which are checked:

Daily before the sessions begins

Weekly

Monthly – when a full risk assessment is carried out

Our induction training for staff and volunteers includes a clear explanation of Health and Safety issues so that all indults are able to adhere to our policy and procedures as they understand their shared responsibility for Health and Safety. The induction training covers matters of employee well-being, including safe lifting and the storage of potentially dangerous substances

Records are kept of these induction training sessions and new staff and volunteers are asked to sign the records to confirm they have taken part

Health and Safety issues are explained to the parents of new children so that they understand the part played by these issues in the daily life of the setting

As necessary, health and safety training is included in the annual training plans of staff, and Health and Safety is discussed regularly at staff meetings

We operate a no smoking policy

Children are made aware of Health and Safety issues through discussions, planned activities and routines

Children’s Safety

We ensure all staff employed have been checked for criminal records by an enhances disclosure from the Criminal Records Bureau

Staff cannot start work until a satisfactory DBS+- check has been received

Adults do not normally supervise children on their own

All children are supervised by adults at all times

Whenever children are on the premises at least two adults must be present

Security

Systems are in place for the safe arrival and departure of children. The times of the children’s arrivals and departures are recorded

The arrival and departure times of adults – staff, volunteers and visitors – are recorded

Our security systems prevent un authorised access to the premises

Our security systems prevent children from leaving our premises unnoticed

The personal possessions of staff and volunteers are securely stored during sessions

Windows

Low level windows are made from materials that prevent accidental breakage or are made safe

Windows are protected from accidental breakage or vandalism from people outside the building

Windows above the ground floor are secured so that children cannot climb through them

Doors

We take precautions to prevent children’s fingers from being trapped in doors

Floors

All floors are checked daily to ensure they are clean and not uneven, wet or damaged

Kitchen

Children do not have unsupervised access to the kitchen

All staffs have a Food Hygiene Certificate and receive on-going in house training.

All staff follow the guidelines of Safer Food Better Business (Obtainable from the Food Standards Agency)

The person(s) in charge and the person(s) responsible for food preparation understands the principles of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) as it applies to their business. This is set out in Safer Food Better Business. The basis for this risk assessment as is applies to the purchase storage, preparation and serving of food to prevent growth of bacteria and food contamination

The person(s) responsible for food preparation and serving carries out daily opening and closing checks on the kitchen to ensure standards are met consistently (see Safer Food Better Business)

All surfaces are clean and non-porous

There are separate facilities for hand-washing and for washing up

Cleaning materials and other dangerous materials are stored out of children’s reach

When children take part in cooking activities, they:
– are supervised at all times
– are kept away from hot surfaces and hot water
– do not have unsupervised access to electrical equipment

Electrical / gas equipment

All electrical / gas equipment conforms to safety requirements and is checked regularly

The community centre boiler electrical switch gear / meter cupboard is not accessible to the children

Fires, heaters, electric sockets, wires and leads are properly guarded and the children are taught not to touch them

There are sufficient sockets to prevent overloading

The temperature of hot water is controlled to prevent scalds

Lighting and ventilation is adequate in all areas including storage areas

Storage
All resources and materials from which children select are stored safely

All equipment and resources are stored or stacked safely to prevent them accidentally falling or collapsing

Outdoor Area

Our outdoor area is securely fenced

Our outdoor area is checked for safety and cleared of rubbish before it is used

Adults and children are alerted to the dangers of poisonous plants, herbicides and pesticides

Where water can form a pool on equipment, it is emptied before children start playing outside

Our outdoor sand pit is covered when not in use and is cleaned regularly

All outdoor activities are supervised at all times

Fire Safety



The person in charge and staff are familiar with the requirements of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 which came into force in October 2006 and replaced any previous fire safety regulations

Details are downloadable from HYPERLINK “http://www.opsi.gov.uk” www.opsi.gov.uk Guidance that applies to early years settings is set out in: Fire Safety Risk Assessment – Educational Premises (SBN: 978 1 85112 819 8)

The basis of the new regulations is risk assessment. Managers will carry out a risk assessment; this will be written where there are more than 5 staff. This will follow the guidance as set out above.

Fire doors are clearly marked, never obstructed and easily opened from inside

Smoke detectors / alarms and fire fighting appliances conform to BSEN standards, are fitted in appropriate high risk areas of the building and are checked as specified by the manufacturer

Records are kept of fire drills and the servicing of fire safety equipment

Our emergency evacuation procedures are approved by the Fire Safety Officer and are:

clearly displayed in the premises
explained to new members of staff, volunteers and parents
practised regularly at least once every six weeks

Our accident book:

Is kept safely and accessibly

All staff and volunteers know where it is kept and how to complete it

Is reviewed at monthly to identify any potential or actual hazards

Ofsted is notified of any injury requiring treatment by a general practitioner or hospital doctor or, the death of a child or adult

When there is any injury requiring general practitioner or hospital treatment to a child, parent, volunteer or visitor or where there is a death of a child or adult on the premises, we make a report to the Health and Safety Executive using the format for the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences

Dealing with Incidents

We meet our legal requirements for the safety of our employees by complying with RIDDOR (the Reporting of Injury, Disease and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations). We report to the Health and Safety Executive:

Any accident to a member of staff requiring treatment by a general practitioner or hospital

Any dangerous occurrences. This may be an event that causes injury or fatalities or an event that does not cause an accident but could have done, such as a gas leak Any dangerous occurrence is recorded in our Incident Book. See below

Our Incident Book

We have ready access to telephone numbers for emergency services, including local police. We ensure we have access to the person responsible for the premises and that there is a shared procedure for dealing with emergencies.

We keep an incident book for recording incidents including those that are reportable to the Health and Safety Executive as above.

In the incident book we record the date and time of the incident, nature of the event, who was affected, what was done about it – or if it was reported to the police, and if so a crime number. Any follow up, or insurance claim made, should also be recorded.

In the unlikely event of a terrorist attack we follow the advice of the emergency services with regard to evacuation, medical aid and contacting children’s families. Our standard Fire Safety Policy will be followed. The incident is recorded when the threat is averted

In the unlikely event of a child dying on the premises, or any other means involving an older child, the emergency services are called, and the advice of these services are followed

The incident book is not for recording issues of concern involving a child. This is recorded in the child’s own file.

These Incidents include:

break in, burglary, theft of personal or the setting’s property

an intruder gsining unauthorised access to the premises

fire flood, gas leak or electrical failure

attack on member of staff or parent on the premises or near by

any racist incident involving staff or family on the premises of Buttercups or the centre.

death of a child

terrorist attack

Hygiene

To prevent the spread of all infection, adults at the nursery school will ensure that all the following good practices are observed.

Personal hygiene

We regularly seek information from the Environmental Health Department and the Health Authority to ensure that we keep up to date with the latest recommendations.

Our daily routines encourage the children to learn about personal hygiene.

Hands washed after using the toilet with an appropriate cleaning agent

Children with pierced ears not allowed to try on or share each other’s earrings

A large box of tissues is available and children are encouraged to blow and wipe their noses as necessary. Soiled tissues disposed of hygienically.

Children are encouraged to shield their mouths when coughing.

Individual towels available or paper towels used, and disposed of appropriately.

Hygiene rules relating to bodily fluids followed with particular care and all staff and volunteers aware of how infections, including HIV infection, can be transmitted

Cleaning and clearing

We have a daily cleaning routine for the setting, which includes play room(s), servery, toilet and nappy changing areas

We have a schedule for cleaning resources and equipment, dressing-up clothes and furnishings

The toilet area has a high standard of hygiene including hand washing and drying facilities and the disposal of nappies

We implement good hygiene practices by:
– Cleaning tables between activities as necessary
– Cleaning toilets regularly
– Wearing protective clothing – such as aprons and disposable gloves – as appropriate
– Providing tissues and wipes
– Ensuring individual use of towels

Activities

Before purchase or loan, equipment and resources are checked to ensure that they are safe for the ages and stages of the children currently attending the setting

The layout of play equipment allows adults and children to move safely and freely between activities

All equipment is regularly checked for cleanliness and safety and any dangerous items are repaired or discarded

All materials – including paint and glue – are non-toxic

Sand is clean and suitable for children’s play

Physical play is constantly supervised Children are taught to handle and store tools safely

Children who are sleeping are checked regularly

Children learn about health, safety and personal hygiene through the activities we provide and the routines we follow

Animals

Animals visiting the setting are free from disease and safe to be with children, and do not pose a health risk

If we had pets at Buttercups we would ensure that they were free from disease, safe to be with children, and do not pose a health risk

Children wash their hands after contact with animals

Outdoor footwear worn to visit farms are cleaned of mud and debris and should not be worn indoors

Food

Buttercups will observe current legislation regarding food hygiene, registration and training and under-stand and comply with food safety and hygiene regulations. (Regulation (EC) 852/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the Hygiene of Foodstuffs replaces previous Food Safety Regulations and the requirements are set out in Safer Food Better Business obtainable from the Food Standards Agency

In particular each adult will

Always wash hands under running water with an appropriate cleansing agent, before handling good and after using the toilet.

Not be involved with the preparation of food if suffering from any infection / contagious illness or skin trouble.

In line with the nursery school’s ‘no smoking policy’ the person, nor clothing should smell of smoke.

Never cough or sneeze over food

Use different cleaning cloths for kitchen and toilet areas

All food and drink is stored appropriately

Keep food covered and either refrigerated or piping hot.

Ensure waste is disposed of properly and out of reach of children. Keep a lid on the dustbin and wash hands after using it.

Wash fresh fruit and vegetables thoroughly before use.

Any food and drink that requires heating will be heated immediately prior to service and not left standing. No food or drink will be reheated.

Tea towels will be kept scrupulously clean and washed between each session.

All utensils will be kept clean and stored in a dust-free place (e.g. closed cupboard or drawer)

Cracked and chipped crockery will not be used.

Adults do not carry hot drinks through the play area(s) and do not place hot drinks within the reach of children

Snack and meal times are appropriately supervised and children do not walk about with food and drinks

Fresh drinking water is available to the children at all times

We operate systems to ensure that children do not have access to food/drinks to which they are allergic. Nuts (e.g. peanuts) are not allowed on the premises

No personal items will be kept or left on the work surface of the servery or hung from the door.

Outings and Visits

We have agreed procedures for the safe conduct of outings

Parents sign a general consent on registration for their children to be taken out as part of the daily activities of the setting

Parents always sign consent forms for major outings

A risk assessment on the proposed venue is carried out before an outing takes place

Our adult to child ratio for outings is high, normally one adult two children

Named children are assigned to individual staff to ensure each child is individually supervised and to ensure no child gets lost and that there is no unauthorised access to children

Outings are recorded on a risk assessment and state the date and time of outing, the venue and mode of transport, names of staff. A register will be taken recording start and end times of outing

The date and item of outing

The venue and mode of transport

Names of staff assigned to named children

Time of return

Staffs take a mobile phone on outings, and supplies of tissues, wipes, pants etc as well as a min first aid pack, a snack and water. The amount of equipment will vary and be consistent with the venue and the number of children as well as how long they will be out for

Records are kept of the vehicles used to transport children, with named drivers and appropriate insurance cover

A minimum of two staff should accompany children on outings even where parent volunteers are assisting and a minimum of two staff should remain behind with the rest of the children

Missing Child

If a child goes missing from the setting

The person in charge will carry out a thorough search of the building and garden

The register is checked to make sure no other child has gone astray

Doors and gates are checked to see if there has been a breach of security whereby a child could wander out

The person in charge talks to staff to establish what happened

If the child goes missing from an outing where parents are not attending and responsible for their own child, the setting ensures that there is a procedure that is followed

As soon as it is noticed that a child is missing, staff on the outing ask children to stand with their designated person and carry out a headcount to ensure that no other child has gone astray. One staff member searches the immediate vicinity but does not search beyond that

The person in charge is informed, if s/he is not on the outing and makes his/her way to the venue to aid the search and be the point of contact for the police as well as support to staff

Staffs take the remaining children back to the setting

The person in charge of the setting contacts the child’s parent who makes their way to the setting or outing venue as agreed with the person in charge

The staffs contact the police using the mobile phone and report the child missing

In an indoor venue, the staffs contact the venue’s security who will handle the search and contact the police if the child is not found

The Investigation

The manager carries out a full investigation taking written statements from all the staff present at the time, or who were on the outing

The key person/staff member writes an incident report detailing:

The date and time of the incident

What staff/children were in the group/outing

When the child was last seen in the group/outing

What has taken place in the group/outing since the incident

The time it is estimated that the child went missing

A conclusion is drawn as to how the breach of security happened

If the incident warrants a police investigation, all staff co-operate fully. In this case, the police will handle all aspects of the investigation including interviewing staff. Social Services may be involved if it seems likely that there is a child protection issue to address

The incident is reported under RIDDOR arrangements and is recorded in the incident book; the local authority Health and Safety officer may want to investigate and will decide if there is a case for prosecution

Ofsted is informed

The insurance company is informed

First Aid

All staff hold a 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.

The nursery school will ensure that the first aid equipment is kept clean, replenished and replaced as necessary. Sterile items will be kept sealed in their packages until needed.

Our first aid kit complies with the Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981 and contains the following items ONLY:

Triangular bandages (ideally at least one should be sterile) – x4 Sterile dressings: Small (formerly medium no 8) – x 3 Medium (formerly large no 9) – HSE 1 x 3 Composite pack containing 20 assorted (individually- wrapped) plasters Sterile eye pads (with bandage or attachment) e.g. no 16 dressing 2 Container or 6 safety pins 1 Guidance card as recommended by HSE 1 In addition to the first aid equipment, each box should be supplied with: 2 pairs of disposable plastic (PVC) gloves 1 plastic disposable apron A children’s forehead ‘strip’ thermometer

The first aid box is easily accessible to adults and is kept out of the reach of children

At the time of admission to the setting parent’s written permission for emergency medical advice or treatment is sought.

Parents sign and date their written approval Parents sign a consent form at registration allowing staff to take their child to the nearest Accident and Emergency unit to be examined, treated or admitted as necessary on the understanding that parents have been informed and are on their way to the hospital

Administration of Medication

Only prescribed medication may be administered. It must be in-date and prescribed for the current condition

Children taking prescribed medication must be well enough to attend the setting

Children’s prescribed drugs are stored in their original containers, are clearly labelled and are inaccessible to the children

Parents give prior written permission for the administration of medication. This states the name of the child, name/s of parent/s, date the medication starts, the name of the medication and prescribing doctor, the dose and times, or how and when the medication is to be administered

The administration is recorded accurately each time it is given and is signed by staff. Parents sign the record book to acknowledge the administration of a medicine

If the administration of prescribed medication requires medical knowledge, individual training is provided for the relevant member of staff by a health professional

The nursery school will maintain links with health visitors and gather health information and advice from the local health authority information Services and / or other health agencies.

Sickness

Our policy for the exclusion of ill or infectious children is discussed with parents. This includes procedures for contacting parents – or other authorised adults – if a child becomes ill while in the setting.

We do not provide care for children who are un-well, have a temperature, or sickness and diarrhoea, or who have an infectious disease.

The nursery manager will contact you if your child appears to be unwell and reserves the right to send your child home.

Cuts or open sores, whether on adults or children, will be covered with hypoallergenic sticking plasters or other dressing.

Children with head-lice are not excluded, but must be treated to remedy the condition.

Parents are notified if there is a case of head-lice in the setting.

Parents are notified if there is an infectious disease, such as chickenpox.

HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) may affect children or families attending the setting. Staff may or may not be informed about it.

Children or families are not excluded because of HIV.

The local authority’s medical officer for environmental health is notified of any infectious diseases that a qualified medical person considers notifiable, (Infectious Disease Notification Act 1889). Ofsted is also informed where this is the case. The full list is obtainable from HYPERLINK “http://www.patient.co.uk” www.patient.co.uk and includes common childhood illnesses such as measles.

Safety of Adults

Adults are provided with guidance about the safe storage, movement, lifting and erection of large pieces of equipment

When adults need to reach up to store equipment they are provided with safe equipment to do so

All warning signs are clear and in appropriate languages The sickness of staff and their involvement in accidents is recorded. The records are reviewed monthly to identify any issues that need to be addressed

Records

In accordance with the National Standards for Day Care, we keep records of:

Adults

The names and addresses of all staff on the premises, including temporary staff who work with the children or who have substantial access to them

The names and addresses of the owners

All records relating to the staff’s employment with the setting, including application forms, all references, results of checks undertaken etc.

Children

The names, addresses and telephone numbers of parents and adults authorised to collect children from the setting

The names, addresses and telephone numbers of emergency contacts in case of children’s illness or accident

The allergies, dietary requirements and illnesses of individual children

The times of attendance of children, staff, volunteers and visitors

Accidents and medicine administration records

Consent for outings, administration of medication, emergency treatment

Incidents

In addition, the following procedures and documentation in relation to health and safety are in place:

National Standards 6: Safety
Risk assessment
Records of visitors
Fire safety procedures
Fire safety records and certificates
Operational procedures for outings
Vehicle records including insurance
List of named drivers National Standard 7: Health
Administration of medication
Prior parental consent to administer medicine
Record of the administration of medicines
Prior parental consent for emergency treatment
Accident record
Sick children
No smoking
Guidance on Infection Control

Prevent the spread of infections by ensuring, routine immunisation, a high standard of hygiene and practice, particularly hand washing and maintaining a clean environment.

Parents are asked to keep their children at home if they have any infection and to inform the nursery school as to the nature of the infection so that the nursery school can alert other parents and make careful observations of any child who seems unwell.

In the event of illness, the nursery school requires your child to be excluded for the following periods of time (please see below ‘Guidance on Infection). Please do not endanger other children by brining your child when s/he is unwell. Please contact your local Health Protection Unit (H.P.U) if you would like any further advice or information.

Should we have an outbreak of an Infectious Disease or Pandemic at Buttercups we will contact the H.P.U

Hampshire & Isle of Wight Health Protection Agency Fusion 2, 1100 Parkway, Solent Business Park Whiteley, PO15 7AB 0845 055 2022 Infection Nurse 02392 8351441

Diseases notifiable (t Local Authority Proper Officers) under the Public Health (Infection Diseases) Regulations 1998 – Reviewed on 1st September 2003

Acute encephalitis
Acute poliomyelitis
Anthrax
Cholera
Diphtheria
Dysentery
Food poisoning
Leptospirosis
Malaria
Measles
Meningitis – meningococcal pneumococcal haemophilus influenza viral other specified unspecified
Meningococcal septicaemia (without meningitis)
Mumps
Ophthalmia
Paratyphoid fever
Plague
Rabies
Relapsing fever
Rubella
Scarlet fever
Smallpox
Tetanus
Tuberculosis
Typhoid fever
Thyphus fever
Viral haemorrhagic fever
Viral hepatitis – Hepatitis A Hepatitis B Hepatitis C Other
Whooping Cough
Yellow fever

Leprosy is also notifiable, but to the Director, CDSC

Statement of Intent

This setting believes that the safety of the children and staff in our setting is of paramount importance. We make every effort to keep our setting secure from intruders.

Aim

The aim of this policy is to inform practitioners and parent/carers of the procedures to take in the event of an intruder being identified on the premises. All practitioners must be aware that is priority to maintain the safety of all children in their care as well as their own safety and to protect the settings environment and equipment.

Method

An intruder is an individual in the setting who has not followed established visitor procedures and may or may not be a safety hazard to the setting. Any member of staff who observes an individual in the setting who appears suspicious or out-of-place should either approach the individual (if safe to do so), ask for their name and purpose in the setting or should contact the manager or supervisor for assistance. The person approaching the suspicious individual must determine if the person poses a safety hazard or just needs to be made aware of the settings visitor’s policy. While determining the status of a visitor, every effort must be made to ensure the children in our care are safe, feeling secure and where possible, continuing to be engaged in their current activities. If need be the children must be given reassurances as to their own and others safety and well being.

Procedure

Visitor with legitimate business pass Identify the person and determine their purpose or need for being in the setting. Inform manager or supervisor that a visitor has arrived. The manager or supervisor will invite the visitor to enter Buttercups Nursery School and ask them to sign their name and telephone number in the visitor’s book.

Intruder who poses a safety hazard

Politely greet the intruder, identify yourself and ask for the purpose of the visit to the setting. Ask a colleague to observe your approach to the intruder. Explain all visitors must report to the manager and escort the person to the manager. Depending on the circumstances and the demeanour of the intruder, the manager will make every effort to call the police to report the incident. If the intruder appears agitated or refuses to leave the building in a peaceful manner, endeavour to calm the person by talking in a low calm reassuring voice whilst also trying to gain the attention of another staff member to call the police. If the police are called and the individual leaves or attempts to leave prior to the police arriving, do not physically restrain the person. Contact the police to inform them that the individual has left the building, the direction and means of transport they used. If the individual stays until the police arrive, inform the officers what has happened that lead to the individual being with you so that they can establish probable cause for arrest for trespassing. Also verbally ask the subject not to return to the Nursery School whilst still in the presence of the police. Log incident and actions as soon as possible Alert community centre management Contact the police as soon as possible to report incident.

Give operator all the information regarding location of the intruder, a physical and clothing description and the weapon(s) involved. Advise the operator what you are doing to ensure the safety of the children and other staff members. Remain on the line until the operator advises you to hang up. Until the police arrive, monitor the location of the intruder. When confronting an intruder, take another staff member with you. Ask a third staff member who is not involved to contact the manager. Determine who should initiate contact with the intruder and who will be the back-up person. Both staff members should break contact and leave when it is safe to do so. Attempt to direct the intruder to the office away from areas occupied by the children. Use casual conversation or body language to calmly direct the situation. If the intruder refuses to co-operate, do not escalate the situation. If the intruder shows a weapon, assure him/her that it is not necessary for him/her to consider using the weapon. Back away slowly and leave the area. Both your hands should be up with your palms facing the intruder while slowly backing away. Remain calm; do not attempt to disarm the person. Review security immediately Log incident and actions as soon as possible

Once the police arrive provide them with the following information

Location of intruder Description of intruder Any known weapons Any statements made by the intruder Be prepared to keep media, parents and other community members out of the setting. The police will secure the building and contact the press officer at the national centre if you need help with a press statement All other staff members and official visitors should remain in their designated areas with the children unless otherwise directed by the police, reassuring and engaging the children appropriately Review security immediately Log incident and actions as soon as possible

In any event there will be a thorough investigation of the incident, and a report will be made by all staff involved. Ofsted and the settings parents will be informed of the incident and the subsequent investigations, with due regard to both data protection and confidentiality policies.

Prevention of an Intruder to the site

To help prevent an intruder gaining access to the site the following measures are taken:

The main door is locked and bolted from the inside. To make your-self known as a visitor an intercom system is used. Visitors to the setting are encouraged to make a pre-arranged appointment.

Visitor’s identification is checked and visitors are signed into and out of the setting.

The other setting, who share the community centre building have security measures in place to ensure an intruder cannot gain access.

CTV cameras are in place at the community centre. 

This policy refers to all electronic devices able to take pictures, record videos, send or receive calls and messages. This includes cameras, mobile telephones, tablets and any recording devices including smart watches. More and more devices are technically, capable of connecting us to the outside world. We will adapt the policy to include all devices we deem required to safeguard children.

Re – Fit bits: It is recommended that you amend this policy at your discretion depending on what the device is capable of doing, e.g. ones that receive calls and messages are not allowed but ones that only count steps are.

Mobile phones and other devices that accept calls, messages and video calling

At Buttercups we promote the safety and welfare of all children in our care. We believe our staff should be completely attentive during their hours of working to ensure all children in the nursery receive good quality care and education.

To ensure the safety and well-being of children we do not allow staff to use personal mobile phones, smart watches and/or fitbits during working hours.

We use mobile phones supplied by the nursery to provide a means of contact in certain circumstances, such as outings.

This policy should be used in conjunction with our online safety policy to ensure children are kept safe when using the nursery devices online Staff must adhere to the following: • Mobile phones/smart watches/fitbits are either turned off or on silent and not accessed during your working hours • Mobile phones/smart watches/fitbits can only be used on a designated break and then this must be away from the children • Mobile phones/smart watches/fitbits should be stored safely in the staff cupboard at all times during the hours of your working day • No personal device is allowed to be connected to the nursery wifi at any time • The use of nursery devices, such as tablets, must only be used for nursery purposes • The nursery devices will not have any social media or messaging apps on them • Any apps downloaded onto nursery devices must be done only by management. This will ensure only age appropriate and safe apps will be accessible to staff or children using them • Passwords / passcodes for nursery devices must not be shared or written down • During outings, staff will use mobile phones belonging to the nursery wherever possible. Photographs must not be taken of the children on any personal phones or any other personal information storage device. Only nursery owned devices will be used to take photographs or film videos • Nursery devices will not be taken home with staff and will remain secure at the setting when not in use. If a device is needed to be taken home due to unforeseen circumstances then the person taking this device home must ensure it is securely stored and not accessed by another other individual and returned to nursery as soon as practically possible

Parents’ and visitors’ use of mobile phones and smart watches

Whilst we recognise that there may be emergency situations, which necessitate the use of a mobile telephone, in order to ensure the safety and welfare of children in our care and share information about the child’s day. However parents and visitors are kindly asked to refrain from using their mobile telephones whilst in the nursery or when collecting or dropping off their children.

If you are found to be using your phone inside the nursery premises you will be asked to finish the call or take the call outside. We do this to ensure all children are safeguarded and the time for dropping off and picking up is a quality handover opportunity where we can share details about your child.

Visitors are requested to leave their mobile phones or smart watches in the safety of the office where they will be locked away safely.

Photographs and videos

At Buttercups we recognise that photographs and video recordings play a part in the life of the nursery. We ensure that any photographs or recordings (including CCTV) taken of children in our nursery are only done with prior written permission from each child’s parent and only share photos with parents in a secure manner. We obtain this when each child is registered and we update it on a regular basis to ensure that this permission still stands.

We ask for individual permissions for photographs and video recordings for a range of purposes including: use in the child’s learning journey; for display purposes; for promotion materials including our nursery website, brochure and the local press; and for security in relation to CCTV and the different social media platforms we use. We ensure that parents understand that where their child is also on another child’s photograph, but not as the primary person, that may be used in another child’s learning journey.

If a parent is not happy about one or more of these uses, we will respect their wishes and find alternative ways of recording their child’s play or learning.

Staff are not permitted to take any photographs or recordings of a child on their own information storage devices e.g. cameras, mobiles, tablets or smart watches and may only use those provided by the nursery. The nursery manager will monitor all photographs and recordings to ensure that the parents’ wishes are met and children are safeguarded.

Photographs or videos recorded on nursery mobile devices will be transferred to the correct storage device to ensure no images are left on these mobile devices.

Parents are not permitted to use any recording device or camera (including those on mobile phones or smart watches) on the nursery premises without the prior consent of the manager.

During special events, e.g. Christmas or leaving parties, staff may produce group photographs to distribute to parents on request. In this case we will gain individual permission for each child before the event. This will ensure all photographs taken are in line with parental choice. We ask that photos of events such as Christmas parties are not posted on any social media websites/areas without permission from parents of all the children included in the picture.

Applicable for settings using Online Learning Journals only

At Buttercups we use tablets in the rooms to take photos of the children and record these directly on to their electronic learning journeys. We ensure that these devices are used for this purpose only and do not install applications such as social media or messaging sites on to these devices.

We also do routine checks to ensure that emails and text messages (where applicable) have not been sent from these devices and remind staff of the whistleblowing policy if they observe staff not following these safeguarding procedures.

Our nursery is aware of the growth of internet use and the advantages this can bring. However, it is also aware of the dangers and strives to support children, staff and families in using the internet safely.

Keeping Children Safe in Education states “The breadth of issues classified within online safety is considerable, but can be categorised into three areas of risk:

• content: being exposed to illegal, inappropriate or harmful material;
• contact: being subjected to harmful online interaction with other users; and
• conduct: personal online behaviour that increases the likelihood of, or causes, harm”

Within the nursery we aim to keep children (and staff) safe online by:
• Ensuring we have appropriate antivirus and anti-spyware software on all devices and update them regularly • Ensuring content blockers and filters are on all our devices, e.g. computers, laptops and any mobile devices • Keeping passwords safe and secure, not sharing or writing these down. These will be changed at least every term to keep the devices secure • Ensure management monitor all internet activities in the setting • Locking away all nursery devices at the end of the day • Ensuring no social media or messaging apps are installed on nursery devices • Management reviewing all apps or games downloaded to tablets to ensure all are age appropriate for children and safeguard the children and staff • Using approved devices to record/photograph in the setting • Never emailing personal or financial information • Reporting emails with inappropriate content to the internet watch foundation (IWF www.iwf.org.uk) • Ensuring children are supervised when using internet devices • Using tracking software to monitor suitability of internet usage (for older children) • Not permitting staff or visitors access to the nursery Wi-Fi • Integrating online safety into nursery daily practice by discussing computer usage ‘rules’ deciding together what is safe and what is not safe to do online • Talking to children about ‘stranger danger’ and deciding who is a stranger and who is not, comparing people in real life situations to online ‘friends’ • When using Skype and Face Time (where applicable) discussing with the children what they would do if someone they did not know tried to contact them • Provide training for staff who need this to keep children safe online. We encourage staff and families to complete a online safety briefing which can be found at https://moodle.ndna.org.uk • We abide by an acceptable use policy, ensuring staff only use the work IT equipment for matters relating to the children and their education and care. No personal use will be tolerated • Children’s screen time is monitored to ensure they remain safe online and have access to material that promotes their development. We will ensure that their screen time is within an acceptable level and is integrated within their programme of learning.

Buttercups aims to offer as full an education and development programme for the children in their care as possible. Buttercup’s believes that outings are a necessary part of the nursery school’s curriculum.

This policy should be read in conjunction with the Health & Safety Policy

Outings

Buttercups will only take a child off the designated premises (that is for outings) with the full consent of the child’s parent.

Dependent upon the nature of the outing the required permission will be sort.

Where transport is to be used (i.e. a coach) Buttercups will only contract with professional hire companies.

Buttercups will ask for a donation for such outings on top of the usual fees charged.

Staff/child ratios will be adhered to at all times and when necessary extra supply staff will be employed to maintain high levels of ratios.

Should a parent withhold consent for such an outing when all, or most, of the children will be taken off the premises,

Buttercups reserves the right to either ask the parent to make alternative arrangements for the child’s care on that occasion or charge the parent the full cost of providing a member of staff and facilities for the care of the child. Buttercups will complete the necessary risk assessment before an outing and Health & Safety regulations will be followed at all times.

Transportation of Children in a Private Vehicle

In exceptional circumstances, should a child need to be transported in a private vehicle, Buttercups will ensure that the vehicle is properly insured and driven by a competent person.

Buttercups will seek the written permission of the parent/carer to transport their child in a private vehicle.

Records are kept of the vehicles used to transport children, with named drivers and appropriate insurance cover.

If a parent/carer fails to collect their child from Buttercups a Manager or staff member will try and contact t

he parent/carer by telephone.

If no contact can be made a Manager or staff member will use the contact numbers (provided by the parent/carer) of other carers who are authorised to collect their child;

If a staff member has not met the appointed carer, identification will be needed of that person before staff will release the child.

The appointed carer will be asked to sign a release form.

A Manager and staff member will stay with the child at Buttercups until the parent/carer or appointed person arrives.

Should it prove impossible to locate the parent/carer or other carers on the contact list and should no-one arrive to collect the child by 7.00pm, then Buttercups will place the matter in the hands of the Social Services and liaise with them on the care of the child.

Social Services telephone number is 03005551378

In such circumstances where a parent/carer arrives at Buttercups and the Manager and child are no longer on the premises, they should telephone the Buttercups contact numbers for information and the above Social Services number to ascertain the current location of their child. Emergency numbers:
Hazel Scott 07590553054
Helen Akerman 07761974295

Parents/Carers’ Late Collection of a Child

It is the duty of all parent/carers to inform Buttercups as soon as possible if they envisage that they might be late collecting their child for any reason and to keep Buttercup’s staff informed at all times during the delay in collection. Parent/carers will be asked to sign the late collection book.

Where a parent/carer is late arriving to collect a child after the agreed collection time Buttercups reserves the right to charge the parent/carer £5 per 5 minutes or part there of for the additional time to cover staff costs, administration expenses etc.

Parent/Carer Authorisation of Regular Persons Collecting Child from Buttercups

Parent/Carers must sign a collection form stating who is authorised to collect their child from Buttercups (i.e. mother, father, child minder).

If a Parent/Carer wishes a new nominated person to collect their child from Buttercups Parent/Carer must complete a variation form naming the person they have nominated.

If staffs at Buttercups have not met the nominated person then we will require a photograph or an agreed password for the nominated person.

If a Parent/Carer notifies us by telephone that someone new is collecting their child we will require an agreed password for that person. (Parent/Carer must complete the variation form confirming this collection when next at Buttercups)

Under no circumstances will Buttercups release a child from its care unless all these procedures have been followed.

Divorced or Separated Parents

By law we cannot stop either parent taking their child from Buttercups unless either parent taking their child from Buttercups has a court order refusing either parent contact from their child. (Buttercups will request a copy of this order for the child’s personal file).

If no court order has been given we may delay the parent by

The above collection procedures

Telephoning the parent who has been nominated on the collection form and requesting that they come to Buttercups immediately.

Parental responsibility is defined by the Children Act 1989. Not all parents have Parental Responsibility.

These people have parental responsibility: birth mothers automatically have PR married birth fathers automatically have PR and do not lose it even on divorce

Unmarried birth fathers do not have automatic PR but may obtain it by: marrying the birth mother having their name registered or re-registered on the birth certificate making a Parental Responsibility Agreement with the mother obtaining a Parental Responsibility Order from the court obtaining a Residence Order from the court

Step-parents do not have Parental Responsibility. However, step-parents, like unmarried birth fathers, are legally responsible for the care and wellbeing of children who live with them, for ensuring they attend school, etc.

What does this mean for my child in nursery? this means that at nursery consent forms can only be signed by parents with PR that children can be collected by parents who do not have PR but we must have written consent from the parent who has PR

Parents separating/divorcing

At Buttercups we aim to support families following a separation or when parents are no longer together:

It is the responsibility of Buttercups to liaise with both parents regardless of the situation. This will be achieved by ensuring communication with both parents by:

inviting both parents to Social Events, Parent and Key-person Meetings and all other general information relating to the child giving Newsletters to both parents

Buttercups will require contact information for both parents for:

registration forms
parent mail
emergency contact forms
medical emergency treatment consent

Parents are the first educators of their young children. Buttercups’ aim is to support their essential work, not to supplant them.

We will:

Make all new parents aware of the nursery school’s systems and policies

Ensure that parents are informed on a regular basis about their child’s progress

Ensure that all parents have opportunities to contribute from their own skills, knowledge and interest to the activities of the pre-school Ensure that parents are kept informed in advance about what will happen at transition times, such as when children join the setting.

Involve parents in shared record-keeping about their own child, either formally or informally.

Ensure that all parents are fully informed about meetings with their child’s Key Person

Consult with families about the times of meetings to avoid excluding anyone.

Hold meetings in venues which are accessible and appropriate for all

Welcome the contributions of parents, whatever form these may take

Make known to all parents the systems for registering queries, complaints or suggestions.

Provide opportunities for parents to learn about the nursery school curriculum and about young children’s learning in nursery school and at home.

Encourage all parents to observe the parents’ notice board. Invite parents to form a Parent Committee which will meet with the manager’s and staff at Buttercups Nursery School

We have an open-door policy where parents/carers or other family members may come into Buttercups to learn and play alongside their child. Invite all parents to borrow books from Buttercups library.

Invite all parents or nominated guest to our ‘Happy Hours’ and if a parent is not able to attend an alternative date will be arranged for them to attend.

Make parents aware of all out-side agencies, local community groups and other professionals.

A £50.00 registration fee (non-refundable) is due on the completion of the nursery school’s registration forms. (Please see Admissions Policy)

A £50.00 deposit is due 12 months prior to your child’s start date. This payment will be refunded when your child leaves Buttercups to start school. (Please see Admissions Policy)

NB If you register within a year of your child starting at Buttercups the £50 deposit will still be applicable.
NB if you cancel your child’s place at Buttercups after this deposit is paid it will not be refunded

A 25% reduction will be made to registration fees when registering twins.

The session fees will be revised in the spring and summer term. Any new payment rates will commence from the 1st April / 1st September.

Non-Funded Invoices – these will be issued to parents prior to their Home Visit and cover the period up until your child receives government funding.

All invoices will be sent via email through a company called Xero. You are responsible for keeping these invoices safe and for paying the correct amount on the invoice.

Government Funded Invoices – these will be issued the term after your child’s third birthday and cover the period up until your child starts school. We will calculate how many hours your child attends for the 50-week period, deduct the government funding, charge any additional hours at our hourly rate and calculate additional payments to be paid by the due date on the invoice.

All fees are to be paid one month in advance, by the last day of the working day of the month by bank transfer. NB we do not accept cheques. Late payment will incur a financial penalty.

Parents paying by vouchers must ensure their payments reach Buttercups bank account by the last working day of the month. Please be aware voucher payments / tax free childcare payments once actioned i.e. 27th/28th of the month can take 3 to 4 days to reach our bank account, therefore please ensure you action these payments accordingly.

Parents paying by voucher are responsible for ensuring that the value of their voucher covers the total amount of their invoice. In the event where a top up payment is required parents must ensure that this payment is made by the last working day of the month. Late payment will incur a financial penalty.

You will be invoiced for any extra hours attended, payment must be made by the due date on the invoice. No cheques / voucher payments will be accepted.

NB a late payment fee will be charged for invoices not paid by the due date.

Where fees are not paid by the due date 25% of the value of the outstanding fees will be charged plus an administration fee of £20 and with the outstanding fees, paid by your child’s next session at Buttercups or within 3 working days.

NB If a fee payment is paid late over 3 occasions a late payment fee will charged.

Where a parent/carer is late arriving to collect a child after the agreed collection time Buttercups reserves the right to charge the parent/carer £5 per 5 minutes or part there of for the additional time to cover staff costs, administration expenses etc.

Where fees and additional charges are not paid within 7 days of the end of the month in which they were due, the nursery school reserves the right to terminate the contract.

Fees will apply to any child absent through sickness.

No reductions are made for holidays.

We do not charge for Bank Holidays

Sessions are not transferable.

When parents/carers receive their invoices, if there are any discrepancies with their invoices, parent/ carers must speak to a manager at the earliest possible opportunity, in order for the invoice to be amended before the date the invoice is due for payment. Failure to do this will result in the original invoice being paid in full.

Parents/Carers must not make alterations to their invoices themselves.

Refunds

If Buttercups has to close in any emergency situation no refunds will be given for the first 48hours. After 48hours funded children will be refunded the £1.03 additional service charge plus any extra hours invoiced over and above the funded hours. Funded hours are not liable to be refunded. Non-funded children will be offered compensatory hours in lieu of lost days/hours.

Non-Funded Children

6 weeks written notification must be given to terminate your contract with Buttercups Nursery School.

Funded Children

6 weeks written notification must be given to terminate your contract with Buttercups Nursery School.

School Leavers
12 weeks written notice must be given to terminate your contract with Buttercups Nursery School.

NB please note that if you wish your child to leave before the end of the month for example the 19th July / 10th August) no refunds will be given for the remaining weeks of that month 

Legislation for this policy – The Data Protection Act 1998

This policy and procedure is taken in conjunction with the Confidentiality Policy and our Record Keeping Policy and Procedure.

We may take photographs for a number of reasons whilst your child is with us: to document what they are doing; to record their learning and development progress; to include in newsletters, on-line learning journals (Tapestry) and displays; to record special events and achievements; to record activities which the children have taken part in, on their own or part of a group; occasionally we may invite media to take photographs or film footage for publicity purposes and to record any special events; images may also be used in our publicity, or in our prospectus or on the website;

Parents

To comply with the Data Protection Act 1998 parent/carers are asked to sign an Image Consent form to allow staff to take photographs of their child, (forms will be included in the welcome pack).

Parent/carers will be asked to sign a consent form permitting staff to take records of achievement, (Tapestry), which contain photographs of their child, outside of Buttercups.

Parents will be advised when an official photographer will be visiting the nursery school. Official photographers will not be left alone with a child/children.

The setting is happy for images to be taken during special performances but will remind parents that they should not be placed on social networking sites such as face book if any other child/children appear in the photograph.

Children

Children will be encouraged to use a camera to take photographs of their environment or personal achievements.

Staff

Staff members will not be permitted to use mobile telephones, which have camera facilities whilst at work. All telephones must be left in their bags in the secure place provided.

Staff will only take photographs, which are relevant to the child’s learning.

Storage

Photographs of the children will be stored in the office, which is locked at the end of each day.

Photographs, which are used for display purposes will be destroyed after use or put in a photograph album.

Photographs will be filed on staff tablets, which are kept in the office.

Photographs will remain the sole property of Buttercups Nursery School.

All staff at Buttercups Nursery School aim to help children take responsibility for their own behaviour. This can be done through a combination of approaches, which include:

positive role modelling planning a range of interesting and challenging boundaries and expectations

providing positive feedback.

However, there are very occasional times when a child’s behaviour presents particular challenges that may require physical handling. This policy sets out expectations for the use of physical handling.

Definitions

There are three main types of physical handling:

Positive handling. The positive use of touch is a normal part of human interaction. Touch might be appropriate in a range of situations: giving guidance to children (such as how to hold a paintbrush, or when climbing) providing emotional support (such as placing an arm around a distressed child) physical care (such as first aid or toileting). Staff must exercise appropriate care when using touch. There are some children for whom touch would be inappropriate such as those with a history of physical abuse, or those from certain cultural groups. Buttercups policy is not intended to imply that staff should no longer touch children.

Physical intervention. Physical intervention can include mechanical and environmental means such as high chairs, stair gates or locked doors. These may be appropriate ways of ensuring a child’s safety.

Restrictive physical intervention. This is when a member of staff uses physical force intentionally to restrict a child’s movement against his or her will. In most cases this will be through the use of the adult’s body rather than mechanical or environmental methods. This guidance refers mainly to the use of restrictive bodily physical intervention and is based on national guidance.
Principles for the use of restrictive physical intervention:

Firstly ;Restrictive physical handling should be used in the context of positive behaviour management approaches Buttercups will only use restrictive physical intervention in extreme circumstances. It will not be the preferred way of managing children’s behaviour. Buttercup’s recognises that physical intervention should only be used in the context of a well established and well implemented positive framework. Buttercup’s aims to do all it can in order to avoid using restrictive physical intervention. However there are clearly rare situations of such extreme danger that create an immediate need for the use of restrictive physical intervention. Restrictive physical intervention in these circumstances can be used with other strategies such as saying ‘stop’.

Secondly: paramountcy Restrictive physical intervention will only be used when staffs believe it’s use in the child’s best interests: their needs are paramount.

Thirdly: duty of care. Staffs have a duty of care towards the children in Buttercups. When children are in danger of hurting themselves, others or of causing significant damage to property, staffs have a responsibility to intervene. In most cases, this involves an attempt to ‘stop!’ However, if it is judged as necessary, staff may use restrictive physical intervention.

Fourthly: reasonable minimal force. When physical intervention is used, it is used within the principle of reasonable minimal force. This means using an amount of force in proportion to the circumstances. Staff should use as little restrictive force as necessary in order to maintain safety. Staff should use this for as short a period as possible.

When can restrictive physical intervention be used?

Buttercups identifies that restrictive physical intervention can be justified when: Some one is injuring themselves or others Some one is damaging property There is suspicion that, although injury, damage or other crime has not yet happened, it is about to happen.

Buttercup’s states that duty of care means that staff might use restrictive physical intervention if a child is trying to leave the site and it is judged that the child would be at risk. Staff should also use other protective measures, such as securing the site and ensuring adequate staffing levels. This duty of care also extends beyond the site boundaries: when staffs have control or charge of children off site (e.g. on trips).

This policy highlights that there may be times when, restrictive physical intervention is justified but the situation might be made worse if restrictive physical intervention is used. If staff judge that restrictive physical intervention would make the situation worse, staff would not use it, but would do something else (like issue an instruction to stop. Seek help, or make the area safe) consistent with their duty of care.

Buttercup’s emphasises that the aim in using restrictive physical intervention is to restore safety, both for the child and those around him or her. Restrictive physical intervention must never be used out of anger, as a punishment or as alternative to measures which are less intrusive and which staff judge would be effective.

Who can use restrictive physical intervention?

It is recommended that a member of staff who knows the child well is involved in a restrictive physical intervention. This person is most likely to be able to use other methods to support the child and keep them safe without using physical intervention. In an emergency, anyone can use restrictive physical intervention as long as it is consistent with the setting’s policy.

Where individual children’s behaviour means that they are likely to require restrictive physical intervention, staff should identify members who are most appropriate to be involved. It is important that such staff have received appropriate training and support behaviour management as well as physical intervention. Buttercup’s emphasises that staff and children’s physical and emotional health is considered when such plans are made.

What type of restrictive physical intervention can and cannot be used?

Any use of physical restrictive intervention in Buttercups shall be consistent with the principle of reasonable minimal force. Where it is judged that restrictive physical intervention is necessary, staff should: aim for side-by-side contact with the child.

Avoid positioning themselves in front (to reduce the risk of being kicked) or behind (to reduce the risk of allegations of sexual misconduct) aim for no gap between the adult’s and child’s body, where they are side by side. This minimises the risk of impact and damage

aim to keep the adult’s back as straight as possible beware in particular of head positioning, to avoid head butts from the child

hold children by ‘long’ bones, i.e. avoid grasping at joints here pain and damage are most likely ensure that there is no restriction to the child’s ability to breathe. In particular, this means avoiding holding a child around the chest cavity or stomach avoid lifting.

Staffs at Buttercups are not allowed to use seclusion (which is where children are forced to spend time alone in a locked room) except in an emergency situation.

Restrictive physical intervention is not used to bring children to, or hold them in, time-out.

Staff will receive specific training in the use of restrictive physical intervention and appropriate refresher training. This training is accredited through the national accreditation system set up by BILD (British Institute of Learning Disabilities).

Planning

In an emergency, staffs do their best within their duty of care and using reasonable minimal force. After an emergency the situation is reviewed and plans for an appropriate future response are made.

This will be based on a risk assessment, which considers: what the risks are who is at risk and how what can be done to manage the risk. A risk assessment is used to help write the individual behaviour plan that is developed to support a child.

If this behaviour plan includes restrictive physical intervention it will be just one part of a whole approach to supporting a child’s behaviour. The behaviour plan should outline: an understanding of what the child it trying to achieve or communicate through their behaviour how the environment can be adapted to better meet the child’s needs how the child can be taught and encouraged to use new, more appropriate behaviour how the child can be rewarded when he or she makes progress how staff respond when the child’s behaviour is challenging (responsive strategies).

Buttercup’s emphasises that staff pay particular attention to responsive strategies. There are a range of approaches such as humour, distraction, relocation, and offering choices, which are direct alternatives to using restrictive physical intervention. Responsive strategies are chosen in the light of a risk assessment, which considers: the risks presented by the child’s behaviour the potential targets of such risks Preventative and responsive strategies to manage these risks. Buttercups will draw from as many different viewpoints as possible when it is known that an individual child’s behaviour is likely to require some form of restrictive physical intervention. In particular, the child’s parent/carers will be involved with staff from Buttercups who work with the child and any visiting support staff (such as Area SENCO’S, Educational Psychologists, PORTAGE Plus workers, the Behaviour Support Team, Speech and Language Therapists and Social Workers). The outcome from these planning meetings will be recorded and signature will be sought from the parent/carer to confirm their knowledge of the planned approach. These plans will be reviewed at least once every four to six months or more frequently if there are major changes to the child’s circumstances.

Recording and reporting

Restrictive physical intervention will be recorded by Buttercups and will be done as soon as possible and within 24 hours of the incident. According to the nature of the incident, the incident shall be noted in other records, such as the accident book or child tracking sheets. After using restrictive physical intervention Buttercups shall inform the parent/carer by telephone (or by letter or note home with the child if this is not possible). Parents/carers shall be given a copy of the record form. The manager and local authority (where required) shall also be informed.

The records will show: who was involved (child and staff, including observers) the reason physical intervention was considered appropriate how the child was held when it happened (date and time) and for how long any injury or subsequent distress, and what was done in relation to this.

supporting and reviewing.

Buttercup’s emphasises that it is distressing to be involved in a restrictive physical intervention, whether as the person doing the holding, the child being held, or some one observing or hearing about what has happened.

After restrictive physical intervention support is given to the child so that they can understand why they were held. A record is kept about how the child felt about this where this is possible. Where appropriate, staff may have the same sort of conversations with other children who observed what happened. In all cases, staff should wait until the child has calmed down enough to be able to talk productively and understand this conversation. If necessary, an independent member of staff will check for injury and provide appropriate first aid.

Buttercup’s emphasises that support is given to the adults who were involved, either actively or as observers. The adults should be given the chance to talk through what has happened with the most appropriate person from the staff team.

A key aim of after-incident support is to repair any potential strain to the relationship between the child and the adult that restrained him or her.

Buttercup’s emphasises that after a restrictive physical intervention, staff consider reviewing the individual behaviour plan so that the risk of needing restrictive physical intervention again is reduced.

Monitoring

This policy shall be reviewed annually, (more often if needed), by Hazel Scott (SENCO Co-ordinator).

Buttercups will take the opportunity to seek support from the Area SENCO where appropriate

Monitoring the use of restrictive physical intervention will help identify trends and therefore help develop Buttercups ability to meet the needs of children without using restrictive physical intervention.

Complaints

The use of restrictive physical intervention can lead to allegations of inappropriate or excessive use. Where anyone (child, carer, staff member or visitor) has concern, this should be dealt with through Buttercups usual complaint’s procedure.

This policy was adopted on 1st Februay 2006 and will be reviewed annually from the date shown.

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THIS DOCUMENT? [Buttercups] (“the Nursery” or “we”) is committed to protecting the privacy and security of your personal information. This privacy notice describes how the Nursery collects and uses personal information about employees of the Nursery (“Employees”), children attending the Nursery (“Child” or “Children”) and the parents of the Children (“Parents”) (known collectively as “You” or “Your”), in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The Nursery [Buttercups] is a “data controller”. This means that we are responsible for deciding how we hold and use personal information about You. We are required under data protection legislation to notify You of the information contained in this privacy notice. This notice applies to Employees, Children and Parents. This notice does not form part of any contract of employment or other contract to provide services. We may update this notice at any time but if we do so, we will provide You with an updated copy of this notice as soon as reasonably practical. It is important that Employees, Children and Parents read and retain this notice, together with any other privacy notice we may provide on specific occasions when we are collecting or processing personal information about You, so that You are aware of how and why we are using such information and what Your rights are under the data protection legislation. DATA PROTECTION PRINCIPLES We will comply with data protection law. This says that the personal information we hold about You must be: 1. Used lawfully, fairly and in a transparent way. 2. Collected only for valid purposes that we have clearly explained to You and not used in any way that is incompatible with those purposes. 3. Relevant to the purposes we have told You about and limited only to those purposes. 4. Accurate and kept up to date. 5. Kept only as long as necessary (inline with legal requirements. 6. Kept securely. THE KIND OF INFORMATION WE HOLD ABOUT YOU Personal data, or personal information, means any information about an individual from which that person can be identified. It does not include data where the identity has been removed (anonymous data). There are “special categories” of more sensitive personal data, which require a higher level of protection, such as information about a person’s health or sexual orientation. Employees: We will collect, store, and use the following categories of personal information about Employees: • Personal contact details such as name, title, addresses, telephone numbers, and personal email addresses. • Date of birth. • Gender. • Marital status and dependants. • Next of kin and emergency contact information. • National Insurance number. • Bank account details, payroll records and tax status information. • Salary, annual leave, pension and benefits information. • Start date and, if different, the date of an Employee’s continuous employment. • Location of employment or workplace. • Copy of driving licence (where applicable). • Recruitment information (including copies of right to work documentation, references and other information included in a CV or cover letter or as part of the application process). • Employment records (including job titles, work history, working hours, holidays, training records and professional memberships). • Personnel files and training records including performance information, disciplinary and grievance information, and working time records. • Information about your use of our information and communications systems. • Records of any reportable death, injury, disease or dangerous occurrence. We may also collect, store and use the following “special categories” of more sensitive personal information: • Information about an Employee’s race or ethnicity. • Information about an Employee’s health, including any medical condition, accident, health and sickness records, including: • where an Employee leaves employment and under any share plan operated by a group company the reason for leaving is determined to be ill-health, injury or disability, the records relating to that decision; • details of any absences (other than holidays) from work including time on statutory parental leave and sick leave; and • where an Employee leaves employment and the reason for leaving is related to their health, information about that condition needed for pensions and permanent health insurance purposes. Children: We will collect, store, and use the following categories of personal information about Children: • Name • Date of birth • Home address • Dietary requirements • Attendance information • Photographs and video clips of the Child to signpost Children to where their belongings are stored at the Nursery that they attend, and also for general display purposes • Emergency contact should Parents be unavailable and the emergency contact’s contact details • Record book for each Child containing the work of the Child whilst at the Nursery, observations about the Child’s development whilst at the Nursery from Employees of the Nursery, specific examples of the Child’s progress, photographs demonstrating the Child’s development whilst at the Nursery, and personal details of the Child (e.g. their date of birth) (“Progress Report”) • Records relating to individual Children e.g. care plans, common assessment frameworks, speech and language referral forms • Accidents and pre-existing injuries forms • Records of any reportable death, injury, disease or dangerous occurrence • Observation, planning and assessment records of Children We may also collect, store and use the following “special categories” of more sensitive personal information: • Information about a Child’s race or ethnicity, spoken language and nationality. • Information about a Child’s health, including any medical condition, health and sickness records. • Information about a Child’s accident or incident reports including reports of pre-existing injuries. • Information about a Child’s incident forms / child protection referral forms / child protection case details / reports. Parents: We will collect, store, and use the following categories of personal information about Parents: • Name • Home address • Telephone numbers, and personal email addresses. • National Insurance number. • Bank account details. We may also collect, store and use the following “special categories” of more sensitive personal information: • Information about a Parent’s race or ethnicity, spoken language and nationality. • Conversations with Parents where Employees of the Nursery deem it relevant to the prevention of radicalisation or other aspects of the governments Prevent strategy. HOW IS YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION COLLECTED? Employees: We collect personal information about Employees through the application and recruitment process, either directly from candidates or sometimes from an employment agency or background check provider. We may sometimes collect additional information from third parties including former employers, credit reference agencies or other background check agencies. We will collect additional personal information in the course of job-related activities throughout the period of when an Employee works for us. Children and Parents: We collect personal information about Children and Parents from when the initial enquiry is made by the Parents, through the enrolment process and until the Children stop using the Nursery’s services. HOW WE WILL USE INFORMATION ABOUT YOU We will only use Your personal information when the law allows us to. Most commonly, we will use Your personal information in the following circumstances: 1. Where we need to perform the contract we have entered into with You. 2. Where we need to comply with a legal obligation. 3. Where it is necessary for our legitimate interests (or those of a third party) and Your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests. We may also use Your personal information in the following situations, which are likely to be rare: 1. Where we need to protect Your interests (or someone else’s interests). 2. Where it is needed in the public interest or for official purposes. Situations in which we will use Employee personal information We need all the categories of information in the list above (see Employee section within the Paragraph entitled ‘The Kind of Information We Hold About You’) primarily to allow us to perform our contracts with Employees and to enable us to comply with legal obligations. The situations in which we will process Employee personal information are listed below. • Making a decision about an Employee’s recruitment or appointment. • Checking an Employee is legally entitled to work in the UK. Paying an Employee and, if an Employee is an Employee or deemed Employee for tax purposes, deducting tax and National Insurance contributions (NICs). • Providing any Employee benefits to Employees. • Enrolling you in a pension arrangement in accordance with our statutory automatic enrolment duties. • Liaising with the trustees or managers of a pension arrangement operated by a group company, your pension provider and any other provider of employee benefits. • Administering the contract we have entered into with an Employee. • Conducting performance and/or salary reviews, managing performance and determining performance requirements. • Assessing qualifications for a particular job or task, including decisions about promotions. • Gathering evidence for possible grievance or disciplinary hearings. • Making decisions about an Employee’s continued employment, engagement. • Making arrangements for the termination of our working relationship. • Education, training and development requirements. • Dealing with legal disputes involving Employees, including accidents at work. • Ascertaining an Employee’s fitness to work. • Managing sickness absence. • Complying with health and safety obligations. • To prevent fraud. • To monitor your use of our information and communication systems to ensure compliance with our IT policies. • To ensure network and information security, including preventing unauthorised access to our computer and electronic communications systems and preventing malicious software distribution. • Equal opportunities monitoring. Some of the above grounds for processing will overlap and there may be several grounds, which justify our use of an Employee’s personal information. Situations in which the Nursery will use personal information of Children We need all the categories of information in the list above (see Children section within the Paragraph entitled ‘The Kind of Information We Hold About You’) primarily to allow us to perform our obligations (including our legal obligations to Children. The situations in which we will process personal information of Children are listed below. • Upon consent from the Parents, Personal Data of Children will be shared with schools for progression into the next stage of their education. • Personal information of Children will be shared with local authorities without the consent of Parents where there is a situation where child protection is necessary. • The personal information of Children will be shared with local authorities without the consent of Parents for funding purposes. • Ofsted will be allowed access to the Nursery’s systems to review child protection records. • To ensure we meet the needs of the Children • To enable the appropriate funding to be received • Report on a Child’s progress whilst with the Nursery • To check safeguarding records • To check complaint records • To check attendance patterns are recorded • When a Child’s Progress Report is given to its Parent in order for that Parent to pass the same Progress Report to a school for application or enrolment purposes Situations in which the Nursery will use personal information of Parents We need all the categories of information in the list above (see Parents section within the Paragraph entitled ‘The Kind of Information we Hold About You’) primarily to allow us to perform our contracts with Parents and to enable us to comply with legal obligations. The situations in which we will process personal information of Parents are listed below. • The personal information of Parents will be shared with local authorities without the consent of Parents for funding purposes. • To report on a Child’s attendance • To be able to contact a Parent or a Child’s emergency contact about their Child • To ensure nursery fees are paid If Employees and Parents fail to provide personal information If Employees and Parents fail to provide certain information when requested, we may not be able to perform the respective contracts we have entered into with Employees and Parents, or we may be prevented from complying with our respective legal obligations to Employees, Children and Parents. Change of purpose We will only use Your personal information for the purposes for which we collected it, unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another reason and that reason is compatible with the original purpose. If we need to use Your personal information for an unrelated purpose, we will notify the Employee, Child or Parent, as is appropriate in the circumstances, and we will explain the legal basis which allows us to do so. Please note that we may process an Employee’s, a Child’s or a Parent’s personal information without their respective knowledge or consent, as relevant to the circumstances, in compliance with the above rules, where this is required or permitted by law. HOW WE USE PARTICULARLY SENSITIVE PERSONAL INFORMATION ”Special categories” of particularly sensitive personal information require higher levels of protection. We need to have further justification for collecting, storing and using this type of personal information. We have in place an appropriate policy document and safeguards, which we are required by law to maintain when processing such data. We may process special categories of personal information in the following circumstances: 1. In limited circumstances, with Employee or Parent explicit written consent. 2. Where we need to carry out our legal obligations or exercise rights in connection with Employee employment. 3. Where it is needed in the public interest, such as for equal opportunities monitoring or in relation to our occupational pension scheme. Less commonly, we may process this type of information where it is needed in relation to legal claims or where it is needed to protect an Employee, a Child or a Parents’ interests (or someone else’s interests) and the Employee, Child or Parent as is appropriate is not capable of giving consent, or where the Employee or Parent has already made the information public. The Nursery’s obligations as an employer We will use particularly sensitive personal information of Employees in the following ways: • We will use information relating to leaves of absence, which may include sickness absence or family related leaves, to comply with employment and other laws. • We will use information about the physical or mental health of an Employee, or their disability status, to ensure Employee health and safety in the workplace and to assess the fitness of Employees to work, to provide appropriate workplace adjustments, to monitor and manage sickness absence and to administer benefits including statutory maternity pay, statutory sick pay, pensions and permanent health insurance. • We will use information about an Employee’s race or national or ethnic origin, religious, philosophical or moral beliefs, or an Employee’s sexual life or sexual orientation, to ensure meaningful equal opportunity monitoring and reporting. Do we need Employee consent? We do not need the consent of Employees if we use special categories of personal information in accordance with our written policy to carry out our legal obligations or exercise specific rights in the field of employment law. In limited circumstances, we may approach Employees for their written consent to allow us to process certain particularly sensitive data. If we do so, we will provide Employees with full details of the information that we would like and the reason we need it, so that Employees can carefully consider whether they wish to consent. Employees should be aware that it is not a condition of their contract with the nursery that they agree to any request for consent from us. INFORMATION ABOUT CRIMINAL CONVICTIONS We may only use information relating to criminal convictions where the law allows us to do so. This will usually be where such processing is necessary to carry out our obligations and provided we do so in line with our data protection policy. Less commonly, we may use information relating to criminal convictions where it is necessary in relation to legal claims, where it is necessary to protect the interests of You (or someone else’s interests) and You are not capable of giving your consent, or where an Employee or a Parent, as is relevant to the circumstances, has already made the information public. We envisage that we will hold information about criminal convictions. We will only collect information about criminal convictions if it is appropriate given the nature of the role and where we are legally able to do so, which includes but is not limited to Disclosure and Barring Service (“DBS”) checks. Where appropriate, we will collect information about criminal convictions as part of the recruitment process or we may be notified of such information directly by you in the course of you working for us. We will use information about criminal convictions and offences in the following ways: • To conduct a DBS check on each Employee, to record the date of the DBS check, the number of the DBS check and the name of the body conducting the DBS check. We are allowed to use your personal information in this way to carry out our obligations. We have in place an appropriate policy and safeguards, which we are required by law to maintain when processing such data. AUTOMATED DECISION-MAKING Automated decision-making takes place when an electronic system uses personal information to make a decision without human intervention. We are allowed to use automated decision-making in the following circumstances: 1. Where we have notified Employees or Parents of the decision and given the Employee of the Parent as is appropriate 21 days to request a reconsideration. 2. Where it is necessary to perform the contract with an Employee or a Parent and appropriate measures are in place to safeguard the Employee’s, the Child’s or the Parent’s rights as is appropriate. 3. In limited circumstances, with explicit written consent from the Employee or the Parent, as is appropriate, and where appropriate measures are in place to safeguard Employee or Parent rights. If we make an automated decision on the basis of any particularly sensitive personal information, we must have either explicit written consent from an Employee or a Parent as is appropriate, or it must be justified in the public interest, and we must also put in place appropriate measures to safeguard an Employee or a Parents rights as is relevant in the circumstances. You will not be subject to decisions that will have a significant impact on You based solely on automated decision-making, unless we have a lawful basis for doing so and we have notified the Employee or the Parent as is appropriate in the circumstances. DATA SHARING We may have to share Employee, Child or Parent data with third parties, including third-party service providers and other entities in the group. We require third parties to respect the security of Your data and to treat it in accordance with the law. Why might the Nursery share Employee, Child or Parent personal information with third parties? We will share Your personal information with third parties where required by law, where it is necessary to administer the working relationship with You or where we have another legitimate interest in doing so. Which third-party service providers process my personal information? ”Third parties” includes third-party service providers (including contractors and designated agents), local authorities, regulatory bodies, schools and other entities within our group. The following third-party service providers process personal information about you for the following purposes: • Local Authorities – for funding and monitoring reasons (e.g. equal opportunities and uptake of funded hours) • Regulatory bodies – for ensuring compliance and the safety and welfare of the children • Schools – to provide a successful transition by ensuring information about the child’s progress and current level of development and interests are shared We will share personal data regarding your participation in any pension arrangement operated by a group company with the trustees or scheme managers of the arrangement in connection with the administration of the arrangements. How secure is my information with third-party service providers? All our third-party service providers are required to take appropriate security measures to protect Your personal information in line with our policies. We do not allow our third-party service providers to use Your personal data for their own purposes. We only permit them to process Your personal data for specified purposes and in accordance with our instructions. What about other third parties? We may share Your personal information with other third parties, for example in the context of the possible sale or restructuring of the business. In this situation we will, so far as possible, share anonymised data with the other parties before the transaction completes. Once the transaction is completed, we will share Your personal data with the other parties if and to the extent required under the terms of the transaction. We may also need to share Your personal information with a regulator or to otherwise comply with the law. DATA RETENTION How long will you use my information for? We will only retain Your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. Details of retention periods for different aspects of your personal information are available in our retention chart, which is available from the manager. To determine the appropriate retention period for personal data, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the personal data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure of Your personal data, the purposes for which we process Your personal data and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, and the applicable legal requirements. In some circumstances we may anonymise Your personal information so that it can no longer be associated with You, in which case we may use such information without further notice to You. Once you are no longer an Employee, or a Child benefiting from the Nursery’s services or a Parent, as is appropriate, we will retain and securely destroy your personal information in accordance with [our data retention chart OR applicable laws and regulations]. RIGHTS OF ACCESS, CORRECTION, ERASURE, AND RESTRICTION Your duty to inform us of changes It is important that the personal information we hold about You is accurate and current. Please keep us informed if Your personal information changes during your working relationship with us. Your rights in connection with personal information Under certain circumstances, by law You have the right to: • Request access to Your personal information (commonly known as a “data subject access request”). This enables You to receive a copy of the personal information we hold about You and to check that we are lawfully processing it. • Request correction of the personal information that we hold about You. This enables You to have any incomplete or inaccurate information we hold about You corrected. • Request erasure of your personal information. This enables Employees or Parents to ask us to delete or remove personal information where there is no good reason for us continuing to process it. You also have the right to ask us to delete or remove Your personal information where You have exercised Your right to object to processing (see below). • Object to processing of Your personal information where we are relying on a legitimate interest (or those of a third party) and there is something about Your particular situation which makes You want to object to processing on this ground. You also have the right to object where we are processing Your personal information for direct marketing purposes. • Request the restriction of processing of Your personal information. This enables Employees or Parents, as is appropriate, to ask us to suspend the processing of personal information about You for example if You want us to establish its accuracy or the reason for processing it. • Request the transfer of Your personal information to another party. If You want to review, verify, correct or request erasure of Your personal information, object to the processing of Your personal data, or request that we transfer a copy of Your personal information to another party, please contact the manager in writing. No fee usually required You will not have to pay a fee to access Your personal information (or to exercise any of the other rights). What we may need from You We may need to request specific information from You to help us confirm your identity and ensure Your right to access the information (or to exercise any of Your other rights). This is another appropriate security measure to ensure that personal information is not disclosed to any person who has no right to receive it. RIGHT TO WITHDRAW CONSENT In the limited circumstances where You may have provided Your consent to the collection, processing and transfer of Your personal information for a specific purpose, You have the right to withdraw Your consent for that specific processing at any time. To withdraw Your consent, please contact [the manager]. Once we have received notification that You have withdrawn Your consent, we will no longer process Your information for the purpose or purposes You originally agreed to, unless we have another legitimate basis for doing so in law. CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY NOTICE We reserve the right to update this privacy notice at any time, and we will provide You with a new privacy notice when we make any substantial updates. We may also notify You in other ways from time to time about the processing of your personal information. If you have any questions about this privacy notice, please contact Hazel Scott / Helen Akerman

There are record keeping systems in place that meet legal requirements; means of storing and sharing that information that take place within the framework of the Data Protection Act and the Human Rights Act 1998.

This policy and procedure is taken in conjunction with the Confidentiality Policy and our procedures for information sharing.

Our system of observation and record keeping enables us to monitor children’s needs and progress on an individual basis. At Buttercups Nursery School we ensure that written records are kept in a secure place. These records will only be accessible to the relevant staff.

Procedures

We keep two kinds of records on children attending our setting:

Tapestry (an on-line learning journal).

It includes observations of children in the setting, photographs, video clips and samples of their work and summary developmental reports.

Tablets used to access tapestry are usually kept in the main room and office at Buttercups and can be freely accessed, and contributed to, by staff and the children.

At times it may be necessary for staff to take children’s development records off site to complete at home. Development records will only be taken off site with the written permission of parent/carers. At no time will development records be shared with other people and all development records will be stored in a secure place in the staff member’s home.

Parent/carers will be encouraged to assist in their child’s ‘Record of Achievement’.

Parent/carers will be invited to attend a meeting with their child’s key-person (in the summer term before they start school) to discuss their child’s progress and to view their child’s ‘Record of Achievement’ before it is forwarded to their child’s school.

Records will be given to parent/carers if the child leaves the nursery school for them to pass on, if they wish, to the child’s next setting.

When the child leaves Buttercups to go to school all records relating to their child will be given to the parent/carer.

Parents can request a meeting with their child’s key-person where their child’s records can be shared.

Only suitably qualified staff will carry out observations.

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 on-going 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 file or cabinet and are kept secure by the managers. Parents have access to the files and records of their own children but do not have access to information about any other child. Staff will not discuss personal information given by parents with other members of staff, except where it affects planning for the child’s needs. Staff induction includes an awareness of the importance of confidentiality in the role of the Key-person.

We retain children’s records for three years after they have left the setting. These are kept in a secure place. Records will only be available to staff on a ‘need to know’ basis. Liaison with outside organisations and professionals will only take place where the parent/carer has given consent, (unless it is a child protection matter).

The needs and progress of children, who have Special Educational Needs, are monitored by Hazel Scott and Sue Barton-Leigh, (who are Buttercups Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators (SENco) and Helen Akerman (Manager): they are responsible for writing Individual Educational Plans (IEPS).

Other Records



Where a child study needs to be completed as part of staff training, the member of staff will obtain written permission from the parent/carer before the study commences.

Issues to do with the employment of staff, whether paid or un-paid, remain confidential to the people directly involved with making personnel decisions. Buttercups Nursery School adheres to the obligations of the FOI ACT

Legal Framework
Data Protection Act 1998
Human Rights Act 1998

Further guidance
Information Sharing: Practitioners Guide (DFES 2006)

Policy Statement

The objective of this document is to ensure the effective recruitment, selection and retention of the right staff required to achieve the nursery schools objectives. The nursery school is committed to recruiting a diverse work force, which reflects the society in which we operate. This will be achieved through fair and systematic recruitment procedures, which ensure that appropriate selection decisions are made to meet the legal, business and best practice requirements in this area in line with the ‘Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment in Education.’ (January 2007)

‘This nursery school is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of young children and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment’ This statement should be included in the following paper work: Publicity materials Recruitment web sites Advertisements Candidate information packs Personal specifications Job descriptions Competency frameworks Induction training

Job Descriptions and Person Specifications

Before a post can be filled, an up-to-date job description must exist. A clear, precise job description makes it mush easier to work out what skills, experience, knowledge, qualifications and personal attributes are required for a job. Current information on the nature and duties of the job should have been obtained from the previous post-holder as part of the exit interview process. The manager responsible for the vacant post should obtain the job description and update it so that it reflects the current demands of the job. If there is no existing job description, one must be written by the manager.

Writing and Preparing Job Descriptions

The outline of a job description must include the following headings: the job title; the service/department in which the job is located; the job title(s) to whom the post-holder reports (dual accountability) the job title(s) who report to the post holder the main purpose(s) of the job; and the specific responsibilities to include the degree of responsibility for safeguarding children according to the nature of the post When writing and preparing a job description, the following points should be observed.

The job description should: be written in plain language; give full details of the job; carefully describe the duties and responsibilities of the post; refer to the work environment where the duties of the job would take place;

The job description should not include references to the competencies and attributes which the post-holder is expected to have to execute the duties of the post. Such information should be contained in the person specification. It should not be an exhaustive list of all the individual tasks or duties, which the post holder would be expected to carry out. This can be covered in the induction process.

Include the following statement – at the end of each job description: ‘This job description is not an exhaustive list of duties and the post holder will be required to undertake any other reasonable duties discussed and directed by the manager’

Person Specification

The person specification is used at both the short-listing and interviewing stages of the recruitment process and a properly prepared specification is the key to avoiding biased and poor selection practices. A person specification should be written for all posts. The existing person specification should be reviewed and rewritten to take into account any changes which have taken place since the document was produced. If there is no existing person specification, one must be written by the manager. The person specification should also state whether the post is or not exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (1974) and therefore a criminal records check and if so the level of the check required.

Devising a Person Specification

In devising a person specification, you should: analyse the job description to identify the key duties and responsibilities of the job; convert each group of job duties in to the appropriate skills, experience, knowledge or abilities needed to carry out the job; include a wide range of experiences and allow for cultural differences; and emphasise the experience/skills required rather than the qualifications required, especially where a formal qualification is not essential for the performance of the job;

What should not be included in a person specification; The person specification must not specify:

Age: Unless age is a requirement for fulfilling a task in the job description and the reason is clearly identified in the person specification and can be objectively justified or An age restriction has been imposed by an external statutory body.

Sex/Race: Unless a genuine occupational qualification can be proved under the relevant section of the Sex or Race Discrimination Acts. Prior permission from the Personnel Department is essential in these cases. Specifications must not contain factors which could constitute indirect discrimination, e.g. requirement for an English A Level.

Rates of Pay and Allowances

Pay scales should be in place prior to advertising.

Advertising

The advert should be based on the job description and person specification and contain: the job title; statement of employers commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children; salary scale (pro-rata if applicable) hours (if less than full time); a brief summary of the main duties; a brief summary of the essential applicant criteria; the closing date (at lease two weeks after the date of publication); if possible, the interview date – indication of when the interview will take place (at least 1.5 weeks after the closing date); the contact information for further details of the position and an application form;
and the job reference number (if applicable).

Applicant’s Information Pack

Where budgetary considerations allow, an information pack should be sent to prospective candidates. Normally the pack will consist of: a covering letter; job description; application form, and explanatory notes about completing the form; equal opportunities monitoring form; statement of employers commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children including the Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy; explanation that the post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore all convictions, cautions and bind-overs, including those regarded as ‘spent’, must be declared; information about the setting any other appropriate information the manager would like included.

Equal Opportunities

Buttercup’s is committed to providing equality of opportunity for all applicants in accordance with all relevant legislation in: Disabled Persons Act 1995 Race Relations Act 1976 Sex Discriminations Act 1976 Equal Pay Act 1970 and any subsequent amendments thereto.

Employment

The nursery school will appoint the best person for each job and will treat fairly all applicants for jobs and all those who have been appointed. Commitment to implementing the nursery school’s Equal Opportunities Policy will form part of the job description for all workers. Scrutinising and Short Listing Candidates A timetable for short-listing and interviewing will be decided, allowing at least one week for candidates to be notified of their interview. When the post application period closes, the managers will require a short-listing pack, which contain: the application forms (the personal details section and equal opportunities forms will be omitted)

the job description/person specification.

On a short-listing form, the essential criteria should be written into the boxes along the top of the sheet, and the candidates’ reference numbers down the left-hand side. Each application form should then be scrutinised to assess whether the candidate meets the criteria (see below) by each manager independently. Incomplete applications will not be accepted and will be returned for completion. Any anomalies or discrepancies or gaps in employment will be noted and used when short-listing candidates. The managers can use the following: The candidate meets the criteria X The candidate does not meet the criteria ? The candidate has not provided enough evidence either way Where there is a need for more rigorous scoring, for example, if there is an inordinately high number of suitable candidates, then the desirable criteria should be used to shortlist. If further reduction in the short-listing is necessary, a more sophisticated system of scoring should be used allocating a score between 1 and 5 (where 1 is poor and 5 is excellent). Those candidates short-listed for interview should be listed on a short-listing form. The managers should issue the short-listing packs and once completed they should be returned for letters to be issued to candidates.

Short-listing

When drawing up the short-list, the managers should: agree their understanding of the key criteria in each person specification; measure the attributes of each candidate methodically against each requirement in the person specification (but not against other candidates); judge applicants only against the person specification used in the advertising process: this means that no part of the original person specification should be changed at a later stage; record reasons for rejecting an applicant in writing on the short-listing form; ensure that all original material used in creating a shortlist is filed with the recruitment records; and ensure that the managers have declared any personal or social relationships or contacts they may have with any of the candidates.

The managers must not:

introduce any new standards, qualifications or experience in the person specification; casually sift through the application forms to get an impression of suitable candidates; take into account the standard of handwriting in the application form as a means of determining the candidate’s level of skills or abilities, unless handwriting is a key criterion, and exclude a candidate from the short-list on the grounds of his or her age, sex, sexuality, marital status, physical or mental abilities, disability or illness, religious or cultural background, political or trade union activities, ethnic background and social background. The short-listed candidates should be notified of their interview date by telephone where possible. Additionally, all short-listed applicants will be sent: invitation to attend an interview letter; this must include a sentence regarding special needs requirements to ensure compliance with the Disability Discrimination Act (appendix 9); directions to get to the venue; evidence required to complete a CRB Disclosure (which will be required to be completed straight away) i.e current driving licence, passport including a photograph, a full birth certificate, marriage certificate (if married) plus a document such as a utility bill or financial statement that shows the candidate’s current name and address, National Insurance Number; original documents to support educational and professional qualifications, a copy of which will be kept in their personnel file; any other information which will assist candidates in orienting themselves to the post applied for; and details of any tests and/or presentations candidates may be required to take/prepare. The manager will not contact candidates by telephone and issue the invitation to interview letter. Non short-listed applicants should also be contacted by letter. However, if resources do not permit, then the covering letter in the application pack should contain advice that if not contacted within a certain timeframe then applicants should assume they have not been successful.

Asylum & Immigration Act 1996 – Prevention of illegal working

It is a criminal offence to employ a person who is not entitled to live or work in the United Kingdom. The maximum penalty for doing so is £5,000 for each employee found not to have the entitlement. Candidates need to b ring with them to the interview, evidence to prove they have the right to live and work in the United Kingdom. Copies of any documents seen should be taken by the manager at the interview stage and copied. All candidates will be asked for evidence, regardless of ethnic origin. If there is any doubt whether a document is genuine and relates to the person, then contact ACAS or Law-call for further advice.

References Prior to Interview

If the managers so wish, references can be taken up at this time, but candidates must be asked permission before doing so. There is a section on the application form asking candidates if references may be taken prior to interview. This must be adhered to. Where the applicant is currently working with children, either paid or voluntary, his or her current employer will be asked about disciplinary offences relating to children, including any for which the penalty time has expired and whether the applicant has been the subject of and child protection concerns.

Job Offer

The successful applicant must be advised in writing of the offer of employment. The following enclosures will be sent with the offer letter: the information about the company’s pension scheme; the equal opportunities policy statement; the safeguarding and child protection policy; the confidentiality policy; the code of conduct; the health and safety policy; the discipline and grievances procedure; the job description; and the salary / grade scale (if applicable) terms and conditions (if appropriate) mobile phone policy (if appropriate) dress code (if appropriate).

An offer of appointment to the successful candidate should be conditional upon: two satisfactory references; verification of identity (if not established at interview); an enhanced satisfactory CRB; completion of a satisfactory health declaration; verification of qualifications (if not established at interview); satisfactory completion of the probationary period;

Post Appointment: Induction Training and information about establishment’s policies and procedures, including policies and procedures in relation to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children e.g. child protection, anti-bullying, anti racism, physical intervention or restraint, intimate care and local child protection and safeguarding procedure.

Support candidate in appropriate way. Confirm safe practice and the standard of conduct expected within the establishment.

Opportunity to discuss concerns; Address any issues that arise immediately. The induction process should also provide and support training to an appropriate level for the person’s role.

Payroll

The manager should ensure that they have completed the appropriate forms to ensure that the new starter is paid and have followed any internal payroll procedures.

References

A standard letter requesting two references should be sent with a copy of the job description and person specification. All references received will be approved by the managers. All employees will need two satisfactory references. New starters should not commence employment without at least one satisfactory reference from the previous employer. If references for the successful candidate have not arrived at the time of selection, then the letter of appointment must say that the offer is subject to satisfactory references.

This procedure should be read in conjunction with the following Policies: Induction Policy; Contracts of Employment; Enhanced Criminal Disclosure Checks (CRB); Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy; Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment Policy;



Monitoring Monitoring of both the recruitment and induction process will allow practice to be better informed.

Monitoring will cover: staff turnover and reasons for leaving; exit interviews; attendance of new recruits at child protection training

At Buttercups we intend to create an environment in which children are safe from abuse and in which any suspicion of abuse is promptly and appropriately responded to. As Early Years Practitioners we are dedicated to the welfare of the children we are responsible for, their rights as individuals and their protection at all times. Our aim is to work with the parents, guardians, carers, volunteers, students and the community to ensure the children have a safe and happy start to their education. Buttercups will discuss concerns with the parents/guardians. Where it is necessary for immediate action to take place, the nursery school will take the appropriately ‘tiered’ action as laid out on the Flow Chart Referral. A copy is available The named person who co-ordinates child protection (CPO) issues is Helen Akerman; (Level 4 Child Protection Qualified) Confidentiality All disclosures of suspicion abuse will be investigated and only shared with those who need to know e.g. Nursery School Managers, SENCo and the child’s Key Person. This is agreed under the guidance of the Area Child Protection Committee (ACPC). The staff, volunteers and students are fully aware of the confidentiality of such sensitive matters and will always put the safety and wellbeing of the child first. Any information is shared under the guidance of the Local Safe Guarding Children Board. Support to Families Relationships between the staff, parents/guardian, carers/volunteers and students of the setting are seen as trusting and supportive to provide the best care for the children. No presumptions are made and total professionalism is shown in displays of good practice towards any family that is under investigation. Child’s confidential records are shared with the parents/guardians when it is considered in the best interests of the child. It is the settings declaration that the children’s safety and protection is paramount at all times and everything will be done to support and work with the child and their family. The setting believes in building trusting and supportive relationships with families, staff and volunteers in the group. The setting makes it clear to parents its role and responsibilities in relation to Child Protection, such as for the reporting of concerns, providing information, monitoring of the child, and liaising at all times with the local social services department. The setting continues to welcome the child and the family whilst investigations are being made in relation to any abuse. We follow the Child Protection Plan as set by the social care department in relation to the setting’s designated role and tasks in supporting the child and the family, subsequent to any investigation. Confidential records kept on a child are shared with the child’s parents or those who have parental responsibility for the child in accordance with the procedure and only if appropriate under the guidance of the Local Safe Guarding Children’s Board. Staffing and volunteer workers All child ratios will be met at all times to ensure safety requirements are met. No staff will be employed if they have been involved in the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974’ All staff will need to have DBS (Disclosing Barring Service) checks carried out before employment. Staff have the right to challenge information that may stop them being employed. Checks required by Ofsted are put into place to ensure staff and volunteers are fit to access children. Volunteers will never work alone with children. No unauthorised person will ever have access to the children. 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 staffs will hold a current first aid certificate. At least half of all staff must hold a relevant level 2 qualification The manager must hold at least a Level 3 relevant qualification. Allegations against Staff We ensure that all parents know how to complain about staff or volunteer action within the setting, which may include an allegation of abuse. We follow the guidance of the Local Safe Guarding Board when responding to any complaint that a member of staff or volunteer has abused a child. We respond to any disclosure by children or staff that abuse by a member of staff may have taken, or is taking place, by first recording the details of any such alleged incident. We co-operate entirely with any investigation carried out by Social Services in conjunction with the police. Our policy is to suspend the member of staff on full pay for the duration of the investigation; this is not an indication of admission that the alleged incident has taken place, but is to protect the staff as well as children and families throughout the process. The staff member will be supported throughout the process. The manager(s) will in the first instance call an emergency meeting to determine a course of action. This will include contacting Ofsted, the Local Children’s Safeguarding Board and LADO (Local Authority Designated Officer) within 24hrs. LADO contact number – 01962 876364 (child.protection@hants.gov.uk) Ofsted contact number – 0300 123 1231 Ofsted registration number – EY226083 Parents are normally the first point of contact if an allegation is made against a member of staff. If a suspicion of abuse is reported the parents will be informed at the same time as report is made, except where the guidance of the Local Children’s Safeguarding Board or LADO does not allow this. All suspicions and investigations are kept confidential and shared only with those who need to know. Any information is shared under the guidance of the Local Safeguarding’s Board and from the document ‘What to do if you’re worried a child is being abused. Disciplinary Action We follow the Protection of Children Act requirements in respect of staff/volunteers/students who are dismissed in line with child protection violations. Should a member of staff/volunteer/students be dismissed from the nursery school because of misconduct relating to a child, we will notify the Department of Health Administrator so that their name may be included on the List for the Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults; Training Staff will be encouraged to attend ‘Initial Child Protection’ following onto ‘Advanced Child Protection’, (NVQ level 3 provides enough information to bypass Initial Child Protection and move straight onto Advanced Child Protection). Information will be provided for all staff members as to the signs and symptoms of abuse and the necessary action should a child/parent disclose to them information that puts the child at risk. Planning the Curriculum Key elements of child protection are introduced into the planning, which allows the child an understanding of why and how to keep safe. This will be carried out in a way that suits their development. All children are encouraged to have respect for themselves and others. The layout of the room allows constant, however, non-obtrusive supervision and observation of all the children. Complaints A copy of our complaints procedure is available to all parents in the parent pack We will follow the guidance of the Local Safe Guarding Board when investigating any complaint that a member of staff, volunteer or student has abused a child. We will follow the disclosure and recording procedures when investigating an allegation that a member of staff, volunteer or student has abused a child as if it were an allegation of abuse by any other person. Responding to Disclosure of Abuse Abuse takes on four different forms:- Physical Emotional Sexual Neglect If displays of unusual changes of behaviour are demonstrated they will be investigated in a sensitive manner. A ‘Failure to Thrive’ may be due to neglect and the appropriate referrals would be made. Disclosures Should a child make a disclosure to a staff member they will:- Remain calm and reassuring Keep control of their emotions Maintain eye contact with the child Never ask leading questions prompting answers from the child. Allow the child to recall events in their own time and words. Reassure the child that they are always there for them if they want to talk. Report directly to the Child Protection Officer/s and ensure confidentiality. Take allegations of abuse seriously. Use language suitable to the child’s developmental level. Recording Suspicions of Abuse and Disclosures The member of staff, volunteer or student to whom the disclosure has been made will record:- Child’s name Child’s address Age of child Date and time of disclosure An un-bias, accurate record of the disclosure including the exact words used by the child The name of the person the disclosure was made to The names of any other witnesses, should there be any These records will be completed no later than 24hrs after the disclosure – ideally they will be completed as soon as possible to ensure they are as accurate as possible. Any incident that affects the wellbeing of the children is always passed onto Ofsted. The appointed Child Protection Officer is aware of the names, addresses and telephone numbers for contacting local authorities/social workers in an emergency. Promote Good Health Buttercups Nursery School promotes the good health of children attending the nursery school. A medication policy and managing children who are infectious, ill or have an allergy are in place. Maintain records, policies and procedures Policies and procedures are updated regularly and are available at all times for staff and parent/carers. The following records are used to support safeguarding children: Accident forms – staff and children Incident forms – staff and children Previous injury form Risk assessments Risk assessment daily check record COSHH PAT Children’s allergies records displayed Medication forms – staff and children Child Protection forms Accident, medical and child protection review forms Registration forms – including permissions, parent contact and collections Outings forms Daily register Learning journals (Tapestry) Staffs DBS numbers Induction process Records of courses such as first aid Supervision Prevent Duty The prevent duty has been put in place for staff to identify children who may be vulnerable to radicalisation who oppose British Values. Under the Prevent Duty staff have a duty to report any concerns to the Child Protection Officer (Helen Akerman). At Buttercups Nursery School we promote British Values (please see British Values Policy) At Buttercups Nursery School we focus on children’s personal, social and emotional development, ensuring children learn right from wrong, mix and share with other children, value other’s views, know about similarities and differences between themselves and others, and challenge negative attitudes and stereotypes. Staffs are alert to harmful behaviours by influential adults in the child’s life. This may include discriminatory and/or extremist discussions between parents, family and/or staff members If we observe behaviour of concern then this will be reported to the Child Protection Officer Staffs undergo training to identify children who may be vulnerable to radicalization, and know what to do when they are identified (Channel Programme) We will discuss the risk of children being drawn into terrorism, and work in partnership with local partners such as the police, Prevent Co-ordinators, Channel Police Practitioners and their LSCB, to take account of local risks and respond appropriately If we have concerns that an individual may be vulnerable to being drawn into terrorism or extremism then we can make referrals to local Channel Panels, Channel Police Practitioners or the LSCB Our assessment of risk has been completed this will be reviewed on a regular basis. Training needs will be reviewed at that time The Legal framework for this policy as described in Legislation:- Primary Legislation The Children Act 1989 – s 47 Data Protection Act 1984 The Protection of Children Act 1999 The Children (NI) Order The Children (Scotland) Order The Children Act 2004 (Every Child Matters Working Together to Safeguard Children (revised 2006) What to Do if You are Worried a Child is Being Abused (revised 2006) The Framework for the Assessment of children in Need and Their Families (2000) The Common Assessment Framework (2005) Secondary Legislation Human Rights Act (2003) Sexual Offenders Act (2003) Criminal Justice and Court Services Act (200) Race Relations Act (Amendment) Act (200) Race Relations Act (Amendment) Act (1976 Regulations Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 Guidance Working together to Safeguard Children (2013 and 2015) What to do if you are worried a child is being abused (2006) The Early Help Hub Safeguarding Our Children – 4LSCB Procedures UN Conventions of the Rights of the Child Counter Terrorism and Security Act 2015 Prevent Duty “Children learn best when they are healthy, safe and secure, when their individual needs are met, and when they have positive relationships with the adults caring for them”. (EYFS 2014 page 16) Quote:- The United Nations Conventions on the Rights of the Child Quotes (2002) – Article 19: Governments should ensure that all children are properly cared for, and protect them from violence, abuse and neglect by their parents and anyone else who looks after them. Article 39: If you have been neglected or abused you should receive special help to restore your self-respect. Liaison with other Bodies We work with the Hampshire Safeguarding Children Board. We have a copy of ‘What to do if you are worried a child is being abused’ for parents and staff and all staff are familiar with what to do if they have concerns. We have procedures for contacting the local authority on child protection issues, including maintaining a list of names, addresses and telephone numbers of social workers, to ensure that it is easy, in an emergency, for the setting and social services to work well together. We notify the registration authority (Ofsted) of any incident or accident and any changes in our arrangements, which may affect the wellbeing of children. Details of the local National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) contacts are also kept. 

The toys and equipment in Buttercups provide opportunities for children, with adult help, to develop new skills and concepts in the course of their play and exploration. The equipment we provide:

Is appropriate for the ages and stages of the children.

Offers challenges to developing physical, social, personal and intellectual skills.

Features positive images of people, both male and female, from a range of ethnic and cultural groups, with and without disabilities.

Includes a range of raw materials that can be used in a variety of ways and encourages an open-ended approach to creativity and problem-solving.

Will enable children, with adult support, to develop individual potential and move towards required learning outcomes.

Conforms to all relevant safety regulations and is sound and well-made.

Library

Buttercups Nursery School will provide books for the children to borrow at home.

If a book is lost or damaged the parent /carer will be asked to replace the book.

Children will be invited to visit the mobile library to select books for use in Buttercups Nursery School.

Fund Raising

Once a year the nursery schools parent committee will host a fund raising event to buy new equipment and toys;

The parent committee will organise a Christmas Fayre to raise further funding for the nursery;

The committee will be make parent/carers aware of all purchases;

Breakages

If a child wilfully breaks equipment, toys or books the parent/carer will be asked to recompense Buttercups Nursery School for the breakage.

When parents separate it is a difficult situation for all concerned. The nursery understands that emotions run high and this policy lays out how the nursery will support the child and their family within the nursery. We feel this policy will support all parties in this difficult time including our team.

Parental responsibility

While the law does not define in detail what parental responsibility is, the following list sets out the key roles:

Providing a home for the child. Having contact with and living with the child. Protecting and maintaining the child. Disciplining the child. Choosing and providing for the child’s education. Determining the religion of the child. Agreeing to the child’s medical treatment. Naming the child and agreeing to any change of the child’s name. Accompanying the child outside the UK and agreeing to the child’s emigration, should the issue arise. Appointing a guardian for the child, if necessary. Allowing confidential information about the child to be disclosed.

England and Wales

If the parents of a child are married to each other at the time of birth, or if they have jointly adopted a child, then they both have parental responsibility. Parents do not lose parental responsibility if they divorce, and this applies to both the resident and the non-resident parent.

This is not automatically the case for unmarried parents. According to current law, a mother always has parental responsibility for her child. A father, however, has this responsibility only if he is married to the mother when the child is born or has acquired legal responsibility for his child through one of these three routes:

By jointly registering the birth of the child with the mother (from 1st December 2003). By a parental responsibility agreement with the mother. By a parental responsibility order, made by a court.

Scotland

A father has parental responsibility if he is married to the mother when the child is conceived, or any time after that date. An unmarried father has parental responsibility if he is named on the child’s birth certificate (from 4th May 2006). Alternatively, unmarried fathers can also be name following a re-registration of the birth.



Registration During the registration process it is important for the nursery to know all details about both parents. This includes details about who does or does not have parental responsibility as this will avoid difficult situations that may arise at a later date.

The nursery requests that all details are logged on a separate form when registering the child. If a parent does not have parental responsibility, or has a court order in place to prevent this, the nursery needs a copy of this documentation for the child’s records.

If a child is registered by one parent of a separated family, the nursery requests that all details relating to the child and other parent are disclosed, e.g. court orders, injunctions. This will allow the nursery to have all the appropriate information in order to support the child fully.

The nursery will:
Ensure the child’s welfare is paramount in all operations relating to their time within the nursery.

Comply with any details of a Court Order where they are applicable to the nursery’s situation, provided the nursery has seen a copy/has a copy attached to the child’s file. Provide information on the child’s progress within the nursery to both parents.

Invite both parents to nursery events, including parental consultations and social evenings.

Ensure that all matters known by the staff pertaining to the family and the parent’s separation shall remain confidential. Ensure that no member of staff takes sides within the separation and treats both parents equally and with due respect.

The nursery cannot restrict access to any parent with parental responsibility unless a formal Court Order is in place. We respectfully ask that parents do not put us in this position.

We ask parents to: Provide us with all information relating to parental responsibilities, Court Orders and injunctions. Update information that changes any of the above as soon as practically possible.

Work with us to ensure continuity of care and support for your child.

Not involve nursery staff in any family disputes, unless this directly impacts on the care we provide for the child.

Talk to the manager/key worker away from the child when this relates to family separation in order to avoid the child becoming upset. This can be arranged as a more informal meeting or as an informal chat.

Not ask nursery to take ides in any dispute. We will only take the side of your child and this will require us to be neutral at all times.

At Buttercups we want children to feel safe and happy in the absence of their parents; to recognise other adults as a source of authority, help and friendship and to be able to share with their parents afterwards the new learning experiences enjoyed at Buttercups.

In order to accomplish this we will: At time of registration encourage parent/carers to remain in contact with Buttercups Nursery School.

Ensure that parent/carers receive all the relevant information about Buttercups Nursery School before the start date of their child. Your child’s Key-person will visit you and your child at home prior to any visits to Buttercups.

Encourage parents to visit the Nursery school with their children during the weeks before an admission is planned. Introduce flexible admission procedures, if appropriate, to meet the needs of the individual families and children.

Make clear to families from the outset that they will be supported in the Nursery school for as long as it takes to settle their child there. Reassure parents whose children seem to be taking a long time to settle into the Nursery school.

Encourage parents to stay with their child on their half hour visit and gradually build up to leaving them on their 2hour visit. Encourage parents to stay with their child if they are upset and work alongside staff to settle them for as long as necessary.

Children cannot play or learn successfully if they are anxious and unhappy. Our settling procedures aim to help parents to help their children to feel comfortable in nursery school, to benefit from what it has to offer and to be confident that their parents will return at the end of their time at Buttercups. Reassure parents that they can contact us at any time during the day about their child.

Visits

Home Visit
This will be arranged approximately 4 weeks prior to the start date and will take place 1 to 2 weeks before the arranged start date. A manager and member of staff will visit your home and will bring with them a Book Bag, Shoe Bag and T-shirt. They will also bring a book and cuddly toy for your child to borrow at home. We will ask you to return these items when your child starts at Buttercups. At this visit the manager will ask for the completed paper work.

Welcome to Buttercups
This visit will be an hour and half visit and will ideally be the day after the home visit. This visit is for child and parent(s)/carer to familiarise themselves with Buttercups and to meet the staff.

Information Sharing
At this visit parents will spend time with their child’s key-person, familiarising themselves with the nursery and its surroundings. Time will also be spent in the office with one of the manager’s where more information about Buttercups will be given to you, at this time you will be given the opportunity to share more information about your child. During the time spent in the office your child will be encouraged to play with the other children but if they do not want to leave your side they are very welcome to remain in the office with you.

Come and Play
This is a 2hour visit, where we invite children to come and play in the setting on their own. If your child is reluctant to stay on their own you are more than welcome to remain at Buttercups with them.

Working in Partnership with other Settings

If a child attends another setting Buttercups will ensure that the child’s emotional and educational needs are central to any transition between one setting and another or within one setting.

We will ensure that effective communication between settings is key to ensuring that children’s needs are met and there is continuity in their learning.

Social media is becoming a large part of the world we live in and as such at Buttercups we need to make sure we protect our children by having procedures in place for safe use.

We use Facebook To share pictures of the activities the children have accessed at nursery. In order to safeguard children we will: • Ensure all children in the photographs or posts have the correct permissions in place from their parent / carer • Not allow others to post on our Facebook page, i.e. only management can post on the page, only parents / family / carers who have been invited to join the group can view and comment on the posts • Monitor comments on all posts and address any concerns immediately.

Staff use of social media

We require our staff to be responsible and professional in their use of social networking sites in relation to any connection to the nursery, nursery staff, parents or children. • When using social networking sites such as Facebook staff must: • Not name the setting they work at o Not make comments relating to their work or post pictures in work uniform o Not send private messages to any parents/family members o If a parent ask questions relating to work via social networking sites, then staff should reply asking them to come into the setting or contact the manager o Ensure any posts reflect their professional role in the community (e.g. No inappropriate social event photos or inappropriate comments i.e. foul language) o Report any concerning comments or questions from parents to the manager/safeguarding lead o Follow the staff behaviour policy o Not post anything that could be construed to have any impact on the nursery’s reputation or relate to the nursery or any children attending the nursery in any way o Not belong to our closed Facebook group if linked to a personal account o Not like or share any of our Facebook posts o Not be connected to the nursery Facebook account in any manner • If any of the above points are not followed then the member of staff involved will face disciplinary action, which could result in dismissal.

Parents and visitors’ use of social networking

We promote the safety and welfare of all staff and children and therefore ask parents and visitors not to post, publically or privately, information about any child on social media sites such as Facebook.

We ask all parents and visitors to follow this policy to ensure that information about children, images and information do not fall into the wrong hands

We ask parents not to: • Send friend requests to any member of nursery staff • Screen shot or share any posts or pictures from the nursery on social media platforms (these may contain other children in the pictures) • Post any photographs to social media that have been supplied by the nursery with other children in them (e.g. Christmas concert photographs or photographs from an activity at nursery) • Share any concerns regarding inappropriate use of social media through the official procedures (please refer to the partnership with parents policy, complaints procedures and grievance policy).

We provide an environment in which all children are supported to reach their full potential.

Aims
We have regard for the DfES Special Educational Needs Code of Practice. We include all children in our provision. We provide practitioners to help support parents and children with special educational needs (SEN)/disabilities. We identify the specific needs of children with SEN/disabilities and meet those needs through a range of strategies. We work in partnership with parents and other agencies in meeting children’s needs. We monitor and review our practice and provision and, if necessary, make adjustments.


Methods We designate a member of staff/s to be Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) and give his/her name to parents/carers

We provide a statement showing how we provide for children with (SEN)/disabilities. Our Local Offer can be found on the Hampshire County Council website. We ensure that the provision for children with (SEN)/disabilities is the responsibility of all members of the setting.

We ensure that our inclusive admissions practice ensures equality of access and opportunity. We ensure that our physical environment is as far as possible suitable for children with disabilities.

We work closely with parents of children with (SEN/disabilities to create and maintain a positive partnership. We ensure that parents are informed at all stages of the assessment, planning, provision and review of their children’s education.

We provide parents/carers with information on sources of independent advice and support. We liaise with other professionals involved with children with (SEN)/disabilities and their families, including transfer arrangements to other settings and schools. We use the graduated response system for identifying, assessing and responding to children’s special educational needs.

We provide a broad and balanced curriculum for all children with (SEN)/disabilities. We use a system of planning, implementing, monitoring, evaluating and reviewing individual educational plans (IEPs) for children with (SEN)/disabilities. We ensure that children with (SEN)/disabilities are appropriately involved at all stages of the graduated response, taking into account their levels of disability.

We use a system for keeping records of the assessment, planning, provision and review for children with (SEN)/disabilities. We provide resources (human and financial) to implement our (SEN)/disability policy. We ensure the privacy of the children with (SEN)/disabilities when intimate care is being provided. We provide in-service training for practitioners and volunteers. We raise awareness of any specialism the setting has to offer, e.g. Makaton trained staff.

We ensure the effectiveness of our (SEN)/disability provision by collecting information from a range of sources e.g. IEP reviews, staff and management meetings, parental and external agencies views, inspections and complaints. This information is collated, evaluated and reviewed annually.

We provide a complaints procedure. We monitor and review our policy annually.

The named persons who co-ordinate Special Educational Needs (SENco) are Hazel Scott and Sue Barton-Leigh.

We provide a high staffing ratio to ensure that the children have sufficient individual attention and to guarantee care and education of a high quality. Our staffs are appropriately qualified and are checked for criminal records through the Criminal Records Bureau in accordance with Ofsted’s requirements.

Aims
To ensure that children and their parent/carers are offered high quality nursery school care and education.

Methods
To meet this aim we use the following ratios of adult to child: children under two years of age: 1 adult : 3 children children aged two years of age: 1 adult : 4 children children aged three – seven years of age: 1 adult : 8 children A minimum of two staff, are on duty at any one time. We use a key person system to ensure that each child and each family has 2 particular members of staff for discussion and consultation.

We hold regular staff meetings to undertake curriculum planning and to discuss children’s progress, their achievements and any difficulties, which may arise from time to time. We work towards offering equality of opportunity by using non-discriminatory procedures for staff recruitment and selection.

All staffs have job descriptions, which set out their roles and responsibilities. Our nursery school staffs hold relevant qualifications i.e. NVQ2/3 in Early Years Education & Child Care or an equivalent qualification and BA Honours Degree in Education & Training (Distinction)

We provide regular in-service training to all staff – whether paid staff or volunteers – through the Early Years Child Care and Education Unit. Our nursery school budget allocates resources to training.

We provide staff induction training in the first week of employment. This induction includes our Health & Safety Policy and Procedures and Child Protection Policy and Procedures. Other policies and procedures will be introduced within an induction plan.

We support the work of our staff by holding regular supervision meetings and appraisals.

We are committed to recruiting, appointing and employing staff in accordance with all relevant legislation and best practice. We use Ofsted guidance on obtaining references and criminal record checks through the Criminal Records Bureau for staff and volunteers who will have substantial access to children.

Students
This Nursery school recognises that qualifications and training make an important contribution to the quality of the care and education provided by Nursery school settings. As part of our commitment to quality, we offer placements to students undertaking early year’s qualifications and training.

Aim
We aim to provide for students on placement with us, experiences, which contribute to the successful completion of their studies and which examples of quality practice in early years care and education.

Methods
We require students to meet the ‘suitable person’ requirements of Ofsted. We require schools placing students under the age of 17 years with the pre-s

chool to vouch for their good character.

We require that ‘Trident’ placing students under the age of 17 with the pre-school to vouch for their good character. We supervise students under the age of 17 years at all times and do not allow them to have unsupervised access to children.

Students who are placed in our pre-school on a short-term basis are not counted in our staffing ratios. Students who are placed for longer periods – for example, a year – may be counted in our staffing ratios provided we consider them to be competent.

We take out employers’ liability insurance and public liability insurance3, which covers both trainees and voluntary helpers. We require students to keep to our confidentiality policy. We co-operate with student’s tutors in order to help students to fulfil the requirements of their course of study.

We provide students, at the first session of their placement, with a short induction on how our nursery school is managed, how our sessions are organised and our policies and procedures.

We communicate positive message to students about the value of qualifications and training. We make the needs of the children paramount by not admitting students in numbers which hinder the essential work of the nursery school.

We ensure that college students placed with us are engaged in bona fide early year’s training which provides the necessary background understanding of children’s development and activities.

Buttercups Nursery School is committed to ensuring that all children are fully protected from the dangers of the sun, even on overcast days. Severe sunburn in childhood can lead to the development of malignant melanoma (the most dangerous type of skin cancer) in later life.

We use the following procedures:

Children’s safety outside in the sun is the nursery’s prime objective so staff will work closely with parent/carers to ensure all appropriate cream and clothing is provided.

As appropriate to the weather parent/carers to apply sun cream (minimum factor 50) to their child before arriving at Buttercups.

Parent/carers will apply sun block or a high factor sun cream to their child’s face before arriving at Buttercups. Parents will provide their child with a clearly named sun hat which will be worn at all times whilst outside in sunny weather. This hat will preferably be of legionaires design (i.e. with an extended back side to shield children’s neck and ears from the sun) to provide additional protection.

Children need light weight cotton clothing suitable for the sun, with long sleeves and long legs if prone to sunburn. Buttercups will provide a good quality, high factor sun cream, which does not contain any traces of nuts for your child during the day. Parents will be informed as to which sun cream Buttercups uses and they will be asked to sign a prior written consent for staff to apply.

Buttercups will be aware of those children who have allergies to sun cream. In this instance parents will be asked to provide their own sun cream named and dated with prior written consent for staff to apply.

Those children who attend Buttercups all day will have sun cream applied at 12.30pm. Staff at Buttercups will use their own judgement as to whether sun cream should be applied before 12.30pm or re-applied later in the afternoon. Staff will not re-apply sun cream to a child’s face. Please note that children who go home at 1pm will not have sun cream applied at 12.30pm.

Parent/carers of children with Asian and black skin colouring should be aware that these skin types; can be very tolerant to sunshine. However, it is important to remember that burning can still occur.

Staff will make day-to-day decisions about the length of time spent outside dependent on the strength of the sun.

Children are made aware of the need for sun hats, sun cream and the need to drink fluids during their time in the sun and educated to the damaging effects the sun rays can cause. Shade will be provided in the form of a sun sail, gazebo’s etc., to ensure children are able to cool down or escape the sun should they wish to.

Buttercups will make every effort possible to protect your child from the sun by applying sun cream but Buttercups will not be responsible if your child has any ill-effects from sun exposure.

The nursery manager is responsible for ensuring all staff, including students, are suitable to work with children. Checks are carried out via enhanced DBS clearance checks and verified by the inspection body, however staff can work in the nursery before these checks are completed as long as they are supervised by registered staff at all times.

All nursery staff will be informed of staff awaiting enhanced DBS clearance.

Staff awaiting these checks will never: Be left unsupervised whilst caring for children. Take the children for toilet or outside the room. Change nappies/pull-ups/pants. Be left alone in a room or outside with children. Administer first aid. Take photographs of any children. Look at a child’s learning and development log.

Whilst ensuring all the above are adhered to, we still recognise that it is vital that the staff member awaiting an enhanced disclosure is only part of a suitability decision and the nursery management will ensure each individual working with a child goes through a vigorous recruitment and induction procedure (as laid out in the Recruitment and Selection Policy & Procedure). We will also ensure they receive continuous support, training and supervision from management in order to provide a safe, secure and healthy environment for all the children in the nursery.

All students will also receive an interview to ensure they are suitable for the nursery, an induction process to ensure they fully understand and are able to implement the nursery procedures, working practises and values. All students will be fully supervised to ensure they receive the appropriate support, training and information they may require.

On-going support and checks

All members of staff will update a health questionnaire on an annual basis to ensure management have a good knowledge of any changes that may require support or additional resources to aid them to carry out their day-to-day duties.

All staff are responsible for notifying the manager in person should any circumstances arise that may affect their suitability to work with children. This will include any incidents occurring outside the nursery. Staff will face disciplinary action should they fail to notify the manager in a reasonable timescale.

Each member of staff will receive two meetings a year with the manager, a formal appraisal and a more informal review. This will provide an opportunity for the manager and member of staff to discuss training needs for the following six months as well as discuss performance in the previous six months.
The management will be responsible for any support the staff team may have between these reviews. This includes mentor support, one-to-one training sessions, ongoing supervision, work-based observations and constructive feedback.

Legal Requirements

The nursery abides by all legal requirements relating to safe recruitment from the *Early Years Foundation Stage/*National Standards.

The nursery also abides by the employer’s responsibility relating to informing the Independent Safeguarding Authority of any changes to the suitability of their staff, whether this member of staff has left the nursery or is still under investigation. Please refer to the *Safeguarding & Child Protection Policy & Procedure for further information.

Children experience many transitions in their early years and nursery staffs are sensitive to the difficulties children may have whilst going through these transitions.

Some examples of transitions that young children may experience are:

Starting nursery Starting school or moving nurseries Family breakdowns New siblings Moving home Death of a family member Death of a family pet

Staffs are trained to observe their key children and as such will be sensitive to any changes in their behaviour and personality. We respectively ask that parents inform us of any changes in the home environment that may impact on their child so staff can be aware of the reasons behind any potential changes in the child’s character.

Supporting transitions in the nursery

The nursery will support all children in the nursery with any transitions they may be encountering. If the transition relates to the child starting at the nursery we will follow our settling in policy.

Starting school
Starting school is a huge transition and the nursery will do all it can to facilitate a smooth move. We have a variety of methods that support this:

The nursery will provide a variety of resources that relate to the school/s, e.g. uniform to dress up in, a role play area set up as a school classroom, photographs of all the schools the children may attend. This will help the children to become familiar with this new concept and will aide transition.

The nursery will invite school representatives into the nursery to introduce them to the children. The key-person will initiate conversations with their key children, who are due to move to school, about the school and discuss what they think may be different and what may be the same. They will talk through any concerns the child may have and initiate activities or group discussions relating to any issues enabling these to be overcome. The nursery will ensure a comprehensive report is produced on each child starting school to enable teachers to have a good understanding of each child received. This will include their interests, strengths and level of understanding and development in key areas. This will support continuity of care and learning.

Family Breakdowns

When parents separate it is difficult situation for all concerned. The nursery understands that emotions run high please refer to the Separated Family Policy & Procedure which shows how the nursery will act in the best interest of the child.

Moving home and new siblings

These are normally two events that parents will have advance notice of, and we ask that parents let the nursery know about these events so we can support the child to be ready for this. We will spend time talking to the child and providing activities that may help the child to act out any worries they have, e.g. through role play, stories and discussions.

Parents may also consider placing their child into nursery for additional sessions during these events to provide them with consistency and time away from the changes occurring. NB This of course depends upon availability on the day.

Bereavement

The nursery has produced a separate policy on bereavement as this can be a difficult time for children and families. The nursery will offer support to all concerned should this be required.

If parents feel that their child requires additional support because of any changes in their life, we ask that you speak to the nursery manager/s and the key person to enable this support to be put into place.

Purpose and aims of the Early Years Foundation Stage

Every child deserves the best possible start in life and support to fulfil their potential. A child’s experience in the early years has a major impact on their future life chances. A secure, safe and happy childhood is important in its’ own right, and it provides the foundation for children to make the most of their abilities and talents as they grow up. When parents choose to use early years services they want to know that provision will keep their children safe and help them to thrive. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is the framework that provides that assurance.

The overarching aim of the EYFS is to help young children achieve the five Every Child Matters outcomes of staying safe, being healthy, enjoying and achieving, making a positive contribution, and achieving economic well-being by:

setting the standards for the learning, development and care of young children should experience when they are attending a setting outside their family home, ensuring that every child makes progress and that no child gets left out;

providing for equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice and ensuring that every child is included and not disadvantaged because of ethnicity, culture or religion, home language, family background, learning difficulties, gender or ability;

creating the framework for partnership working between parents and professionals, and between all the settings that the child attends; improving quality and consistency in the early years sector through a universal set of standards which apply to all settings, ending the distinction between care and learning in the existing frameworks, and providing the basis for the inspection and regulations regime;

laying a secure foundation for future learning through learning and development that is planned around the individual needs and interests of the child, and informed by the use of ongoing observational assessment.

A Principled Approach

The EYFS principles which guide the work of all practitioners are grouped into four distinct but complementary themes:

A Unique Child Positive Relationships Enabling Environments Learning and Development

Effective practice in the EYFS is built on these four guiding themes. They provide a context for the requirements and describe how practitioners should support the development, learning and care of young children. The themes are each broken down into four commitments describing how the principles can be put into practice.

A Unique Child recognises that every child is a compet

ent learner from birth who can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured. The commitments are focused around development; inclusion; safety; and health and well-being.

Positive Relationships describes how children learn to be strong and independent from a base of loving and secure relationships with parents and/or a key person. The commitments are focused around respect; partnership with parents; supporting learning; and the role of the key person.

Enabling Environments explains that the environment plays a key role in supporting and extending children’s development and learning. The commitments are focused around observation, assessment and planning; support for every child; the learning environment; and the wider context – transitions, continuity, and multi-agency working.

Learning and Development recognises that children develop and learn in different ways and at different rates, and that all areas of learning and development are equally important and inter-connected.

This approach ensures that the EYFS meets the overarching aim of improving outcomes and at different rates, and that it is every child’s right to grow up safe; healthy; enjoying and achieving; making a positive contribution; and with economic well-being.

Partnership with Parents / Carers

Open, supportive communication with parents is fundamental to planning for and meeting a child’s toileting needs effectively and sensitively. Many parents feel anxious that their child is not able use the toilet independently and may have already experienced some difficulties with toilet training and / or experienced negative attitudes from others towards the issue. For some children their toileting needs may be relatively short term and related to initial toilet training, whereas others may require a long-term toileting programme. At Buttercups our aim is to make parents feel confident that we are supporting their child’s toileting needs and staffs are positive about doing so.

Buttercup’s believes that children with toileting difficulties should be admitted into nursery the same way as any other child. At this stage it is not possible to assume that failure to achieve independence with toileting is in itself an indication of special educational needs and / or medical conditions, which indicate the need for special toileting arrangements or toileting training. These children fall within the terms of SEN and Disability Act 2001. Our admissions policy states that we welcome all individuals to our nursery school.

Therefore, children who are still not toilet trained are welcome to join our setting and the following provisions are in place:- The toilet area has a high standard of hygiene including hand washing and drying facilities and the community centre disabled toilet has a nappy bin for the safe disposal of pull-ups and nappies.

Parents should supply clean pull-ups/nappies, wipes and nappy sacks in their child’s nursery school bag. There will be access to a changing mat, potty/toilet seat and nappy bin. Pull-ups/nappies will be placed in a nappy sack and disposed of in the community centre nappy bin.

The member of staff who is changing the pull-ups/nappies will wear protective gloves. Only members of Buttercups staff (DBS checked) will change a child. A child’s pull-ups/nappies will be changed as necessary throughout the day.

Buttercups would like to emphasise and re-assure the parent/carer that their child’s well-being, contentment and happiness is our priority regardless of their child’s level of toilet training.

Buttercups will support the parent/carer at all times to help their child become toilet trained. Parents may provide a potty / toilet seat while training. It is important to adopt consistent approaches at home and at nursery.

For children who are toilet trained The children are allowed to go to the toilet when they feel the need. They are encouraged to tell a member of staff if they need the toilet.

We encourage children to take responsibility for them selves whilst visiting the toilet. Parents can aid this by dressing children in clothing with elastic waistbands or other easily managed clothing.

Hand washing is a consistent part of the toilet routine and staff will encourage children to do this. Liquid soap and paper towels are provided.

Children will have regular toilet time i.e. 10.00am, 11.40am and 4.00pm.

If an accident does occur a member of staff (DBS checked) will help the child to change their clothes. Parents should supply a spare set of clothes in their nursery school bag.

EYFS Key Themes and Commitments

A Unique Child
1.2 Inclusive Practice
1.3 Keeping Safe

Positive Relationships
2.2 Parents as Partners

Enabling Environments
3.2 Supporting Every Child

Learning and Development
4.4 Personal, Social & Emotional Development

Security of the children attending Buttercups is of paramount importance. For this reason the nursery school gives to each child a Buttercups crew-neck tee shirt as part of their registration fee.

It is important that

Buttercups tee-shirts and/ or sweatshirts are to be worn by the child at each session. Tee-shirts, sweatshirts and polo shirts are available for purchase – enquiries should be made to the Nursery school manager.

Buttercups will provide each child with a shoe bag. Please supply your child with a key-ring to identify their bags. All articles belonging to the child should be labelled with the child’s name.

Trainers maybe worn – please ensure that they do up with velcro. Please do not put your child in shoes with laces.

boots should be provided (in a carrier bag which should be kept in your child’s shoe bag), summer and winter.

If your child is here all day, and you would like your child to wear slippers or plimsoles for part of the day please put them in your child’s shoe bag and inform a member of staff.

Please ensure that clothing worn by your child is ‘child friendly’ i.e. no belts or braces.

Buttercups will also provide your child with a sun hat, book bag and sun screen in the summer weather (please refer to our sun-screen policy)

Weather permitting, in the summer, we will be asking for swimming costume, old tee-shirt and towel to be provided.

Only items / toys for our sound table are allowed to be brought to Buttercups.

Buttercups will not be responsible for any items of clothing or toys which your child looses while attending Buttercups.

At Buttercups Nursery School it is important that any fraud, misconduct ort wrong doing by employees, volunteers or people engaged in the organisations business, is reported and properly dealt with.

We encourage all individuals to raise any concerns they have about the conduct of others in the setting, or how the setting is run. We realize that effective and honest communication is essential for malpractice to be dealt with. Whistle blowing relates to all those who work with or within the setting, it gives individuals an opportunity to raise in confidence any issues or concerns they may have that relates to the organization, it is not a grievance. If the issues or concerns affects your own personal circumstances than the nursery schools grievance procedures should be followed. The manager(s) ensure they spend one to one with all staff on a regular basis and builds up a good relationship with them to ensure they have the opportunity and ability to share concerns.

Whistle blowing procedures:

Reports should be passed onto the nursery school manager(s) It is the responsibility of all staff to report any illegal, inappropriate or unethical conduct

All reports will be fully investigated and you will be informed of the outcome, confidentiality being observed Whistle blowing will not lead to victimization or effect any future promotions

Any victimization will be dealt with through disciplinary procedures If misconduct is uncovered through an investigation, disciplinary procedures will be followed

If a report is found to be malicious or false allegation, disciplinary procedures will be taken against the whistle blower

If asked to cover up any wrong doing, it is itself a disciplinary offence and should not be agreed to even if asked to do so by a manager(s):

Any concerns shared about a member of staffs conduct with a child should be reported to the LADO – please see the Safeguarding Policy.