**Ask me about Funded hours
Sick children expose other children to the infection and require additional care and attention that I am unable to give. In my experience, sick children want to be cared for by their parents in the comfort of their own home.
I understand that as a working parent you need to be able to go to work, however if your child is not feeling very well, in my experience, I feel that your child would be better cared for in their own home with a parent.
Illness and Infection Control Procedures include –
- Cleaning and sterilising play areas.
- Daily cleaning of toys and other resources.
- Ensuring children have sole use of resources that may transfer infection such as sand, water, and messy play including cooking and playdough.
- Providing tissues, a lidded bin, and hand wipes for the children to use independently – monitoring children’s use and requiring hand washing after use.
- Teaching children to cough or sneeze into their elbows (like an elephant) and then wash their hands.
- Use good hand-washing techniques to prevent the spread of infection and cross-contamination.
- Teaching children to wash their hands regularly and effectively.
- Dealing with bodily fluids safely.
Note: soiled clothes will usually be handed to parents for cleaning.
- Keeping children safe around animals – please see Animal / Pet Policy for more information.
- Talking to children about health and safety, germs, viruses, etc as appropriate for their ages and levels of understanding.
If a child falls ill – parents will be asked to collect them as quickly as possible and keep them at home for the advised exclusion time including, for example –
- 48 hours after the last bout for diarrhoea and/or sickness
- 7 days for coronavirus symptoms (or unless a negative test is confirmed)
- Until they are better after colds, flu, etc
- Following Health Protection England guidance for other common childhood illnesses.
- 24 hours after starting antibiotic treatment.
Procedure if a child falls ill
**The child will be treated using first aid and/or medication (with prior written permission) if appropriate.
**The child will be isolated if necessary.
**Every effort will be made to telephone parents to collect the child.
**In an emergency situation, 999 / 111 will be contacted for further advice.
**Emergency contacts will be telephoned if parents are not available.
Note: it is important that parents provide at least 2 emergency contacts for each child.
As a general rule, a child is unable to participate in normal daily routines, is irritable, continuously crying or requires more attention than can be safely provided without impeding the health, safety, and wellbeing of other children in the setting or is not well enough to attend other provisions such as school or nursery, they should be at home with parents.
If parents are ill – please consider whether it is safe to bring your child to the setting, to protect your child, other children, and me and my family. If you need to ask someone else to collect your child, you must supply a password for us to use.
If I am ill – parents will be contacted as soon as reasonably practicable and asked to collect the child. I carry Emergency Contact Information for children on outings.
Note: If my illness is related to coronavirus, Public Health England advice will be followed.
Confidentiality – where possible, confidentiality will be maintained; however, please note that details of illnesses will be shared if advised by the Local Authority, Public Health England, Ofsted, or other agencies. Please see the Confidentiality Policy for more information.
Reporting a notifiable disease - the attending doctor must determine whether a disease is notifiable and then inform the Local Authority. In some instances, where required in the statutory framework, providers must inform the Local Authority, Ofsted, and the Health Protection Agency.
I am happy to administer medication (please see my administering medication policy).
I will contact you at the earliest convenience if my children or I are not well, and if I am unable to work. This then allows you to make alternative arrangements for your child’s care.
If you have any questions about my Policy/Procedures or would like to make any comments, please ask.