Illnesses and infectious diseases policy

It is our policy to promote good health and take necessary steps to prevent the spread of infection within our childcare setting and take appropriate action when children become ill.  We both have current 12 hour paediatric first aid certificates which is consistent with the Statutory Framework for the EYFS approved by Surrey County Council.  These are renewed every 3 years.  Lauren and I are always present either both on the premises and when we are out.  We follow the requirements laid out in the EYFS framework and in any Department for Education and UK Health Security Agency guidance or guidance on local outbreaks.

Procedure

To protect everyone who attends our setting, as well as our own families, we require parents/carers to provide regular updates on the health of their family/household.  We will share updates about our own family’s health with parents/carers.

We promote handwashing in warm soapy water when children first arrive each day, before eating or handling food, when they get back from school or if we’ve been out and after using the toilet. Fresh clean flannels are always available for drying hands and the children put them directly into the washing machine after use.  Lauren and I also wash our hands whenever necessary in warm soapy water for at least 20 seconds.

We constantly check the children for signs and symptoms of infectious diseases such as chickenpox, hand foot and mouth, conjunctivitis, measles, rubella, meningitis, fevers, COVID-19, vomiting etc by watching them closely, checking their temperature, getting information on their health from their parents/carers, teachers, or nursery workers and by speaking to them as appropriate.

If a child arrives at our setting with a disease or illness that we believe to be infectious or that poses a risk to the other children in the setting or ourselves, we will ask you to take the child home immediately.  This includes sickness and diarrhoea and conjunctivitis.  If a child has vomited, they will not be allowed to attend our setting for 48 hours after the last vomiting episode.  This is to minimise the risk of the transmission of an infection to other children, us or members of our household.

NHS guidelines may differ from our own at this setting and our setting’s guidelines take precedent over GP or NHS guidelines.  It is our responsibility to take all steps necessary to prevent the spread of infections amongst children.  Some families have members with low immune systems or health conditions, so we are very strict about keeping infected children at home until they are well.

Lauren and I always carry tissues with us and we promote the use of tissues for children with coughs and minor colds. Tissues are available at home for children to use freely on their own or with our help.  All spillages of bodily fluids will be cleaned up immediately and we wear disposable gloves for this. We discard the gloves after each use. We will ensure that any animals on the premises are safe to be around children and do not pose a health risk.  Please also see our Animal Policy.

We will notify parents (by putting up a poster or by sending a text, WhatsApp or email) of cases of headlice, hand foot and mouth, sickness and diarrhoea, conjunctivitis and other infectious illness or any other health issues at our setting making sure personal details are always kept confidential.

If a child becomes unwell with symptoms of a respiratory illness (including COVID-19) and/or develops a high temperature, they must be collected immediately and parents/carers will be advised to follow updated guidance from the government which can be found here People with symptoms of a respiratory infection including COVID-19 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) We will isolate the unwell child, if safe and possible, away from the other children.  Once the child has gone home we will wash our hands thoroughly as well as any area that may have been contaminated by the unwell child.

Where a child has tested positive for COVID-19 they should remain at home, avoiding contact with other people for 3 days from the day after their test was taken.  They can return to our setting after 3 days if they are no longer unwell and no longer have a high temperature.

If Lauren or myself have helped someone who is unwell with respiratory infection (including COVID-19), we will wash out hands thoroughly and watch out for any symptoms in ourselves.  Should either of us develop symptoms we will follow the government guidance.  In line with this guidance if either of us test positive for COVID-19 we will close our setting for 3 days and avoid contact with others

Please also refer to our accident and emergency policy.

If we believe a child in our setting is suffering from a notifiable disease, identified as such in the Public Health (Infectious Diseases) Regulations 1988, we will act on advice given by the Health Protection Agency and inform Ofsted of any action taken. A list of notifiable diseases can be found on the Health Protection Agency website Notifiable diseases and causative organisms: how to report - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

If either Lauren or myself, or any member of our family, has a confirmed infectious disease, we will inform parents/carers as soon as we are able. We will inform the parents of the other children in our setting if a child we care for has a diagnosed infectious disease, whilst keeping the children’s details confidential.

 

Useful websites

Health and Safety Executive                     www.hse.gov.uk

Government website advising what infections are, how they are transmitted and those at higher risk of infection Health protection in children and young people settings, including education - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Government guidance on COVID-19       People with symptoms of a respiratory infection including COVID-19 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Updated and reviewed:      1 March 2024                         by: Ilana Hill and Lauren Bryant

NOTICEBOARD

This term we will be looking at:

Food

The hungry caterpillar

stone soup

food that grows on trees

Burns Night

Chinese New Year

Shopping for food

pancake day

valentines day

food that grows underground

Handas Surprise

Mothers Day

Food that grows in other countries

My favorite foods

and our topic for this term is:

Fabulous Food

I currently have no vacancies

I am registered to provide FEET
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  Ilana Hill 2012