Animal Policy

I believe children benefit from being around and looking after animals.  I have two cats, and we regularly visit the farm and parks where we see and interact with other animals.  I never leave children alone with any animal.  I am also mindful that any animal could be a danger to children, so I teach them how to treat animals kindly and be respectful of all animals.  We support two dogs from the Dogs Trust who send us quarterly magazines and letters from the dogs themselves.

Procedure

I do a comprehensive animal risk assessment regularly which is shared with parents/carers.

Parents are informed that we have animals by speaking to us at the initial enquiry stage and by looking on our website www.ilana-hill.co.uk.

The animals that we come into contact with are disease free.

Our cats are fully vaccinated, have flea treatments once a month and visit the vet twice a year for checkups.  The children sometimes come along.

If one of our animals becomes sick they will be quarantined in the lounge and I will contact the vet and follow their instructions.

The children are encouraged to feed our animals with our supervision.  The food is kept in the cupboard next to the back door.  After giving our animals food we all wash our hands and talk about why this is necessary.

Our animal’s food and water bowls are situated in the kitchen on the floor.  The children are shown where they are and are told not to touch or play with them.  I keep a strict eye on this.

Before any child interacts with any animal, I make sure that I am aware of any allergies, fears, cultural and religious beliefs involving animals and take appropriate steps to respect these.

Policy Written by:    Ilana Hill       Date: 17 March 2010    

Last Updated and reviewed:   by Ilana Hill on 13 February 2025