POLICIES & PROCEDURES

Policies & Procedures

Parent Partnership

The nursery will work with parents as partners in providing quality care for their children and:
  • Give parents access to their child's profile and consult them in their day-to-day care
  • Ensure that parents have the opportunity to review their child's progress regularly
  • Offer parents the opportunity to participate in activities and nursery events
  • Enable parents to meet with staff and other relevant professionals to discuss issues and concerns
  • Operate an opportunities policy that positively encourages equality for the children in our care, their parents and our staff
  • The nursery aims to support parents with a series of training sessions in the form of workshops

New Children

Any new children entering the Nursery will be given ample time to adjust to their new surroundings. We recognise that this can be a very dramatic time for children and their parents, carers or guardians. 

We will allow a settling period for parents, carers or guardians to be with their child and work around any individual needs. 

We recognise that it can be a very emotional time and welcome any opportunity to work with you to make your child stay as rewarding and enjoyable as possible.
 

Fees & Payments

For reasons of operational efficiency it is desirable that all fees are paid in to the nursery's account by the first day of the month by standing order. Unless one month's written notice is given for cancellation, reduced or increased attendance then the monthly fee is not refundable.

Fees are available on request.

Collection of Children

For security reasons, children can only be collected by the authorised contacts provided on the registration form; changes must be provided in writing and any new contacts introduced to the Manager. Children cannot leave the premises unaccompanied, with an unauthorised person, with anyone under 18 years old or any person intoxicated. 

Late collection would attract a late collection fee and in the event of non-collection staff would follow our set emergency procedure.

Children's Health

Young Oaks Day Nursery employ staff that are first aid trained and will also send staff on first aid courses. 

Children should not attend nursery if they are suffering from sickness, diarrhoea, an infectious illness or have any unspecific rashes (until diagnosed by a doctor). You should also adhere to the 48-hour rule of non-attendance following any such illness.

Health and Illness Policy

Behaviour

At Young Oaks Day Nursery we believe in promoting positive behaviour; our aims include encouraging self-discipline and consideration for each other, our property and surroundings. 

By praising children and acknowledging positive actions and attitudes we hope to ensure that children see that we value and respect them.

Our rules are concerned with safety, care and respect for each other. 

We will give children non-aggressive strategies to enable them to release their feelings more creatively.

Fun Learning

Young Oaks Day Nursery will work closely with parents/guardians to provide the right balance between the children's educational and social needs. 

Staff will use the EYFS guidance to provide a good range of experiences for babies, younger and older children. Staff in each of the themed rooms will be fully qualified and actively encouraged to assist in all the enrichment activities offered by the nursery. 


Confidentiality

All discussions with the management of the nursery will be kept confidential unless there is a legal responsibility to pass on details to relevant agencies under the Child Protection Act. Your child's records will be kept securely and will only be available to the management. All personal data is covered under the Data Protection Act. 

Child Protection

All rooms within the nursery are fitted with CCTV cameras with sound and vision digital recording. This is used for the security of all children and staff, as well as for the purpose of ensuring the quality of care being delivered. The nursery has a duty under the Children's Act to follow procedures set out in the Local Authority's Child Protection Documents. 

Outings

As part of our curriculum, Young Oaks staff will take children/babies out on outings in the local community and also on longer day trips to farms, parks, etc.

Additional Needs

Any children with additional needs have the right to develop their full potential alongside other children: they should be encouraged to share the same opportunities and helped to overcome any disadvantages they may have to face.

Children with additional needs, like all other children, will be admitted to the nursery.

Equal Opportunities

The nursery and our staff are committed to ensuring that every person associated with the organisation is treated equally. The nursery and our staff are committed to:

Encouraging positive role models displayed through toys, imaginary play etc., that promotes non-stereotyped images. Books will also be selected to promote positive images of men and women, boys and girls.

Encouraging all children to join in all of the activities.

Reviewing our operational practices to remove those that discriminate unfairly on the grounds of gender, ethnic origin, language etc.

Acknowledging that preconception relating to gender and sexism are prevalent in our language and working towards challenging and changing such language where appropriate.

Equipment

At Young Oaks Day Nursery, we provide furniture, equipment, toys and resources that meet the teaching and learning needs appropriate to the children's age, as well as their social, physical, emotional, educational, spiritual and cultural needs and development.

All our toys will meet the appropriate safety standards and regulations. All our toys are appropriate for the children's age and stage of development, including babies and children under 2. 

Healthy Eating

A healthy balanced diet is vital to the growth and development of your child. We will freshly prepare all meals provided by the Nursery. Menus will change regularly and they will be carefully balanced. 

Nursery food is available for all children who are on solids. Foods other than this will need to be provided by parents/guardians.

We provide nutritious food for all meals and snacks, avoiding fat, sugar and salt and artificial additives, preservatives and colourings.

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

Your Child's Clothes

Your child's normal day clothes and comfortable shoes should be worn and Guardian/carers are asked to bring a change of clothing, especially for babies. In order to help us identify clothes, the nursery requests that all garments are labelled.
 

Quality Care

 A safe, secure environment is obviously of great importance to any parent leaving their child in a Nursery setting. This is why our Nursery has digital recording CCTV with audio. Our CCTV cameras are situated in each of the rooms and play areas. 

Your child will be signed in on his/her main and room register each time they attend Nursery and signed out when they are collected. 

Any visitors or contractors must produce a form of ID before they gain access to the Nursery and they are required to sign a visitors/contractors book; which is monitored regularly to ensure that relevant procedures are being followed. 

Health and Safety also plays an important part in Nursery life. We will ensure that our Nursery provides a safe environment for all children, parents/guardian, and staff. 

Our Nursery staff receive regular training and updates on Health and Safety issues. 


Anti Bullying Policy


What is bullying?

Bullying is not always easy to define, but according to Dan Olweus, an expert in the field of prevention of bullying, he says it should include:

  • Physical - pushing, kicking, hitting, pinching and other forms of violence or threats.
  • Verbal - name calling, sarcasm, spreading rumors, persistent teasing
  • Emotional - excluding, tormenting, ridicule or humiliation
  • Racist - Racial taunts, graffiti or gestures
  • Social - unwanted physical contact or abusive comments
  • Homophobic - any hostile or offensive action against lesbian, gay males or bisexuals or those perceived to be these above.

All the above forms of bullying cannot just be delivered on a personal, face to face basis, but also by using existing and new technology, known as cyber bullying. We can sum up bullying as actions taken by one or more people with the deliberate intention of hurting another person (in any of the above ways). This policy is designed to support the nursery behaviour policy, equal opportunities and anti discrimination policies.

Bullying is about a pre-meditated act, which relies on a stage of cognitive development in order to think the process through.

Aims and Objectives

  • Bullying is wrong and is damaging to individual people. Young oaks day nursery proactively implements policies and procedures to prevent this, by developing a nursery in which bullying is regarded as unacceptable.
  • We aim to deliver a safe and secure environment where all children can play and learn without fear or anxiety.
  • This policy aims to produce a consistent response to any bullying incidents that may occur.
  • We aim to make all those connected with the nursery aware of our opposition to bullying and staff have a responsibility to eradicate bullying in our nursery.
  • We do not tolerate any kind of bullying as stated above on any grounds whatsoever, and support all parties involved to gain a full understanding of our ethos.

Rough and Tumble Play

The pre-School Learning Alliance has acknowledged and highlighted the need to recognise rough and tumble play as distinct from inappropriate or aggressive behaviour. Television or films, which include superheroes, often influence young children or weapon play and they will mimic this behaviour through their play. We endorse the following strategies to manage this kind of play:

  • Recognise that this is pro-social play rather than aggressive
  • Set boundaries for the games to be set out in
  • Use planning opportunities to discuss the concept of 'good' and 'bad'.
  • Support the play to find alternative solutions to weapon play, exploring different scenarios.

Hurtful Behaviour

Very young children are 'egocentric' which means that they put their own feelings before others, and even the most considerate child will have the occasional outburst due to frustration, anger or over exuberance. We acknowledge that this is a developmental area that needs to be nurtured and supported and that very young children do not intentionally wish to cause hurt. If hurtful comments are made, our strategies are:

  • To recognise that very young children are not always able to manage their own feelings and deliver them appropriately
  • Assist in this management to support their biological and cognitive development.
  • Offer support to both parties and to discuss the issues through play, story times and circle time activities.

Anti - Bullying Procedure

The role of the manager

  • It is the responsibility of the manager to implement the Nursery anti-bullying strategy and to ensure that all staff (paid/unpaid) are aware of the policy and know how to deal with incidents of bullying.
  • The manger ensures that all children begin to learn that bullying is wrong and that it is unacceptable behaviour in the nursery. The manager draws the attention of everyone to this fact through staff meetings and monitoring that this is being implemented on a regular basis.
  • The manager ensures that all staff are in receipt of enough training to be equipped to deal with any incidents of bullying.
  • The manager set the nursery climate of mutual support and praise for successes, so making bullying less likely. When people feel they are important and belong to a friendly and welcoming setting, bullying is far less likely to occur.

The role of staff

  • Staff in the nursery take all forms of bullying seriously and intervene to prevent incidents from taking place. A record is kept of all incidents of bullying that happen in the nursery and these are shared with the manager.
  • If staff witness an act of bullying, they will do all they can to support the person or persons who are being bullied. If a child is being bullied over a period, then, after consultation with the manager, the key worker informs the child's parent.
  • For all incidents of bullying behaviour management form should be completed. We record all incidents of bullying that occur within the nursery.
  • If practitioners become aware of any bullying taking place between members of a group, we deal with the situation immediately. This will involve supporting all parties to understand that this is not acceptable to be bullied, to be the recipient of bullying, and that the nursery will deal with the situation very seriously. If the patterns repeat of bullying the child's parents should be asked to meet with the manager.

The role of parents

  • Parents, who are concerned that their child might be being bullied, or who suspect that their child may be the perpetrator of bullying, should contact the nursery manager immediately.
  • Parents have a responsibility to support the nursery's anti bullying policy and actively encourage their child to be a positive member of the nursery.
  • Parents are always expected to help develop their child’s social skills , in support of the nursery ethos.


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