POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
This page contains a summary of some of our Policies and Procedures. These policies reflect the Early Years Foundaton Stage. A full copy of the settings Policies and Procedures are available to view at the setting. They are also available online here.
The setting's policies help us to make sure that the service provided by the setting is a high quality one and that being a member of the setting is an enjoyable and beneficial experience for each child and her/his parents.
The staff and committee of the setting work together to adopt the policies and they all have the opportunity to take part in the annual review of the policies. This review helps us to make sure that the policies are enabling the setting to provide a quality service for its members and the local community.
Safeguarding Children
Our setting has a duty under the law to help safeguard children against suspected or actual 'significant harm'
Our employment practices ensure children are safeguarded against the likelihood of abuse in our setting and we have a procedure for managing complaints or allegations against a member of staff.
Our way of working with children and their parents ensures we are aware of any problems that may emerge and can offer support, including referral to appropriate agencies when necessary, to help families in difficulty.
Settling In
The first days: We want your child to feel happy and safe with us. To make sure that this is the case, the staff will work with you to decide how to help your child to settle into the setting.
Clothing: We provide protective clothing for the children when they play with messy activities.
We encourage children to gain the skills that help them to be independant and look after themselves. These include taking themselves to the toilet and taking off, and putting on, outdoor clothes. Clothing that is easy for them to manage will help them to do this.
Harpole Pre-school Complaints Procedure
Our setting believes that children and parents are entitled to expect courtesy and prompt, careful attention to their issue/s. We welcome suggestions on how to improve our setting and will give prompt and serious attention to any concerns about the running of the setting. We anticipate that most concerns will be resolved quickly by an informal approach to the appropriate member of staff. If this does not achieve the desired result, we have a set of procedures for dealing with concerns. We aim to bring all concerns about the running of our setting to a satisfactory conclusion for all of the parties involved.
Achieving Positive Behaviour
On no account must a member of staff physically discipline a child. Corporal punishment (smacking, slapping or shaking etc.) must not be used in pre-school.
Responding in “like†behaviour ie: biting is not an appropriate approach to modify unacceptable behaviour neither are sanctions appropriate that would lead to a child’s humiliation or lowering of self-esteem.
If a child’s behaviour is found to be annoying, disturbing or in any way unacceptable to others, an adult will remove the child from the situation.
The adult should try to explain to the child the reason for them being removed and the possible consequences of their actions. The child should then be taken back, if appropriate, to apologise to the child/children. This is not something that should be forced. A possible alternative such as shaking hands can also be acceptable.
Administration of Medicines
It is the pre-school’s policy not to administer any medications. If a child needs any medicines it is felt these should be administered before the start of the session by the parent/guardian, which should be sufficient to last to the end of the session. If it is unavoidable that the child has medication at pre-school the medicine book needs to be completed.
Illness/If a child falls ill at Pre-school
Parents are requested to keep their children home if they are ill or have any infections and to alert the pre-school of the nature of the illness so other parents can be informed and observations kept on the other children. If the child has had sickness or diarrhoea the child should be kept at home until at least 48 hours has lapsed since the last attack. Cuts or open sores should be covered by a plaster or other dressing. The pre-school has a mobile phone. If a child is taken ill during a session and it is beyond the medical training of the staff on site, the group leader should stay with the child whilst another member of staff contacts either 999 or the child’s parent, whichever is appropriate.
Charging Policy
When your child starts pre-school, their fees will be worked out for the entire year. The total cost will then be divided into equal monthly payments, payable from the month they start until 1st July. We are in receipt of the Early Years Free Entitlement of 15 hours per week free funding for three and four year olds; where funding is not received, then fees apply. For your child to keep her/his place at the setting, you must pay the fees. The Free Entitlement can be used for the session time and also Lunch Club. However, the Lunch Club is chargeable if you exceed 15 hours of funding per week.
As a charity, we are, unfortunately, unable to offer reduced rates for holidays. Therefore if your child is taken out of pre-school to go on holiday, the sessions he/she misses will still be billed as normal. The same applies to any sessions missed through illness. For your child to keep his/her place at the pre-school, you must pay the fees. If your child has to be absent over a long period of time, please talk to the committee chairperson.
The pre-school requires at least 4 weeks notice in writing before withdrawing your child from our sessions and/or lunch club. If notice is not given, we reserve the right to charge fees for a maximum of 4 weeks. This also applies to children in receipt of Early Years Education Funding.
Inclusion (Special Needs)
As part of the setting's policy to make sure that its provision meets the needs of each individual child, we take account of any special needs a child may have.
The setting works to the requirements of the 1993 Education Act and The Special Educational Needs Code of Practice (2001).
Our Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator is Sharon Matthews.
Photographs/Video
At Harpole Pre-School we regularly take photographs and videos of the children which we use for display purposes, as evidence of activities in their keyworker folder and for assessment. If you have any concerns about this please speak to a member of staff. On special occasions, ie Christmas and Fundraising activities, we may invite professionals in to record the children performing and to take photographs which may be printed for marketing purposes. On these occasions, if you do not want your child’s photograph to be taken, you must inform a member of staff.