In today’s society we have to operate a very strict procedure regarding the collection of children at the end of each session. If a child’s usual parent/carer is unable to collect, a named person must be written into the signing in book, otherwise the child will not be released. This is for the safety and well-being of your child and we apologise for any inconvenience this may cause. For more information please see our “Non-collection of children” policy.

All members of staff and committee have been given Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) clearance at the enhanced level.

Only staff can supervise children alone in the outdoor play area and in the toilets. Parent helpers do not have unsupervised access to any child/ren other than their own.

Health and Safety

We believe that the health and safety of children is of paramount importance and to that end we make our pre-school a safe and healthy place for children, parents, staff and volunteers. We aim to make children, parents and staff aware of health and safety issues and to minimise the hazards and risks to enable the children to thrive in a healthy and safe environment. Sally Lee is our Health and Safety Co-ordinator and there is a Health and Safety Officer on the committee. For more information see our Health and Safety policy.

Safeguarding children

Our pre-school wants to work with children, parents and the community to ensure the safety of children and to give them to very best start in life. We work within the Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB) guidelines and have policies and procedures in place to deal with any child protection issues. Our Safeguarding Children co-ordinator is Carolyn Jones. For more information see our Safeguarding Children Policy.

Sickness and accidents

Illness and infections spread quickly within a pre-school environment as children interact with each other during play and other activities. Please ensure that your child does not attend pre-school until clear of vomiting and/or diarrhoea for 48 hours and, if needed, until any treatment or medication has been started. If you are unsure whether to send your child to pre-school please feel free to discuss the matter with a member of staff.

Inevitably, there will be minor accidents when a large group of young children play together. Staff will always inform parents/carers of such accidents and they will be recorded in our Accident Book which you will be asked to sign. We ask that parents make staff aware of any recent cuts or bruises and fill in an “accident at home” form so we know that those did not occur during the pre-school session.

A First Aid kit is kept for minor accidents and all staff have been trained in First Aid. If a child suffers a more serious accident or becomes ill, we will attempt to contact parents/carers or one of your designated emergency contacts. If necessary, the child will be taken by a member of staff to the Collingham Medical Centre or to hospital. On joining the pre-school you will be asked to sign a form giving your consent to this.