Policies & Procedure

Diet & Food Policy

The nursery provides a wide range of healthy food for snacks, we will take into consideration each child’s dietary requirements and choice. We will ensure that mealtimes are a pleasurable social experience.

The nursery will ensure that:
All snacks provided are nutritious, avoiding large quantities of fat, sugar, salt, additives, preservatives and colourings.

At present packed lunches are provided by parents, however, ‘no meat Mondays’ are encouraged as the nursery would hope to have a vegetarian/vegan menu once we have access to make our own meals.

The Nursery provides organic milk and fruit.

Before a child starts to attend the nursery, staff will discuss with parents the child’s dietary needs, including allergies (please refer to Allergies and Allergic reactions policy), and make appropriate arrangements to meet them.

Parents will be asked to provide a medical certificate for children with food allergies and intolerances which are very severe.

An allergy care plan will be carried out with children who have any allergies and an action plan will be completed.

A diet encompassing food from a range of cultures ensures that children from all backgrounds encounter familiar tastes and that all children have the opportunity also to try unfamiliar foods.
The dietary rules of religious groups are known and met in appropriate ways.

Water is always available.
Children are offered food at regular intervals.
Children arriving early and/or staying late will be offered an appropriate meal or snack.
Menus of snacks are displayed for parent’s information.

Asthma Policy

The Little Lotus Nursery welcomes all children whatever their individual needs and will endeavour to provide a caring and happy atmosphere in an inclusive setting.

We recognise that asthma is an important condition affecting many children and our purpose is to encourage and support children with asthma to participate fully in activities.

An asthma care plan will be completed with parents and the information shared with staff
We aim to:

Ensure children have immediate access to reliever inhalers
Ensure the Nursery environment is favourable to children with asthma
Provide guidance for staff on what to do if a child has an asthma attack to ensure the child’s welfare in the event of an emergency
Work with parents of children with asthma to ensure that their children are in a safe, caring environment
Promote action by parents/carers and staff to actively support the policy in Nursery
Follow guidelines set out in the Nursery medication policy for the administration of medication
Asthma attack procedure
In the event of a child having an asthma attack:
Apply nursery administration of medication procedure
Make sure the child takes two puffs of their reliever (blue) inhaler, preferably through a spacer.
Sit the child up and ensure any tight clothing is loosened
If there is no immediate improvement during an attack, make sure the child continues to take one puff of the reliever inhaler every minute for five minutes or until their symptoms improve
If the child’s symptoms do not improve in five minutes – or if you are in any doubt – call 999 or a doctor urgently.

Allergies & Intolerances

Care of children with allergies & intolerances procedure

Good communication is essential.

All parents should be asked for information about their child’s allergies before the child is admitted into Nursery.

A written care plan should be drawn up for the child in consultation with the parents and the child’s doctor or allergy specialist.

The care plan should be held on the premises and a further copy kept with the child’s medication
All staff should be trained in allergen avoidance, early recognition of symptoms and crisis management should this arise.

Staff members should be trained to administer emergency medication and each child’s individual needs must be discussed.

A commitment to reading food labels and maintaining vigilance is essential.

Regular cleaning of surfaces and hand washing are also important to reduce the risk from allergens (e.g. peanut or milk) to allergic children

Signs and symptoms

Skin causing

Gut causing

Chest causing

ANAPHYLAXIS

A nettle type rash, also called hives or urticaria

Swelling of the lips, eyes and other parts of the face or body

Tingling of the lips, tongue or throat

General redness and warmth

Vomiting

Tummy ache

Diarrhoea

Sneezing

Coughing

Throat tightness / Lump at the back of the throat

Wheezing

Breathing difficulty / noisy breathing

Gasping / choking

Undue sleepiness

Colour change of lips / tongue (blue)

No child would necessarily experience all of the symptoms listed above, although more than one may well be present.

If the child has asthma as well as allergies, this should be noted and the asthma should be kept well controlled with the aid of prescribed preventer medication.

In the event of a child having a mild/moderate allergic reaction
Staff will refer to the child’s allergy care plan
Staff will apply nursery administration of medication procedure
Oral antihistamines may have been prescribed and these can be used to treat milder reactions.
In the event of a child having a severe allergic reaction (ANAPHYLAXIS)
Staff will refer to the child’s allergy care plan
Staff will apply nursery administration of medication procedure
A child at risk of anaphylaxis will often be prescribed injectable adrenaline and members of staff should be trained to administer it in an emergency.
Dial 999 and state ANAPHYLAXIS to ensure a PARAMEDIC AMBULANCE is despatched right away
Contact parents/carers
It is the parents’ responsibility to ensure that medication is within its use-by date and they are advised to check dates regularly.

Separated Family

The nursery understands that emotions run high during a time when parents separate. This policy helps lay out how the nursery will support the child and their family within the nursery.

Whilst the law does not define in detail what parental responsibility is we are able to set out the key roles.
Providing a home for children

Having contact with and living with the child
Protecting. Maintaining and disciplining the child
Education
Determining the religion of the child
Agreeing to the child’s medical treatment
Naming/agreeing any change of the child’s name
Being responsible for the child’s property
Appointing a guardian for the child (if necessary)
Allowing confidential information about the child to be disclosed

England and wales
If parents are married at the time of birth, or have jointly adopted a child, they both have the responsibility. Parents do not lose any responsibility if they divorce applying to both resident and non-resident parent.
However, for unmarried parents this is not automatically the case. Mother’s always have the responsibility for her child. A father, however, has this responsibility only if he is married to the mother at birth of child or following these three routes;

Jointly registering the birth of the child (from December 2003)
By a parental responsibility agreement with the mother
By a parental responsibility order, made by a court

Registration at nursery
During the registration at nursery it is important for us to know all details about both parents. This includes details about parental responsibility as this will avoid any difficult situations that may arise later.
When completing nursery paperwork it is important that details are logged on the child’s personal details form. If a parent does not have any responsibility, or has a court order, the nursery needs a copy of the documentation stating this. If a child is registered by one parent of a separated family, the nursery requests that all details relating to the child and other parent are disclosed (e.g. court orders, injunctions). This will allow the nursery to have all the appropriate information to support the child fully.

As a nursery we will;

Ensure the child’s welfare is paramount
Comply with the court order where they are applicable to the nursery’s situation, provided the nursery has seen/has a copy attached to the child’s file
Provide information of the child’s progress to both parents
Invite both parents to nursery events, including social events and parent evenings
Ensure all matters known by the staff involving parent separation remain confidential where appropriate
Ensure no staff members take sides within the separation and treats both parents equal

We cannot restrict any access to any parent with responsibility unless a formal court order is in place and we ask for parents not to put us in this position.

We ask parents to;

Provide us with all information possible including court orders or injunctions
Update information that occurs as soon as possible
Work alongside us to ensure continuity of care and support for the child
Not involve nursery staff in any family disputes. Unless this directly impacts on the care we provide for the child
Talk to manager/key person away from the child to eliminate any upset
Not ask the nursery to take sides

Accident/Incident Procedure

Staff are to remain calm in the event of a child suffering an accident/incident. They will provide the child with comfort, should not show any sign of panic, which may upset the child even more.

One member of staff will take responsibility for looking after the injured child.

If appropriate, the first aider can treat the injury satisfactorily they will do so and record the treatment given on an accident or incident form. The manager must also be informed and they will counter sign the form. If the child is fit to continue at the nursery i.e. minor accident (slight cut, graze etc.), consideration will be given as to whether the parent needs to be contacted. The parent will be informed when collecting the child at the end of the day. If the child has had a bump to the head, staff will hand parents a head bump letter advising them of any symptoms from a head bump and also what to do if any symptoms show.

If a child appears to need more than first aid or needs medical advice or attention, the manager shall obtain it immediately, if necessary by taking the child to hospital. If taking a child to hospital consideration will be given to the most appropriate method of transport, by calling an ambulance. If a child has to be taken to hospital, then the child’s parents are contacted immediately and informed of the location and condition of their child, this will be the responsibility of the Manager or Deputy Manager. Whenever a child is taken to hospital their records will be taken with them. These records must include the name and address of the child’s General Practitioner, any known allergies, parent’s telephone number and any know information on medical conditions.

All accidents/incidents are recorded on an individual form before being logged weekly by the manager. The information recorded must include the following:

All accident/incident reports will be brought to the attention of the Manager. The nursery manager will monitor the accidents/incidents on a weekly basis by logging them from reference numbers in the event of any actions that have been taken. By completing this it allows the manager to monitor to see if there is any regular occurrence.

Any accident/incident that are considered to be more than minor will be investigated more thoroughly and receive an accident investigation with a report drawn up.

Home Accident/Incident Procedure
If a child arrives at nursery and has an injury from home, staff must ensure that parents/carers complete a home accident/incident form.
Within this form it states:

The member of staff who has been informed by the parent/carer
Child’s name
The nature of incident/accident
Any actions taken
The date and time the nursery was informed
Signature from parents
Signature from staff
Signature of supervisor

This is to ensure that staff can keep an eye on the child if they need to. This is very important, especially if a child has had a bump to the head as there are a number of symptoms to look out for.

Following the same procedure for nursery accidents/incidents the manager will monitor these.
Procedure in the event of illness/accident on an outing

In the event of a child becoming ill or having a serious accident on an outing, the group leader will assume responsibility for the child and will:

Assess the situation
Contact the emergency services if necessary
Inform the nursery manager of the circumstances
The manager will assess the situation and make necessary arrangements to contact Parents/Carers
Contingency plans will take effect as the position merits
Parents will be informed of the incident and actions taken by staff and advised to take their child to hospital if an injury has occurred. Parents will be given the Initial Response Team (Safeguarding)
Telephone number
What you must notify to Ofsted

You must notify:
serious injuries (please see the section below for the definition of serious injuries)
where a child in our care needs to go to an Accident and Emergency Department of a hospital (and requires hospitalisation for more than 24 hours), either directly from our provision or later, as the result of something that happened while the child was in our care.
Any significant event that is likely to affect the suitability to care for children.

We define serious injuries as:

broken bones or a fracture
loss of consciousness
persistent, severe chest pain or breathing difficulties
dislocation of any major joint including the shoulder, hip, knee, elbow or spine

Adverse Weather

The Little Lotus Nursery adopts an adverse weather policy which is in place to prepare for adverse weather such as snow, floods and heatwaves. Any incidents revolving any of this weather impacts on the daily operation of the Nursery. The Nursery will use the mobile phone to text parents/carers to inform them of Nursery closure.

Snow:
In the event of high snow fall during the nursery day the Nursery Manager and Deputy Manager will make the decision to close the nursery. The safety of children will be paramount in this decision but also taking into consideration parents/carers and staff. Parents/carers will be contacted to collect their child.
Child: staff ratio will still remain paramount at all time, if staff are unable to get into Nursery due to snow, all off duty staff or agency staff will be contacted. If we are unable to maintain statutory ratio requirements after all avenues we will contact Ofsted informing them of the issue. All details will be recorded within our incident file.

Flood:
In the event of a flood we will ensure child safety at all times. The Manager will assess the situation and if they feel safety and welfare is compromised then closure of the Nursery will take effect.

Heatwave:
During a heatwave children will only go into the nature park for limited amounts of time. They must all wear a sunhat and sun cream before going outdoors. Water will be available at times as well as ice lollies.

Severe winds:
In the event of severe winds and being a danger to life the Nursery Manager and Deputy Manager will make the decision to contact parents/carers to collect children. The Manager will monitor any weather warnings throughout the day.

Sun safety

The Little Lotus Nursery is committed to ensuring all children are fully protected from the dangers of too much sun/UV rays. Severe sunburn is very dangerous for children and can lead to developing malignant melanoma (skin cancer) in later life. By using the following procedures we keep children safe and healthy in the sun:

Sun hats. Children must have their own labelled sun hat which is worn at all times when outside. we would recommend that these hats were legionnaires design which provides a long back and side to further shield children.

Staff will make day to day decisions about the length of time spent outside which depends on the strength of the sun/UV rays

Children will not go outdoors with high factor sun cream. Signed on consents to state if parents would like to provide their own or use nurseries and also consent for staff to apply this. Staff must be aware of the expiry date on creams.

Children’s safety and welfare is of the highest importance therefore staff will work closely with parents to ensure appropriate clothing is provided

Children will be provided with as much shelter as possible during the hours of 11.00am and 3.00pm on hot days and will also not access too much sun. Water will be provided at all times
Children WILL ALWAYS have cream applied before going into hot weather and at frequent intervals during the day

Children are made aware of sun hats, sun cream and the need to drink more fluids during their time in the sun.

Medication Policy

The Little Lotus Nursery we adopt a policy around Medication and what we can give children here at Nursery.
The Little Lotus Nursery will have Sachets of Calpol that we keep for in an Emergency.

If a child has a temperature Parents/carers will be called to come and collect and will be asked on the phone if the child has had Calpol that day. If the temperature becomes very high that is causing concern before anyone comes to collect, we will administer Calpol. However, a medication form will be completed and need to be signed when parents/carers arrive.

If parents/carers come into Nursery asking us to administer Calpol we are unable to do so, we will only administer in an emergency.

If a child is on Anti-biotics, they should be within their system for at least 24 hours before they return to nursery. We will administer Anti-biotics if;

All medication should be in original named box / bottle and
Always labelled with the child’s name, DOB, Dose and date
Please supply a measured medicine spoon / syringe.
At least one dose of the medication has already been administered and my child has not suffered any unwanted reactions.
Only long term medication can be kept on premises, i.e. inhaler, or epipen, … and the form resubmitted every 4 weeks
Medication will not be given if it has been opened before brought into nursery and has been bought over the counter

Health/Illness and Emergency Policy

The Little Lotus Nursery encourages and promotes a high standard of health and hygiene for all the children in its care. This includes monitoring the children for signs and symptoms of illness including meningitis, hepatitis, diarrhoea, vomiting and high temperature.

If a child becomes ill while at Nursery the Manager will contact Parents/Carers as soon as possible. It is in the best interest of the child and the other children for them to stay at home while they are ill.

Exclusion Period for illness/Communicable Disease
Minimum Periods of Exclusion from Nursery

Disease/illness	Minimal Exclusion Period
Vomiting/Diarrhoea	Remain at home for 48hrs after the last bout of diarrhoea and vomiting.
Conjunctivitis	24 hours after prescribed treatment has started.
Chicken Pox	Remain at home until all spots have dried and no new spots have appeared.
Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease	Remain at home until the symptoms ease, all blisters have dried and child is feeling better.
Measles/German Measles	Remain at home until spots have disappeared, 4 – 7 days.
Mumps	Remain at home until the swelling has subsided approximately 7 – 10 days.
Oral thrush	Remain at home until infection has cleared
Impetigo	Remain at home until the lesions have healed or 48 hrs after antibiotic treatment has started.
Infective hepatitis	7 days from the onset of the jaundice.
Streptococcal Infection	3 days from the start of treatment.
Slapped cheek syndrome	Remain at home for at least 4 days after the appearance of the ‘slapped cheek rash’
Ringworm	48 hours after prescribed treatment has started.

In the case of a serious accident or illness the Parent/Carer will be informed immediately along with the medical professional and the appropriate actions will be taken. In the unlikely event of the Parent/Carer not being available the Nursery Manager will assume charge and if necessary take the child to hospital along with all appropriate documentation. Continuous attempts will be made to contact Parents/Carers. OFSTED and other agencies will be notified as appropriate.

Parent/carer code of conduct Policy

At The Little Lotus Nursery we are very fortunate to have supportive and friendly parents and carers. Our parents recognise that development of children is a process that involves partnership between parents and nursery staff. As a partnership, our parents will understand the importance of a good working relationship to equip children with the necessary skills for their next stage in learning. For these reasons we continue to welcome and encourage parents/carers to participate fully in the life of our Nursery.

The purpose of this policy is to provide a reminder to all parents, carers and visitors to our Nursery about the expected conduct. This is so we can continue to flourish, progress and achieve in an atmosphere of mutual understanding.

Guidance
We would expect our parents and carers to shadow the following guidelines so we can ensure our nursery is a safe and secure environment for children to flourish.

Respect the caring ethos of our nursery
Understand that both staff and parents need to work together for the benefit of their children.
Demonstrate that all members of the nursery community should be treated with respect and therefore set a good example in their own speech and behaviour.
Correct own child’s behaviour especially in public where it could otherwise lead to conflict, aggressive behaviour or unsafe behaviour.
Approach the nursery to help resolve any issues of concern.
Avoid using staff as threats to caution children’s behaviour.
In order to support a peaceful and safe nursery environment the nursery cannot tolerate parents, carers and visitors exhibiting the following:

Disruptive behaviour which interferes or threatens to interfere with the operation of the nursery room, the office, or any other area of the school/nursery grounds.
Using loud/or offensive language, swearing, cursing, using profane language or displaying temper.
Threatening to do actual bodily harm to a member of staff, Director, visitor, fellow parent/carer or child regardless of whether the behaviour constitutes a criminal offence.
Damaging or destroying nursery or school property.
Abusive or threatening e-mails or text/voicemail/phone messages or other written communication
Insulting, offensive or derogatory comments regarding the nursery or any of the children/parent/staff, at the school on Facebook or other social sites. Any concerns you may have about the Nursery must be made through the appropriate channels, which includes the nursery complaints procedure. You can speak to the nursery staff, in the first instance, the deputy manager or the nursery manager who will deal with your concern. If you felt you wanted to take it further you can speak with the nursery director, so they can be dealt with fairly, appropriately and effectively for all concerned. If you are not happy with the outcome, you can also ask for a copy of the Complaints Procedure and follow the steps for formal complaint.
The use of physical aggression towards another adult or child. This includes physical punishment against your own child on nursery premises.
Approaching someone else’s child in order to discuss or discipline them because of the actions of this child towards their own child. (Such an approach to a child may be seen to be an assault on that child and may have legal consequences).
Smoking and consumption of alcohol or other drugs whilst on nursery property.
Dogs being brought on to nursery premises.

Should any of the above behaviour occur on nursery premises the nursery may feel it is necessary to contact the appropriate authorities and if necessary, even ban the offending adult from entering the nursery grounds.
We trust that parents and carers will assist our school with the implementation of this policy and we thank you for your continuing support of the nursery.

Inappropriate use of Social Network Site
Social media websites are being used increasingly to fuel campaigns and complaints against nurseries, managers, staff, and in some cases other parents/children. The Little Lotus Nursery consider the use of social media websites being used in this way as unacceptable and not in the best interests of the children or the whole nursery community. Any concerns you may have must be made through the appropriate channels.
If any parent/carer of a child/ren is found to be posting unfounded or insulting comments on Facebook or other social network sites, they will be reported to the appropriate ‘report abuse’ section of the network site. All social network sites have clear rules about the content which can be posted on the site and they provide robust mechanisms to report contact or activity which breaches this. The nursery will also expect that any parent/carer removes such comments immediately.

In serious cases the school will also consider its legal options to deal with any such misuse of social networking and other sites. Additionally, and perhaps more importantly is the issue of cyber bullying and the use by a parent to publicly humiliate another by inappropriate social network entry. We will take and deal with this as a serious incident of nursery bullying. Thankfully such incidents are extremely rare.
We would expect that parents would make all persons responsible for collecting children aware of this policy.

Collection of Children

The Little Lotus Nursery has a duty to safeguard children within their care. This includes Arrivals and Departures, Late collection and Non-collection.

Arrivals and Departures

Parents/carers will access the building by pressing a bell which shows staff a camera, so we are able to see who it is. For those who have pushchairs a member of staff will be standing at the gate at the rear end of the building. If anyone is to seek entry after the gates have been locked they must ring the nursery and a member of staff will come and let them in.

Parents/carers MUST NOT open the door at anytime to let anyone in
Children must always be accompanied by an adult on arrival
Children will not be released into anyone’s care unless the nursery have had permission to do so and passwords and ID have been shown
Adults with the legal status of ‘parental responsibility’ have the right to make the decisions regarding who can collect their child. Any person with legal responsibility has the right to collect the child from The Little Lotus Nursery. We cannot refuse to release a child into the care of a person with legal responsibility unless we believe that it would put the child at risk of significant harm, or, Legal documents have been provided to the Nursery stating that the person is not allowed contact by law. A copy of this will be placed into the child’s personal file. If this situation was to arise and posed a risk of safety to children or staff, the police will be called immediately.

Non-collection of a child

In the event that an authorised adult does not collect a child at the end of a session The Little Lotus Nursery will put into practise agreed procedures. These ensure the child is cared for safely by an experienced and qualified practitioner who is known to the child.

In the event that an authorised adult does not collect a child, we will ensure that the child receives a high standard of care in order to cause as little distress as possible. We inform parents/carers of our procedures so that, if they are unavoidably delayed, they will be reassured that their children will be properly cared for.

Parents of children starting at the setting are asked to provide specific information which is recorded on our Registration Form, or provided on a contact form, including:
home address and telephone number – if the parents do not have a telephone, an alternative number must be given, perhaps a neighbour or close relative;
place of work, address and telephone number (if applicable);
mobile telephone number (if applicable);
names, addresses, telephone numbers and signatures of adults who are authorised by the parents to collect their child from the setting, for example a nanny or grandparent;
information about any person who does not have legal access to the child; and
who has parental responsibility for the child.

We inform parents that they must tell staff if someone else is picking up and password procedures are followed.

If a child is not collected at the end of a session the following procedures will be followed;
contact will be made with the parent/carer
if the Manager cannot get in touch with the parent/carer they will proceed to call contacts from the emergency list from the child’s registration paperwork
The child does not leave the premises with anyone other than those named on the Registration Form
If no one collects the child after at least one hour and there is no one, after every reasonable attempt has been made, who can be contacted to collect the child, or no acceptable alternative arrangements have been able to be made with the parents, we apply the procedures for uncollected children.
We contact Initial Response Service 0191 277 2500
The child will stay at The Little Lotus Nursery with the Duty Manager and another member of staff until parent/relative or a duty social worker has arrived
Social services will aim to find the parent or relative but if they are unable to do so, the child will be admitted into the care of the local authority.
Under no circumstances are staff to go to look for the parent, nor do they take the child home with them.
A full written report of the incident is recorded in the child’s file.

Late Collection
Parents/carers are told the opening and closing times of the setting before they decide to join with us. Parents/carers are also told their session times. The nursery ask to be informed is a parent/carer will be late at anytime. Following procedures include;

Calling the nursery as soon as possible to advise on their situation
Asking a designated person to collect their child if possible
Informing the nursery of their identity so we can talk to the child if needed to help eliminate any distress that may be caused.

Setting up the password, name and brief description of the person collecting the child to allow the staff to be aware of who they are.

£5 will be charged for every 15 minute a parent/carer is late
If after 1 hour of no collection the duty manager will follow the procedure of non-collection

Complaints

The Little Lotus Nursery aim to provide a high quality, efficient and accessible service to parents/carers and children. However, from time to time a parent or child may feel that they have a complaint about some aspect of our services. Usually it should be possible to resolve any problems as soon as they occur.

Members of staff encountering a problem which they cannot resolve should refer this to the Nursery Manager. If the matter is still not resolved parents/carers should be offered the opportunity and given assistance to notified to contact the Directors and OFSTED will be notified as appropriate.

If a complaint is made against a member of staff the appropriate action under the advice of the LADO.

If appropriate, the staff member about whom the allegation is made will be suspended from attendance pending investigation.

Records of complaints and their outcomes should be kept with Nursery records.

If a parent/carer wishes to take the complaint to a higher level they are able to contact Ofsted and explain their complaint to them.

The National Business Unit
Ofsted
Piccadilly Gate
Store Street
Manchester
M1 2WD

Helpline 0300 123 1231

Complaints and concerns should be forwarded to the Nursery manager and dealt with promptly and professionally ensuing the following procedure;
If parents are dissatisfied with anything in the nursery we ask them to bring it up with the key person or the manager

Open discussion will be held to resolve any concerns
If parents/carers wish they can put their concerns into a letter if a more serious matter
We take all complaints as a serious matter and take action immediately
We have a mandatory duty to investigate all concerns or complaints with matters on how we reach the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)
All complaints will be treated with respect and acknowledged on receipt
Anyone who lodges a complaint will receive a response from the nursery manager within 14 days and be notified of the outcome
If the complaint warrants an investigate by Ofsted it will be forwarded to them.

Lost Child Procedure

From nursery
In the unlikely event of a child going missing within or from the nursery, staff will follow the following procedures;

All staff to be informed of the situation
Management to be informed immediately
Staff to deploy an immediate search of the area, followed by a search of surrounding areas. Whilst some staff remain with the other children, calm and supportive throughout.
The Manager will call the police as soon as they believe the child is missing and follow police guidance. The parents of the missing child will also be contacted.
Staff will continuously search the areas for the missing child, using any appropriate information provided to support the search, e.g a recent photograph and detailed description of clothing.
The manager will meet the police and parents.
The manager will follow instructions from the police
In the unlikely event that the child is not found the nursery will follow the local authority and police procedures
All incidents must be recorded in writing as soon as practicably possible including the outcome, who was lots, time identified, notification to the police and findings
Ofsted must be contacted and informed of any incidents
Post-incident risk assessments will be carried out following any incident of this nature to reduce the chance of a reoccurring incident.

Staff interviews will be carried out by management, directors and any other appropriate agencies, depending the severity of the incident, to determine what had happened, whether safeguarding, and risk assessment checks had been carried out and what course of action needs to follow e.g disciplinary
In the case of media attention staff will not speak to any media representative
Due to the nature of the incident Little Louts Nursey will offer support and counselling

Outings
Head counts of children are carried out throughout the outing. If a child was to go missing, staff will follow the procedure of;
Staff to stay at incident point (place where the child was last seen) ensure they have relevant information of child’s clothing etc
The lead staff member will immediately deploy the staff involved to ensure the safety of the other children in their care, and other staff to search the immediate area
Staff member to raise the alarm among the rest of the outing party
The lead person will inform the police by dialling 999
Staff to inform the nursery management of the incident, and inform the management in the outing location (if applicable). Precise location of the Nursery group to be identified
During this time staff will continue to search the area for the child
The Manager will inform the lost child’s parents
A significant incident form will be completed and given to the Nursery Manager
A full investigation of the incident will be carried out and OFSTED will be notified

Prevent Duty Policy

From 1 July 2015 all registered early years childcare providers are subject to a duty under section 26 of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 to have “due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism”. This duty is known as the Prevent duty. Terrorism Strategy – CONSEST – has four elements “Pursue – Protect – Prepare – Prevent”.

In order for the nursery to fulfil the Prevent duty, it is essential that staff are able to identify children who may be vulnerable to radicalisation, and know what to do when they are identified.
Protecting children from the risk of radicalisation should be seen as part of the nursery’s wider safeguarding duties, and is similar in nature to protecting children from other harms whether these come from within their family or are the product of outside influences.

The nursery is already responsible for keeping children safe, however the Prevent duty reinforces these existing responsibilities in respect of radicalisation of children.

The fundamental British values of democracy, rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance for those with different faiths and beliefs are already implicitly embedded in the 2014 Early Years Foundation Stage.

Risks and indicators

Children can be drawn into violence or exposed to the messages of extremist groups by many means, such as, family members or family friends. Within the Nursery we are aware of indicators from not only the child, but also their family.

These can range from:

The use of inappropriate language
What children do through play
General mood changes, patterns of behavior or secrecy
Changes of dress
Advocating violent actions
Possession of violent extremist behavior

Action to be taken
The Nursery manager will follow Newcastle council procedures and from this appropriate action will be taken following Newcastle Council procedure.

If appropriate, a referral will be made to the police and if deemed appropriate, the Channel program will be followed. Please see attached sheet

Staff members should always act in the interests of the child if they have any concerns about a
particular child at the nursery and should follow the normal safeguarding procedures, including
discussing their concerns with the nursery’s designated safeguarding lead.