At La Petite Nursery children’s welfare is at the core of our everyday functionality. We work with children, parents, external agencies and the community to ensure the welfare and safety of children and give them the very best start in life. Children have the right to be treated with respect, be encouraged to thrive and to be safe from any abuse.

We support all children within our care, protect them from maltreatment and have robust procedures in place to prevent the impairment of children’s health and development. In our setting we strive to protect children from the risk of radicalisation and we promote acceptance and tolerance to all beliefs and cultures.

At La Petite Nursery, all staff, supply staff and students are able to recognise and respond to signs and symptoms of potential abuse and neglect as well as how to identify children at risk of being drawn into terrorism and to challenge extremist ideas. If educators have reason to believe that a child has shown a sign of abuse or neglect, they have a duty to report this to the Designated Safeguarding Lead at the nursery who will decide if the threshold for referral has been met. Usually, any referrals would be discussed with the parents prior to being made unless doing so would place the child at greater risk of harm. We ensure this is done from the very first induction and make sure this is regularly refreshed.

All visitors on the premises are always accompanied by a member of the management team or member of staff.

If, as a parent, you have a safeguarding concern regarding a child please immediately inform the Safeguarding Lead.

To ensure a high level of safety, security guards are on site. If a parent is running late for collection, they should inform their classroom teachers. If a parent is late, and we were not informed about it, after 10 min, the first step is attempting to contact the parents or carers via mobile phone (call and text). If for any reason the parents or carers are unable to be reached, we will then resort to contacting the emergency contacts saved on the child’s record. If no contact has been made by parents, carers or emergency contacts after half an hour, social services and Ofsted will be contacted. We reserve the right to charge £15 for every 10 minutes for late collections. These fees will go towards the extra childcare provided, but also towards compensating the teachers and security guards who will need to stay longer to ensure the safety of the child. Nursery is open 8:00am to 6:00pm Mondays to Thursday and 8:00am – 1:00pm on Fridays.

At La Petite Nursery our staff give the best care and attention to the children, however we understand that from time to time there may be some occasions when an issue may arise and may need to be escalated. Any issues that require escalation can be discussed with the key person, room leader, deputy manager or manager. An issue can also be written as a formal complaint, an investigation will take place and report back within 10 working days. After this stage if you feel unhappy with the outcome, complaints can be escalated further to Ofsted (0300 123 4666).

At La Petite Nursery we ensure the nursery is a safe environment for children, parents, staff and visitors through our fire safety policy and procedures. All our staff at La Petite Nursery are fire safety trained and each room leader has undertaken a Fire Marshal training to ensure they fully understand the procedure to evacuate the children calmly and safely. Our local evacuation procedures are documented and tested regularly. Weekly alarm tests and regular fire alarms are in operation every Thursday and fire drills once a month. The designated gathering point is: on the opposite side of the road to the Nursery, outside 10 Ashworth Road

At La Petite Nursery we ensure actions are taken to maintain a safe and healthy working environment for our staff and children. Daily risk assessments enable us to ensure we have a safe environment and ensure its continued suitability. Any issue raised will allow us to attend to it immediately. Parents and visitors are requested to report any concerns they may have to the manager immediately.

Management team ensures daily contact, monthly staff meetings and health and safety meetings are provided for the staff. This will include health and safety matters ensuring staff are up to date with their knowledge.

Staff have daily responsibilities of ensuring room temperature are regularly checked, water is provided to the children throughout the day, dangerous substances are stored correctly, outing forms are completed when needed, protective equipment is worn when needed and many more.

Please feel free to ask for the full Health and Safety Policy and Health and Safety Handbook if you are interested in more.

At La Petite Nursery, both our great chefs work closely with the manager and parents to create the most delicious menus for our children!

If your child has been diagnosed with an allergy, we ask to be informed as soon as possible. The allergy section should be recorded on the ‘All about me’ section on the registration form. A dietary requirement should be always disclosed, including intolerances and dietary choices, such as veganism.

All staff are informed about the allergies and dietary requirements prior to the child starting. A health care plan will be put in place. An allergy and dietary chart has been created and placed in each classroom, one for the office and one for the kitchen. Each child has an individual placemat using the traffic colours behind their chairs (red for allergies, yellow for preferences and green is all good).

Our aim is to ensure allergic reactions are minimised, making sure that the food is prepared in an area where there is little to no chance of contamination. If your child has an allergy their food will be brought to the classroom in an individual plate.

If your child has a prescribed EpiPen you must place one in the child’s backpack and a second one for the First Aid box will be in place. All staff have participated in a first aid training on how to use the EpiPen.

We kindly remind parents to ensure that before attending the nursery to check children’s pockets, backpacks to be free from food. Children are not allowed to come with food from outside the nursery.

At La Petite Nursery we operate a strict ‘No Smoking Policy’ within its buildings, grounds, and when on outings off-site.

At La Petite Nursery we operate a strict ‘No Mobile Policy’ within its buildings, grounds, classroom or playgrounds.

At La Petite Nursery, we encourage outdoor play and provide regular outings. We plan regular outings linked to the topic and in line with the children’s interest (going to the park, flower garden, shop, or library). We are highly aware of the risks that can be involved and take every possible step to minimise these. Prior to each outing a form is completed and the route is risk assessed. The senior staff member in charge of the outing will have the outing bag with the first aid kit, emergency contacts and the nursery phone. Regular communication occurs throughout the outing with the management team and the senior staff member.

Visitors arriving at La Petite Nursery will be greeted by security at the gate. Security will then inform the Management team, who will then greet you at the main entrance, which is the only access point for visitors, and will be asked to sign in and out. Visitors entering the nursery are expected to show ID. Visitors are never left unaccompanied or unsupervised with children at any time. Unexpected or unknown visitors may be asked to make an appointment.

At La Petite Nursery we aim to protect the children at all times. We recognise that accidents or incidents may sometimes occur. All staff members have participated in Paediatric First aid training, learning the skills and knowledge required to attend to any situation. Each classroom has a first aid kit and some cold compresses if needed, staff also wear PPE wear when dealing with any situation.

When an unpleasant event occurs that causes injury to a child or a teacher, damage to premises or a combination of both, we recognise this as an accident. For example, a fall resulting in an injury, cuts, broken bones, bumps, slip, fall, scratches etc. Parents and management will be immediately informed and an ‘accident at nursery’ form will be complete as record. Parents or carers will be handed the form at the end of the day for their signature which will also be signed by management. On the other hand if a child was involved in a situation where there was no harm or marks, (near-miss) we would consider this as an incident. The same procedure follows where both parents or carers and management will be informed, however an ‘incident’ form will be completed instead and ready for collection time.

Unfortunately, some situations can occur where more serious attention is required. In this situation again both parents or carers and management are informed and emergency services will be contacted if needed. The nursery manager/registered provider will report any accidents of a serious nature to Ofsted and the local authority children’s social care team.

Accident and incident forms are evaluated termly by the management, this allows us to recognise any patterns and implement necessary steps to reduce risks are put in place

At La Petite Nursery we aim to support parents and carers to help their child settle quickly and easily by giving consideration to the individual needs and circumstances of every child and their families. Our nursery will work in partnership with parents to settle their child into the nursery environment by allocating them a key person.

Prior to the child starting at the nursery, an ‘all about me’ form will be completed by parents or carers filled with information about the child. The room leader will then follow up with a phone call to discuss any questions they may have or to answer any questions you may have.

The room leader will create a settling in timetable allocating times for the child and parent to come in. Settling in runs over 5 days with different timings allowing the child to experience different times throughout the day. This can always be adjusted according to the child’s needs and if they may need some more time. We do ask for parents and carers to stay available and close by for any chance a child may become distressed we would like them to be at hand.

When arriving at the nursery the key person welcomes and looks after the child, ensuring that their care is tailored to meet their individual needs and activities are set up according to the child’s interests. Regular feedback and pictures will be sent via our Famly app to keep the parents and carers at ease during the settling session.

At La Petite Nursery data protection and confidentiality is very important, we recognise that we hold sensitive and confidential information about children and their families as well as the staff we employ. This information is used to meet children’s needs, for registers, invoices and emergency contacts. It is our intention to respect the privacy of children and their families and we do so by securely storing records in locked cabinets or on the office computers with password protected files, this is all in line with the data protection principle. Any information shared with the staff is done on a ‘need to know’ basis and treated in confidence.

If you have any questions please contact the management team

It is our duty to ensure the child’s welfare is paramount at all times whilst they are in the nursery. During the registration process we collect details about both parents including who has parental responsibility, as this will avoid any future difficult situations. We also request for these details on the child registration form. If a parent does not have parental responsibility, or has a court order in place to prevent this, we must have a copy of this documentation to store in the child’s record. If a child is registered by one parent of a separated family, we request disclosure of all relevant details relating to the child and other parent such as court orders or injunctions. This will make sure we can support the child and family fully in accordance with the policy set out below.

At La Petite Nursery we comprehend that young children will experience many transitions in their early years, some of these can be planned and some unplanned. We are sensitive to the impact of such changes to children and this policy sets out the ways in which we support children going through these transitions.

Some examples of transitions that young children and babies may experience are:

• Starting nursery
• Moving between different rooms within the nursery
• Starting school or moving nurseries
• Family breakdowns
• New siblings
• Moving home
• Bereavement

Staff are trained to observe the children and to be sensitive to any changes in their behaviour and personality. We respectfully ask that parents inform us of any changes in the home environment that may impact on their child so staff can be aware of the reasons behind any potential changes in the child’s behaviour.

At La Petite Nursery we understand that we need to prepare for any situation to ensure the health, safety and welfare of all the children we care for. With this in mind, we have a critical incident policy in place to ensure our nursery is able to operate effectively in the case of a critical incident.

These include:

• Flood

There is always a danger of flooding from adverse weather conditions or through the water or central heating systems. We cannot anticipate adverse weather; however, we can ensure that we take care of all our water and heating systems through regular maintenance which is checked and serviced annually by a registered gas engineer which helps reduce the risk of flooding. If flooding occurs during the opening hours of the nursery, the manager will make a decision based on the severity and location of this flooding, and it may be deemed necessary to follow the fire evacuation procedure. In this instance children will be kept safe and parents will be notified in the same way as the fire procedure.

• Fire

Please refer to the fire safety policy

• Burglary

The management team follows a lock up procedure which ensures all doors and windows are closed and locked before vacating the premises. Alarm systems are used and in operation during nursery closing hours. The manager will always check the premises as they arrive in the morning. Should they discover that the nursery has been broken into they will follow the procedure of contacting the police, emphasise this is a nursery and children will be arriving soon. They will also ensure no-one enters the premises until the police have arrived. Management will direct parents and children to a separate area as they arrive. If all areas have been disturbed staff will follow police advice, including following the relocation procedure under flood wherever necessary to ensure the safety of the children. A manager will be available at all times during this time to speak to parents, reassure children and direct enquiries

• Abduction or threatened abduction of a child

Secure safety procedures have been put in place to ensure children are safe while in our care, including safety from abduction. Staff have been trained to be vigilant at all times and report any persons lingering on nursery property immediately to management and security. All doors and gates to the nursery are locked and cannot be accessed unless staff members allow individuals in. Parents are reminded on a regular basis not to allow anyone into the building whether they are known to them or not. Children will only be released into the care of a designated adult. Parents are requested to inform the nursery of any potential custody battles or family concerns as soon as they arise so the nursery is able to support the child. The nursery will not take sides in relation to any custody battle and will remain neutral for the child. If an absent parent arrives to collect their child, the nursery will not restrict access unless a court order is in place. If a member of staff witnesses an actual or potential abduction from nursery we have a procedures to follow immediately by calling the police, informing management where they will take over, contact parent(s), all other children will be kept safe and secure and calmed down if necessary and the police will be given as many details as possible

• Bomb threat/terrorism attack

If a bomb threat is received at the nursery, the person taking the call will record all details given over the phone as soon as possible and raise the alarm as soon as the phone call has ended. The management will follow the fire evacuation procedure to ensure the safety of all on the premises and will provide as much detail to the emergency services as possible.

• Any other incident that may affect the care of the children in the nursery

All incidents will be managed by the manager on duty and all staff will cooperate with any emergency services on the scene. Any other incident that requires evacuation will follow the fire plan. Other incidents e.g. no water supply will be dealt with on an individual basis taking into account the effect on the safety, health and welfare of the children and staff in the nursery.

The nursery manager will notify Ofsted in the event of a critical incident.

At La Petite nursery we do not provide a babysitting service outside our normal operating hours. We are aware that parents sometimes ask the staff to babysit for their children. La Petite Nursery instructs both our parents and our team members not to enter into private babysitting arrangements outside of the nursery since the home environment does not have the usual safeguards that we have.

At La Petite Nursery we are committed to providing equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice for all children and families according to their indivudal needs, regardless of their gender, age, race, religion or beliefs, marrige or cival partnership, disalibity, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, pregnancy or maternaty, ethnic or national origin, or political beliefs. Any forms of discrimination will be delt with accordingly.

We will recruit, select, train and promote individuals on the basis of occupational skills requirements. In this respect, the nursery will ensure that no job applicant or employee will receive less favourable treatment because of their age, sex, gender reassignment, disability, marriage or cival partnership, race, religon or belief, sexual orientation, pregnancy or maternity/paternity.

We promote fundamental British values of democracy, rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance for those with different faiths and beliefs. We provide an inclusive environment for any children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. We ensure that there is equal access to all areas of the curriculum for all the children at La Petite Nursery and we include and value the contribution of all our families to our understanding of equality, inclusion and diversity.

Al La Petite Nursery strict guidelines will be followed when dealing with medication of any kind in the nursery. We don’t administer medications that are not prescribed by a doctor. The medication has to be in English. If a child requires medicine we will ensure that all staff members follow the correct steps of ensuring they have written parental consent, and that first aid trained or fully qualified educators only administer medicine in its original packaging.

At La Petite Nursery we always prioritise children’s safety, both on and off the premises. Every attempt is made to ensure that prevention methods are put in place to avoid a child ever becoming lost. These processes include regular headcounts, effective team deployment and strict adherence to statutory requirements. Children are always kept within sight or hearing of Educators. If, however, in an extenuating circumstance, a child was not within sight or hearing and could not be located, the lost or missing child procedure would be instigated which would include locating the child, informing the child’s parents/carers and escalating to the police if required.

At La Petite Nursery we believe that children flourish best when they know how themselves and others are expected to behave. Children gain respect through interaction with caring adults who act as positive role models. Our educators role model positive behaviour to the children such as, remembering to say please and thank you for reminding children to use kind hands. We focus on promoting positive behaviour to encourage children to learn positive ways to interact with their peers and adults. We work closely with parents to ensure continuity and we support children to learn how to regulate their behaviour and inform parents of this. Our educators also use a gentle, calm tone and child friendly and age appropriate language.

La Petite Nursery is securely monitored by a CCTV surveillance system to provide a safer and more secure environment for the benefit of children, parents and the team. La Petite Nursery complies with the Information Commissioner’s CCTV Code of Practice; this is to ensure it is used responsibly and safeguards both trust and confidence. Under certain circumstances, the CCTV footage may be used for training purposes and to view accidents or incidents requiring investigation.

At La Petite Nursery, we prioritise the well-being of all children in our care by maintaining high hygiene standards and taking necessary precautions to prevent the spread of infections. We strictly adhere to our policies and procedures to ensure that unwell children are treated with sensitivity and respect while safeguarding the health of others.

Please take note of the following guidelines for when your child is unwell:

• Children should not attend the nursery if they have any illness or infection within an exclusion period as specified by the UK Health Security Agency. Click here for more details: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-protection-in-schools-and-other-childcare-facilities/children-and-young-people-settings-tools-and-resources
• If your child has a fever of 38 degrees Celsius or higher, they should not attend the nursery.
• Wheezing or shortness of breath, a continuous cough, or a constant runny nose with a yellow/green tint are indications that your child should not attend.
• If your child has experienced diarrhoea or vomiting within the last 48 hours, they should remain at home.
• Sore throat, swollen glands, an undiagnosed rash, persistent itching, or uncovered sores are also reasons for your child to stay home.
• If your child is unable to participate in the daily routine or normal nursery activities inside and outside, it is best for them to remain at home.

Please note that, in line with our policy, Covid-19 is now treated like any other illness. Please use the well-child assessment tool for guidance on what to do if your child displays symptoms.

We follow the exclusion periods outlined in the Guidance on Infection Control in Schools and other Childcare Settings (2016). You can find more details about these exclusion periods by clicking here.

Lastly, in the case of vomiting and diarrhoea, we kindly request that all families and team members strictly adhere to the 48-hour exclusion period outlined by Public Health England (PHE). This measure is in place for the benefit and well-being of everyone in the nursery.