Does your child have a serious illness?
It’s always worrying when a little one is ill, but there’s plenty of good advice on the internet. The NHS choices website should be your first port of call for reliable internet advice. Ignore the title of the page (Your pregnancy and baby guide), it’s a useful guide to illness in babies and toddlers. And if you have a smartphone you can download an app from the British Red Cross called the Baby and Child First Aid which is also very good and informative; you should also be able to download it from your favourite app store.
Should you bring your child to school today?
The Nursery does not provide care for children who are unwell, have sickness and diarrhoea, or who have an infectious disease.
After sickness and/or diarrhoea, parents are asked to keep children home for 48 hours or until a formed stool is passed (whichever is the later).
Parents may be asked to take their child to the doctor before returning them to the Nursery; the Nursery can refuse admittance to children who have a temperature, sickness and diarrhoea or a contagious infection or disease.
Eye infection
If children develop symptoms of an eye infection then parents are asked to keep them at home for a minimum of 24 hours until either they are treated or an improvement is noted.
Newly prescribed medicine
A child must have been on any newly prescribed medicine for at least 24 hours before being left at the nursery. This is to allow time for a reaction against the medicine which could lead to a potentially dangerous situation.
Nits and head lice
Nits and head lice are not an excludable condition, although in exceptional cases a parent may be asked to keep the child away until the infestation has been treated.
On identifying cases of head lice, all parents are informed and asked to treat their child and all the family if they are found to have head lice.
Other symptoms
The Nursery has a list of excludable diseases and current exclusion times. The Children’s Illness - exclusions list includes common childhood illnesses such as measles.
Should we send your child home today?
If a child appears unwell, or receives an injury that may require medical attention, while in the Nursery’s care, the Manager will phone the parent and inform them of the situation. A decision will be made with the parent as to the appropriate course of action. If, in the Manager’s opinion it is necessary for someone to collect the child, it is the parent’s responsibility to arrange for this to happen as soon as is practicably possible.
If a child has a temperature, they are kept cool.
Temperature is taken using a ‘fever scan’.
In extreme cases of emergency the child should be taken to the nearest hospital and the parent informed.
Parents should ensure that the nursery has an up-to-date contact phone number for use if there’s an accident or emergency.
Preventing illness at school
Parents are notified if there is an infectious or contagious disease, such as chicken pox.
Good hygiene practice concerning the clearing of any spilled bodily fluids is carried out at all times.
Staff suffering from sickness and diarrhoea do not attend the Nursery for at least 48 hours after the symptoms have stopped.
Ofsted will be informed of any infectious or notifiable diseases that a qualified medical person considers notifiable. The Manager will act on any advice given by the Health Protection Agency.
We are required to notify Ofsted of any food poisoning affecting two or more children looked after by the Nursery, as soon as is reasonably practicable, but in any event within 14 days of the incident.
Longer-term medical conditions
A risk assessment will be arrived at for children with long term medical conditions which will include contributions from the parents. Other medical or social care personnel may need to be involved.
HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) may affect children or families attending the Nursery. Staff may or may not be informed about it. Children or families are not excluded because of HIV.
Administration of medicines
Our Health & Safety Policy fully explains our processes for administering medicines at the Nursery.
