Cups Of Tea!

[Guest]

Risk assess your hot drinks (hehe) that seems to keep the officials happy.

 

2 points -

1. our lasted Ofsted inspector actually asked for a hot drink as she was feeling unwell and cold! She also asked had we got anything to eat too...so offered her a banana and/or biscuit. We didn't have hot drinks in the room for staff - just water which is usually there - we drink our tea and coffee normally before children arrive and after they have left.

 

2.However we (staff) do have hot drinks at times and so do the children - they love it when we say - shall we make a cup of tea - of course it is luke warm and milky but they feel so grown up. Children never walk around with any food or drinks at all - they must be seated at table, and it works really well.

[Guest]

We do not allow hot drinks in any of the areas where the children are. Staff can go into our kitchen for an elegantly named 'slurp and go' (the go bit is a toilet break-obviously not in the kitchen!)

Posy

 

 

WE do exactly the same as Posy - i recently went to visit as setting and they offered me a cup of tea, i said yes and 2 minutes later it was there on a shelf that children could actually reach. Needless to say i put it in the kitchen and it went cold.

 

Staff are allowed to have bottles of water in the room!

[Guest]

Oh Cait - we are getting a little off topic here - but I couldn't let this 'slip by' without comment..........I simply do not allow this - we open at 9 and that is that - some parents do arrive before that - but they have to wait...........we open the door at 9 - no earlier!

 

Surely we are not insured until opeing time of 9? We do get asked on the odd occasions to have a child if there is a valid urgent reason but normally they have to wait

[Guest]

Most of my staff drink water, taken into the rooms with them.

Other staff can make a hot drink for themselves and or any one else at any time.Although never allowed to take them into the rooms the children are in. They have to walk into the office to slurp. I just wouldent risk it.

We diff., do not allow children in befor time, I have always used, the we are not insured or paid to work befor opening time

[Guest]

That is what I love about this forum.....we all help each other to achieve the best practice we can and we can improvise, adapt or share our provision....initially I felt defensive about our hot drinks in the room....but the more I read the more I know it makes sense.....we have lots of time wasted on hot drinks and so I am definetly running with this...that is why I asked really.....as from Tuesday there will be NO hot drinks in the room ....staff will have to slurp and go.....thanks again everyone, really appreciated.....

Edited May 1, 2010 by Guest

[AnonyMouse_20948]

Well, as we don't get a break from the children we have to have our drinks in the room with them. Rarely do we get to drink a tea or coffee that is hot though! When they're made they are put on the hatch between kitchen and the main room and we stand by the hatch to drink them if we get a moment.......

 

If the timing coincides with children's snack time we sit at the tables with them and they are reminded that our drinks are hot - same at lunch time..... In the past we have made a mug of tea for a child who wouldn't drink anything else!!! Also we have drinks outside - we need hot drinks in the winter to warm us up and we give the children hot (lukewarm) chocolate.

 

I would make a hot drink for an Ofsted inspector but would ask her to leave it till it had cooled a bit and to stand by hatch; not had a problem with this before.

 

Jo

[AnonyMouse_19762]

That is what I love about this forum.....we all help each other to achieve the best practice we can and we can improvise, adapt or share our provision....initially I felt defensive about our hot drinks in the room....but the more I read the more I know it makes sense.....we have lots of time wasted on hot drinks and so I am definetly running with this...that is why I asked really.....as from Tuesday there will be NO hot drinks in the room ....staff will have to slurp and go.....thanks again everyone, really appreciated.....

 

Have to say this thread has made me think too.......I don't think there is any risk to our children because as I said - ours are before children arrive and only when they are seated for snack......hmmm........that's me thinking!

 

I liked cupcakes analogy of the supermarket situation - I was spouting off the other day in another thread and used Tesco as an example........hmmmm.........thinking again!

 

Shirel - sorry we got a bit of topic with the 'opening times' thing - hope you will forgive us!

[AnonyMouse_7172]

All my staff have a 10 minute tea / coffee break mid morning. In a staffroom, away from the children while children are having snack, freeplay and stories. Takes 30 minutes for all staff to have break on rota system ... all children to have snack ... play ... listen to a story. Wouldn't like not to be able to offer my staff this (mind you there are always at least 10 of us, sometimes more; we're in an open plan building so always plenty of hands on deck if necessary). Definitely wouldn't have hot dinks in rooms ... no no for me!

 

pw x

[Guest]

SOunds great....no way feasible for us....four staff - 22 children....no time to pick your nose! Good job we love it... (not picking your nose..the children..the job)

[AnonyMouse_3735]

Well, as we don't get a break from the children we have to have our drinks in the room with them. Rarely do we get to drink a tea or coffee that is hot though! When they're made they are put on the hatch between kitchen and the main room and we stand by the hatch to drink them if we get a moment.......

 

If the timing coincides with children's snack time we sit at the tables with them and they are reminded that our drinks are hot - same at lunch time..... In the past we have made a mug of tea for a child who wouldn't drink anything else!!! Also we have drinks outside - we need hot drinks in the winter to warm us up and we give the children hot (lukewarm) chocolate.

 

I would make a hot drink for an Ofsted inspector but would ask her to leave it till it had cooled a bit and to stand by hatch; not had a problem with this before.

 

Jo

 

 

this is exactly what we did, and I know they still do it.. and they got outstanding at last inspection , adn as said insulated cups keep it hotter for longer so more of a risk.. we assessed and continued with our practice..

 

Inge

Edited May 1, 2010 by Inge

[AnonyMouse_25331]

We have always made Inspectors, Early Years advisers etc. tea or coffee at these times - no comment has been made........hope I'm not tempting fate now

 

 

I think it really depends on how your setting is placed - we have a kitchen area (with a low wall all around) and the drinks sit on there until there are cool - and out of the reach of the children. We often have a drink at the table - when the children are seated.

 

One Ofsted Inspector was not impressed that we had drinks in the main room BUT ONLY BECAUSE OUR POLICY SAID WE DON'T HAVE DRINKS IN THE ROOM WHERE THE CHILDREN ARE! - so we took it out of the policy and OFSTED were perfectly happy!!

 

How weird is that....

 

No one would take risks, at work or at home - if there children are playing/running around then common sense would say you wouldn't carry just made drinks through the middle of them...... and absolutely the chidlren need to learn that these are hot and must learn the safe practices when around them. but don't leave hot drinks in reaching distance - I don't at home and my children are 10 and 8

[AnonyMouse_1469]

I wanted to add some thoughts about why I just don't allow hot drinks in my play rooms : the risk is too great.....................we had a child with us many years ago,who had the most horrific scars ( and I MEAN horrific) all down the side of her face and down her chest and tummy...........all due to a hot pot of tea,( yes, I know..more than a cup, but some cups/mugs nowadays are huge!) that she had pulled down from the table.her mum had then tried to pull her clothes off and couldn't do it quickly, because they were a bit tight around the neck, so the child was in contact with the heat for even longer............Now, as her mum, i'd feel bad enough, i don't ever want to find myself having to explain to a parent how their child was scalded in my care. we DO occasionally give the children lukewarm chocolate ( during the snowy weather, after we'd come inside to warm up), and i even worry about that. I know there's an element of risk in most things, but i just wouldn't be happy with hot drinks in the room.Our inspector asked for a hot drink too, which I happily made for her...............and told her to get into the kitchen to drink it, as we didn't allow them in the playroom.She DID say she would have been happy for us to use insulated cups, ....and i wondered afterwards if she had been 'testing us out' to see if we'd have given her the drink in the room?

[Guest]

With regards to letting the children in early I'm sure I too have heard that you aren't insured before the opening time for your setting. I should also be worried about ratios if a lot of parents started doing this with your children, since you can't count the woman that comes in to help for insurance purposes if she isn't a listed employee.

 

It's a difficult situation if it's going to make things awkward for the parents, but perhaps it's the school who needs to rethink its policy about the reading. I know you can't really affect that, but I've never heard of a school doing this before and I think if I were a parent there I would certainly be questioning it! How on earth do the working parents cope?

[AnonyMouse_12805]

Cait, you should check that you are insured. I have always thought we weren't insured before our official opening times. Made me think though how long after our official closing time are we insured? I suppose for as long as the child was in our care?

Hot drinks- I totally agree with Narnia and like the other poster Geraldine( I think) said I thought this practice had gone years ago. When we were still under Social services ( many years ago) we were informed by them that on no account could we have hot drinks in rooms where children were. It really doesn't matter how careful you are, accidents happen. You cannot possibly compare being in a setting with being in a home environment. Yes I had hot drinks when my children were around but I never, ever had 25 children around me & if I had done Would never had hot drinks there. Also a liquid doesn't have to be that hot to burn a child You maybe careful but are your parents so careful when they are in? or any others? I would never. ever want to explain to a parent why their child had got hold of a hot drink. yes I know there are risks in everything and believe me there is no one more critical of this ridiculous 'safety/risk assessment' world we are governed by but I really think hot drinks and children dont mix.

Edited May 12, 2010 by lynned55

[AnonyMouse_13453]

Yes, I'm insured for children on the premises from 8.15 to 3.30. I wouldn't consider doing anything else

[Guest]

Just to add closure on this for me.....we no longer have hot drinks in the room...all staff understand, no biggy really...thanks for everyones support...

[Guest]

Hi everyone

 

Have been reading with interest as this is something I have questioned in my pre-school. Currently we only allowed hot drinks to be drunk by the hatch, away from the children,but in the room with them. I myself rarely get around to drinking it so initially got myself an insulated cup to keep it warm. Now I take this outside with me on cold days as we spend entire sessions outside whatever the weather. By the time I get to it it`s only warm so can see little risk from burns to the children anyway.

 

I think this is another one of those grey areas and before you know it, the way this country is, soon there will be a national panic and policy banning hot drinks for adults!

 

Sally

[AnonyMouse_390]

I have changed how we have hot drinks after following this thread. Staff now have time to make their own, getting someone to cover their area. It's working really well so far, I'm actually drinking hot (ish!) tea! We are either drinking in the kitchen or having 10mins at my desk which is at the back of the room. Actually it's giving myself and manager a chance to chat to staff individually which isn't always possible during a busy day.

[Guest MaryEMac]

We too have changed the way we have our hot drinks since this thread. We now drink them in the kitchen so that we do get the chance to have a hot drink. Everyone agreed that it was a good change.

 

Mary

[Guest]

whats a hot drink? my cups of tea are always three quarters cold water so they can be drunk over the sink ha x

[Guest]

If my staff feel the need for a cup of tea then they make them in the lidded insulated cups and are kept away from the children. Sometimes if staff are having a particulalry hard day (settling in a new child for example) or just feeling slightly under the weather, it can be draining and a cup of tea/coffee can be just the thing that's needed. Normal cups with hot drinks in just are not allowed in the rooms. These insulated cups are relatively cheap, I've bought 10 (I think) or the girls bring their own in. Plus we open at 7 so a first cup of tea in the morning is sometimes heaven itself!!!!

[Guest]

Its working really well for us, we all cover each other and everyone gets to pop into the office for a slurp and it is much better than half a cup of luke warm tea....I am drinking more water which is brilliant too....good role models..