Policies And Procedures

[Guest]

hi am a childminder n i need sum help in Policies and Procedures can any one help me plz

[AnonyMouse_64]

Hi and welcome

 

Don't know if you have found this yet. There are lots of policies here which you can use as a starting point and adapt to suit you.

[Guest]

Welcome zulekha!

 

Hope you find the information you need

 

Maz

[AnonyMouse_1027]

welcome

[Guest]

Welcome from me too, if you have any more questions after reading the link, look forward to hearing from you again.

 

Peggy

[Helen]

Welcome Zulekha

Are you new to the job, or are you updating your past policies?

[AnonyMouse_2732]

Hi from me, too!

 

Sue

[Guest]

Hello!

 

There is a great book you can buy from the PLA (Pre-School Learning Alliance) it contains policies that you can adopt or change to suit you. I found it useful because it showed me a good policy layout. I know its intended for pre-schools but if you have no experience of writing policies like I didn't then I think you will find it really useful.

 

I don't have their number with me at home but if you're interested I can get it for you- let me know.

 

Sarah

[Guest]

The PLA contact number is 02078330991, London office. The policies are available on CD so that you can adapt them to your needs.

 

Peggy

[Guest]

I can't recoomend the PLA policies and CD highly enough.

Even I wa able to tweak them to fit in with our legislation.

 

I have a small problem now though.

I have drawn up a huge number of policies, but the director now wants a head lice policy.

 

I have always worked under the impression that we cannot exclude due to lice (small amounts) and certainly as a day nursery we have no "authority" to check heads if we suspect or find a case.

 

Can anyone clarify regarding UK Best Practice as this is what I am working towards.

 

I hope someone has a great policy I can tweak!!!!!!

 

 

Jambo

[Guest]

I'm not sure I've ever seen a 'head lice policy' as such, but I agree that we probably don't have the authority to do a hair inspection, and we wouldn't send a child home because s/he has headlice.

 

Having said that if we do notice a child has head lice we tell the parent/carer, and send a notice home to all parents suggesting they check their child's hair, and identifying methods to treat their children if necessary.

 

Its a perennial problem, isn't it?

 

Maz

 

PS Am I the only one with a very itchy scalp just now??

[Guest]

thanks guys 4 da information

[Guest]

Went on course today and was told that new policy guidlines for nappies in pre school is on its way to you soon.

 

All settings, regardless of where they are eg - village hall, dining hall, state of the art new purpose build pre school - will NOT be allowed to turn away ANY child, regardless of age if they are in nappies/pull ups. Apparantely all settings are able to make a nappy changing area!!!! Whether this be a partition in the main room or a floor of a toilet.

There was a lot of conversation and opnions on this in one of the other forums.

 

I am now in my own room with my own toilets but I was in a dining hall, within a school and shared the toilets with 1100 upper school students.

 

I understand inclusion and in most cases support it, but if you don't have the facilities, you don't have the facilities.

 

Net x

[AnonyMouse_1027]

ive heard this one too

[Guest]

I have always thought that we would not be able to turn a child away just because they are in nappies - discrimination and equal ops etc. I think what most settings do who really don't have the facilities is that they will ask for the parent to return to change them. I agree that some settings might find it really difficult - but surely now most settings/village halls have now had to update their units or are in the process of doing this to conform by providing disability access which must also include toilet provision.

Nikki

[AnonyMouse_1490]

I have taken children from the age of 2.5. for many years. Most of these children were toilet trained at this age.I have always made it clear to parents that we prefer children to be "clean. This seemed to be an extra incentive for parents and child to try. Over the past year I could only give places to 3 year olds because I had to join 2 groups together. In September I will be in a position to offer places to 2.9. year olds. They are all coming for brief visits during the weeks before we close. Only 2 out of 20 are toilet trained!!!! I guess September is months away.

[Guest]

Hi

 

Glad to hear about policy guidelines for nappies/changing in pre-schools. We are fortunate as a centre to have a changing bed in toilet area of each room and we work under ratios of 1:4 (two year olds) and 1:8 (over 3s). Before that staff did change children on a mat on the floor.

 

Nursery classes attached to schools don't seem willing to make reasonable adjustments. I am currently having discussions with a nursery class and a Reception class about a child going into their classes who isn't fully toilet-trained. The one going into Reception has global developmental delay (1 year behind peers). The only adjustment they seem willing to make is to call parent in every time child needs changing - how long could that take? Wouldn't it be quicker and easier and better for the child to do it there and then. As to having two adults present, is that really necessary if we are all CRB checked. We may sometimes leave a door ajar but still ensuring the child has privacy. We have toileting guidelines that went out to all settings and all heads in nursery and primary schools but it is something that teachers always ask me at transition meetings, saying they haven't got the staff or the facilities (how hard can it be to have a mat, gloves, plastic aprons, child's spare nappies/clothes and nappy bags handy). Someone mentioned not having a shower (we don't have a shower). If the worst comes to the worst, clothes can just be put into a bag if they can't be sluiced or washed and the child can be cleaned with wipes and made comfortable etc. Am I being unrealistic? I haven't worked in a nursery class attached to a school where ratios of adults to children are higher but surely adjustments can be made and when I was in Reception I admit we only had occasional wetting accidents (much easier to deal with).

 

We work closely with parents on toilet training (there are a few parents who bring their children in pull-ups, expect us to have them in pants/knickers all day and then they change them back into pull-ups or even nappies before going home, which doesn't help the children's toilet training! These are exceptions and staff talk about toilet training and give advice etc.

 

Would be interested to know what other Nursery teachers do? Do many schools across the country have a policy that children must be toilet-trained before coming into school? Surely that can't carry on?

[Guest]

Does anyone have a definitive list of the policies we must have and how often they should be reviewed.

 

Al

[AnonyMouse_3139]

Hi Whitetree, unfortunatly there is always a policy to add. There are some example policies on here I'll try to put a link at the bottom of this.

The PLA sell a pack that is acceptable to Ofsted but you'd still have to change them to suit your setting, they do give an idea although they dont include all the policies you may need.

Review your policies yearly or as things change, dont forget they should reflect how you work and the procedures should lay down how you would respond to a given event. At a recent child protection course I was aware that our policy didnt cover how staff or volunteers can sit children on their laps, not straddled and facing the adult, so that had to be amended. It's an ongoing process I'm afraid, bit like the Forth Bridge

 

try here for the link

[AnonyMouse_3139]

Tried the link myself, it didnt work. Sorry, someone else will know how to do it.

[Guest]

Does anyone have a definitive list of the policies we must have and how often they should be reviewed.

 

Al

40150[/snapback]

 

 

Hi,

Good question whitetree. How long is a bit of string???

If we look at what policies are for then that will define the "must have" . Policies are a statement of our Aims, our ethos and values, and our legal obligations. This is why we would "adapt" any published policies to meet our settings individuality. Alongside our policies we will state our "procedures", how we carry out our policies in practice, how we monitor that they are carried out and how we review them to keep them up to date.

The "must haves" will cover our legal obligations such as Child Protection, Health & Safety, Equality of Opportunity, Inclusion, Employment ( I'm sure there are more, but thinking off the top of my head). The National Standards guidelines should help here.For example - Lost child policy, non collected child policy are particular aspects of Child protection that must be written as policy.

 

Other policies, which have developed are under the category "Good Practice", such as "Settling-In, Toileting, Positive behaviour management, Parents as partners, etc These may incorporate our legal obligations in more detail ie: Positive behaviour Management - Will state "We do not use capital punishment" (Child Protection). These are not stated "as required" by The National Standards, but when written they will have to be informed by legislation ie: Equal Opps etc.

 

I'm confused now Lets try and simplify.

 

If your take one heading under legislation ie: Child Protection and ;

1/ list all the ways that this legislation would have to be adhered to within your setting, then you get a list of policies; Or

2/ You could write just one policy entitled Child Protection and include all the aspects of your practice within this one policy.

 

My Child protection policy is a broad statement of my Aims for protecting children and then a list of policies to refer to which show how we meet these aims. ( method 1).

 

In other words our practice cross references to more than one policy.

 

Bet you wished you hadn't asked now

 

As for How often to Review. I used to try to look at all my policies during the summer break, didn't work.

As policys are "working Documents" they will change, with new legislation and through experiences of using policy in practice ( practice needs will change).

I learnt whilst doing my Kitemark that a good idea is to have a "rolling programme" of policy review, which includes all the staff in their review. Every staff meeting we have our main policy headings on the agenda, ie: Child protection, equal opps, health and safety and we review current practice within these policies.

I also have a programme of review covering a year, certain times of year inform certain policies: iie: September we review; Settling-In, Positive Behaviour Management and Health & Safety ( New children, learning rules and boundaries and this is the time of year we renew insurance and look at our annual risk assessment)

October- We review; Parents as Partners ( due to having new parents).

etc etc.

 

 

Peggy

[AnonyMouse_4495]

As Peggy said, the National Standards will help... if you look in Standard 14: Documentation, there is a list for records, policies and procedures under each Standard.

 

There is also a list of additional records that are not a requirement but may provide evidence of compliance.

 

Hope this helps!

[Guest]

Will state "We do not use capital punishment" (Child Protection).

Peggy

40160[/snapback]

Did you put this in to see if we were awake Peggy? Mind you, the day we've just had this might seem a viable disciplinary option...

 

Maz

[AnonyMouse_2732]

 

Sue