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Policies and Procedures

 

Heart Preschool have the following policies in place to help ensure the smooth running of the setting and to meet Early Years Foundation Stage requirements:

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Enrolment

 

At your initial meeting, we will discuss Heart Preschool policies and procedures with you.  We will also show you around our wonderful setting where you can see how and where your child will be spending their day and what facilities we have, including our fantastic outdoor space!

 

You will be shown a copy of Heart Preschool policies and procedures and you will be able to access these at any time here on Heart Preschool website or in the setting we have a Policies and Procedures booklet, accessible to all our parents and carers. 

 

At this point you may want to take time to think about your visit and reflect upon whether it is the right setting for your child or children.  At any point you are more than welcome to book a second visit and ask further questions.

 

Considering everything and you are happy, you will need to complete the necessary forms and pay an administration fee of £20 per child to register your child or children.

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A registration form will need to be completed; this will include your child’s details, any allergies and their doctor’s details. Various permission slips will also need signing at this stage.

 

A retainer fee will be requested if places are limited to reserve your child a place.  If you do not use your child's place this is non-refundable.  If you require a full day preschool session it will be £20 per day or £10 per day if its reserving a morning or afternoon session or a before or after school place per day. This will be deducted off your next invoice if you use your child’s reserved place. 

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You must pay a deposit for two weeks or pay a month in hand before your child starts, which most parents prefer to do.  If you decide to pay a two weeks deposit you will get this back on the last day of the last month your child finishes at Heart Preschool. It will only be withheld if you break your contract or do not give a months notice to terminate your contract.

You will receive an invoice each month and receipt for your payment.

  

Admissions

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Settling into a new environment can be a difficult time for any child and their parent/carer so I suggest prior to your child starting you visit a couple of times for an hour (no charge will be required for this). Then it may be appropriate to leave them for an hour without you. This process will help your child get used to their new environment.

 

If your child is unhappy during this time please don’t worry as it may take a while for your child to settle especially if they are not accustomed to spending time apart from you.

 

The first 4 weeks will be classed as a settling in period and if after this time your child fails to settle then we can review the situation and discuss the options. 

 

Arrival and Collection of your child

 

Arrival

 

You must arrive at the end of your child’s session.  It is important that you are punctual so your child feels assured and staff are not working longer hours.  Sometimes it can not be helped so please let us know you will be a little late but you are on your way. We do not accept late children in after 10.30am as it affects the routine of the day.

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Collection

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We will only release your child from Heart Preschool to adults who have permission to collect him/her. We will therefore need you to provide a list of people authorized to collect. It would be helpful, if they are not known to us, to include a description or a photograph for us. In the event of an emergency, we can operate a password system where you can send someone not authorized to collect your child but who can give the password. This is to ensure all our children are kept safe whilst in our care.

If we have not heard from you and your more than 10 minutes late we will try and make contact with you. We will also attempt to contact the emergency numbers provided if we cannot get hold of you.

If we are unable to contact anyone we will inform Nottingham City social care team on 0115 875600 and follow their advice.

We reserve the right to make an additional charge for late collection. Late collection is £10 per every 15 minutes you are late.

 

Absences

 

If you bring your child late or they are absent on a contracted day payment will still be required for the whole session no concession will be given. We cannot fill the place on such short notice. 

 

We are closed on bank holidays school holidays and weekends.  You will still be charged if you go on holiday or if your child is sick and cannot attend on the contracted days as this reserves their space.

 

 

Illness & Medication

 

It is Heart Preschool policy to keep children safe we promote good health and take necessary steps to prevent the spread of infection within the childcare setting.

 

If your child becomes ill whilst at Heart preschool or whom we believe has an infectious illness or disease, we will;

• Contact the parents as agreed to arrange for the immediate collection of the child

• Ensure the child is excluded from my setting until they have been well for 48 hours, or in accordance with Health Authority guidelines.

If we believe a child at Heart Preschool is suffering from a disease or illness which requires notification we will inform the parents/guardians of our concerns and act on advice given by the Health Protection Agency as to when they will be able to return to the setting.  We will also inform Ofsted of any action taken.

All parents are made aware if another child has been diagnosed with an infectious disease and given a “what to do” letter if their child becomes infected.

Please ring in first thing preferable before 8.30am if your child will not be attending that day. On return we need to be informed of any illness the child has had while at home to monitor them and recognise any changes in their health and behavior whilst in our care.

 

We must have written permission to be able to administer medication to your child on a regular basis or in an emergency. We will not administer any medication that your child has not previously taken or any non-prescribed medication, this is in case of allergic reactions. All medicine will need to be signed in and medicine logs will need to be signed upon collection.

 

Medicine needs to be in its original packaging with the child's name clearly shown. If your child requires medication on a regular basis e.g. inhaler, then please make sure that it is with your child always, your child will probably be able to administer the inhaler themselves but we will still need a consent form signing.

 

Complaints

 

It is of paramount importance that Heart Preschool runs smoothly, efficiently and that parents/carers and staff work together in partnership for the child’s best interests.

 

Purpose of the Policy

 

The purpose of this policy is to ensure that any complaints about the service are handled quickly, effectively and courteously and solutions are implemented which satisfy both the parent / carer and the setting.

 

Procedure

 

In the event of a parent / carer wanting to complain about a member of staff or incident at Heart Preschool please follow the following guidelines:

 

• Speak to a member of staff or directly to management.

 

• If it is discussed with a member of staff then they will report the complaint to the manager and record the complaint on a form immediately.

 

• The manager will acknowledge receipt of the complaint within 24 hours.

 

• The complaint will then be investigated and an action plan drawn up to address the issue. The action plan will be discussed with the complainant and agreed. This process will be recorded on the complaint form; all complaints will be resolved within 7 days of the complaint being made.

 

We will keep two copies of each complaint, one containing the complainants name and contact details so it can be followed up by Ofsted if required, and another anonymous copy to share with parents on request. This allows Heart Preschool to share complaints without breaking confidentiality.

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For more information on the policies and procedures, please see our parent handbook which you can acquire from our nursery, please ask a member of staff.

 

If you feel that you are unable to talk to a staff member at Heart Preschool or that after talking the matter remains unresolved then you can talk in confidence to:

 

The Early Years Team on 0115 8764544

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