Parent Partnership

Our families are very important to us and through good communication and trusting relationships we have been able to grow Kiddlywinks into the wonderful place it is today. We are committed to listening and responding to our parents and as a united partnership we will endeavour to work together to secure the very best outcomes possible for all children who attend Kiddlywinks.

We highly value and respect our parents as being the primary educators of their child and the people who know their child best. We encourage Parents/Carers to join in with sharing their observations and knowledge of their child’s on-going learning and development through a wide range of information sharing tools and this includes informal and formal discussions and our Diary app. Staff will encourage parents to plan opportunities to further extend children’s development and support interests at nursery and home and we welcome parental contributions and ideas that could extend children’s learning and development at Kiddlywinks.

Every child who attends Kiddlywinks will have a hard copy learning journey story book and a password protected Online Learning Journey which is a compilation of observations, photographs, samples of work and children’s amazing creations. We encourage parents and children to contribute to these and you are welcome to view your child’s learning journey information at any time to celebrate and take pride in your child’s amazing learning journey and on-going achievements.

Our team are always available for a chat at drop off and collection times and we are keen to hear about your child’s achievements outside nursery and discuss ideas for extending learning face to face on a daily basis.

If your child is to attend several settings, including a child-minder, the Kiddlywinks team are keen to work closely with the other provider to ensure the needs of the child are fully met through a coherent approach by sharing information. Please let us know of any other setting that your child attends and we will do our utmost in forging a shared learning partnership which is coherent and consistent in meeting your child’s needs.

Consultations

We encourage our families to attend our key person and family consultation events. These events provide a lovely opportunity to share, celebrate and discuss children’s progress and development. Together we share and review progress and identify how as a united team we develop opportunities both inside and outside nursery to support the child’s continuum of learning in the most responsive and exciting way. This is also a lovely time to share ideas, look around the nursery, chat with other parents and the nursery team and discuss transitions if they are impending.

Transitions

Children experience many transitions in life for example staring nursery, moving from room to room and going to school. It is important that these are carefully planned to ensure that a child and e family feel secure and confident in the transition.

Transitional visits are gradual and responsive to the child’s emotional “well-being”. They are devised through parent partnerships discussions and through the responses of the individual child. When children transition between nursery rooms transitional reports are prepared for the child’s new key team and parents are invited to meet the new Principal Key Person and Assistant key Team and view the child’s learning environment. This carefully planned approach is vital to scaffolding the child’s emotional well-being during a period of change.

Newsletters

We aim to provide a termly Newsletter to inform parents and carers of all the wonderful things we have been up to, general news and dates for dairies, nursery initiatives and how you can support us. We also encourage parents and carers to contribute to the Newsletters if they wish.

Online Learning Journey and Daily Diary App

These systems enable us to share information such as sleeps, food and milk intake, care routines, accounts, booking patterns, observations of learning, photographs and videos of play and learning.

These are both password-protected and parents and carers have 24-hour access to these. They are interactive and enable two-way information sharing.

The Voice of parents and Carers

We very much encourage an open dialogue between nursery and our parents and carers. We use a multitude of ways to encourage this such as:

• Comments books
• Questionnaires
• Formal and informal discussions
• Diary App and Learning Journey App
• Parent Representative Coffee and Cake Club
• Fund Raising Events
• Social Gatherings

This list is not exhaustive, and you will find further information regarding this vital area embedded throughout our website and through discussion if you would like to come for a visit and chat.

Illness

At Kiddlywinks we do everything we can to prevent infection and illness within nursery. The nursery operates a thorough and intensive cleaning regime and toys and resources are sterilised regularly. In addition, we have hand sanitising stations outside all playroom doors and in entrance areas and we encourage parents and visitors to use these when they come into nursery and when they leave. Children are supported and encouraged to wash their hands regularly and practice good hygiene routines. However, at times despite our best efforts, some children will pick up illnesses and are often contagious without showing any obvious symptoms.

To ensure that we maintain the healthiest environment possible we enforce strict exclusion periods for children suffering specific illnesses or symptoms. We appreciate that this can create difficult situations for some working parents, however we must ensure that we reduce the risk of cross infection within the nursery, both towards other children and also our parents and employees. For guidance related to taking time off work for dependants please visit https://www.gov.uk/time-off-for-dependants for more information.

If a child is suffering from an infection or illness, parents must keep them at home until they are no longer infectious. Children who return to nursery too soon will unfortunately be declined admittance. This will help ensure that staff and other children are not un-necessarily exposed to possible contraction of the illness.

We are fortunate to have the guidance and support of one our local Doctors from the Lakes medical Practice. They work closely with the team to ensure that health policies are evaluated and updated in line with local and national health guidance and ever evolving health practice legislation.

This professional partnership aims to ensure that the guidance that we provide to parents is derived from a sound knowledge base and aims at securing the healthiest outcomes for all children whilst they attend Kiddlywinks.

• Please be aware that we will always contact you if we have concerns about your child’s health and all staff will have your child’s best interests at heart.
• Notices will be displayed on the front door and around nursery to alert you of any contagious diseases or instances of sickness and diarrhoea.
• If your child requires medicine, cream or lotions administered during their time at nursery, written authorisation must be given by the Parent/Carer.
• No medicines will be given to any child without completion of appropriate paperwork.
• Please see a member of staff who will help you complete a form giving details of times and amounts to be administered.
• You will need to sign the form when handing over the medicine and when you collect your child to ensure that you are aware the medicine has been given to your child and at what time. On collecting your child please remember to remind staff to give you back the medication for your use at home and you will need to sign to acknowledge that all information regarding any medication administered has been fed back to you.
• Medication must be in the packaging it is presented in and labelled by the Pharmacy, Doctor or Dentist.
• Children who are prescribed the first round of antibiotics and penicillin will not be able to attend for 24 hours after the first dose is given and must also be fit and well to attend and well-being discussions will need to take place between parents and the nursery so that we can ensure that the needs of your child can be fully met.
• Medicine will not be given to any child unless it is in the same bottle that the pharmacy has given it to you (including Calpol)
• Only prescribed medicines will be administered to your child in nursery, including Calpol and they must have the original administration and child’s details on them. They must also be dated for administration within the relevant time scale.
• We will not accept cold remedies, cough mixtures, ibuprofen, unless they are prescribed by a health professional
• Children may only be administered one dose of medication at nursery in a day unless otherwise specified on the GP’s instructions.

Parents/Carers will be informed and advised in the event of a highly infectious disease or illness circulating at Kiddlywinks Day Nursery e.g. chickenpox, head lice, conjunctivitis, gastroenteritis. Please click on the tab and read through our guide to some of the most common illnesses your child may experience and ensure that you are aware of our exclusion periods and make alternative arrangements for childcare during these times.

Exclusion periods

Please note that this list is not exhaustive but contains the most common exclusions. Parents should always seek advice from their GP or Accident and Emergency department regarding the specific symptoms of their child.

NHS: call 111 or go to https://www.nhs.uk/

• Chicken Pox/Shingles 5 days from onset of rash as long as spots are crusted over
• Cold Sores (Herpes simplex) None
• Conjunctivitis Until eyes are clear and free from weeping
• Diarrhoea and/or Vomiting including Rotavirus/Norovirus/Gastroenteritis 48 hours from the last episode, if as a result of illness or infection. (Also, after 2 or more loose stools in a nursery session, children are required to be sent home and may return 48 hours after the last episode)
• Flu Until recovered fully enough to participate in nursery activities
• German Measles (Rubella) 5 days from onset of rash
• Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease 48 hours and until symptoms have subsided
• Head lice Children will be required to be collected from nursery and may return once they have been treated.
• Impetigo Until lesions are crusted or healed
• Measles* 9 days from onset of rash
• Meningitis* Until recovered (We will follow the instructions of the local Health Protection Unit)
• Mumps* glands 8 days from when swelling begins
• Ringworm commenced Until treatment has commenced
• Scabies Until treatment has commenced
• Scarlet Fever* 5 days after commencing antibiotics
• Slapped cheek Until the rash has faded and the child is well enough to return to nursery.
• Threadworm None