Information for families

Registration

When a child place is offered, two free introductory nursery attendances are arranged.  These are for the parent/carer to complete the necessary paperwork and meet staff, and enable the child to orientate and become comfortable with the nursery setting, staff and the other children.

Our staffing

All staff have the necessary knowledge, training and experience to work with children.  They undergo comprehensive employment checks before they start and during employment in accordance with NHS Employment Check Standards.  All staff are carefully selected for their caring approach and commitment towards making every child’s experience in Free Spirits stimulating, loving and safe. 

All staff undergo comprehensive induction and training when they start.  Training and development is on-going throughout employment to regularly update and extend knowledge and skills.  Annual appraisal and completion of mandatory training updates is applicable to all staff.

 The ratio of staff to children is in accordance with OFSTED Regulations as follows:

Food and drink

Breakfast, lunch and tea are provided daily and are prepared by our own hospital chefs.  Meals are nutritionally balanced and a varied menu is planned over a two-week rota.  Special diets can be arranged in cases of allergies, vegetarian and religious requirements.  Menus and meal times are displayed on the notice board.

The nursery is unable to accept food cooked at home for children in line with Food Safety requirements. Parents will need to provide unopened formula milk for babies, and clean/sterilised bottles as per each child’s needs.  Fresh fruit and drinking water is available throughout the day.

Clothing

Parents/carers must provide a bag (no plastic bags please) containing a complete change of clothing in case of accident or spillage.  It is the parent’s/carer’s responsibility to label personal belongings to avoid confusion.  Any dirty/soiled clothing will be rinsed (if appropriate) and bagged by staff for collection by the parent/carer when they collect their child.

Rest

Sleeping arrangements are available for children who need a nap during the day. Each child will have their own bed and bedding and will sleep in a quiet room with subdued lighting. To ensure a consistent and shared approach between nursery and home, it is perfectly acceptable for children to have a special comforter or dummy during sleep time if they wish.  For very young babies, cots are provided in a separate sleep room and we ensure they sleep when they need to.  All children are monitored during sleep to ensure they are safe and sound.

Illness

A strict infection control policy applies in nursery:

• the nursery must be informed by telephone if a child is to be absent for any reason
• a child with an infectious disease will not be permitted in nursery – further details are contained in nursery policies or can be provided on request
• should a child become ill in nursery, the parent/carer will be contacted to come and collect them – the child will be comforted until the parent/carer arrives
• an ill child must not attend nursery until symptoms of illness are clear for at least 24 hours (48 hours for some illnesses)

In the case of a high temperature, the parent/carer will be contacted and subject to their consent – which could be verbal or written, and given at the time, or previously – the nursery will administer Calpol/paracetamol suspension*.  All medicine administration is checked and witnessed by a second member of staff, is documented in nursery records and must be signed for by the parent/carer when they next attend the nursery.

*In the event of a pandemic the nursery will have tighter controls in place and it may not be possible to accept a child into nursery if they have had calpol/paracetamol or Ibruprofen prior to arriving at nursery.