At Willow Den Scotland we promote the good health of all children attending. It is our intention that all children will be cared for in a safe and healthy environment.
To help keep children healthy and minimise infection, we expect that children stay at home if they are unwell. Our procedures enable us to take appropriate action when children become ill and to minimise the spread of infection.
We follow the guidance on Infection Prevention and Control in Childcare Settings (Day Care and Childminding Settings) published by the Infection Control Team Scotland. This includes the exclusion criteria timescales children should refrain from attending nursery for specific illnesses, e.g. sickness and diarrhoea, measles and chicken pox to protect other children and adults in the nursery.
At Willow Den, we implement the following procedures:
- If a child becomes ill during the nursery day, we contact their parent(s), and ask them to pick up their child as soon as possible. During this time, we care for the child in a quiet, calm area with a member of staff.
- If a child displays symptoms of Covid 19 staff will follow the latest Scottish Government guidance for Early Learning and Childcare settings
- We will comply with recommended exclusion periods attached
- Notify the Care Inspectorate immediately, or as soon as practicable of a suspected or known outbreak of infection, as per the Care Inspectorate’s Records that All Registered Care Services Must Keep and Guidance on Notification and Environmental Health if required.
- The Manager or next in charge will contact a member of the HPT if required for advice and always if an outbreak is suspected.
- We inform all parents if there is a contagious infection identified in the nursery, to enable them to spot the early signs of this illness. We thoroughly clean and sterilise all equipment and resources that may have come into contact with a contagious child to reduce the spread of infection.
- Exclusion periods are based on the illness the child has not on the medication they are receiving. We have chosen to exclude all children on antibiotics for the first 24 hours of the course (unless this is a repeat prescription). This is because it is important that children are not subjected to the rigours of the nursery day, which requires socialising with other children and being part of a group setting, when they have first become ill and require a course of antibiotics.
To ensure children have appropriate care and support, and to minimise the spread of infection, staff have the right to refuse admission to a child who is unwell. This decision will be taken by the manager on duty and is non-negotiable.
We make information/posters about head lice readily available, and all parents are requested to regularly check their children’s hair. If a parent finds that their child has head lice, we would be grateful if they could inform the nursery so that other parents can be alerted to check their child’s hair.
Meningitis procedure
If a parent informs the nursery that their child has meningitis, the Nursery Manager will contact the local Health Protection Team and the Care Inspectorate. We will follow all guidance given and ensure that the appropriate authority is notified.
