POLICY 51

COVID 19

Policy Statement

The nursery will work to manage the risk that Covid 19 poses to children, families and staff. We will take all reasonable measures to reduce the risk of transmission of Coronavirus in the nursery. We will follow the advice of Public Health England and the Local Authority to create policies and procedures for managing the impact of the pandemic.

By working with parents, carers, colleagues and partner agencies we will agree the best approach for our individual circumstances. Children benefit from being able to attend nursery and we will do everything possible to ensure that the nursery remains open and that children can continue to attend.

Safeguarding

We are aware that for some children, the Coronavirus pandemic and its impact on our daily lives has increased their vulnerability. Our Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy sets out our responsibilities for ensuring that our children remain safe. We will actively monitor children’s well-being and look for any signs of harm. Should we have reasons to believe that any child is at risk we will follow the procedures set out in our policy and follow the guidance of the local authority.

Where a child is unable to attend the nursery for any reasons related to Covid 19 we will maintain regular contact with the child’s family. 

Vulnerable Children

If a child who we would classify as vulnerable is self-isolating we will take steps to maintain contact. If they have an allocated social-worker they will be informed of the child’s absence and we will agree the measures we need to take to continue to support the child and their family.

Risk assessment

We will regularly update our risk assessment to reflect current circumstances. 

Mixing

As a small nursery we have operated as a single bubble throughout the pandemic. It is no longer expected that groups should be kept apart in any setting. Should circumstances demand it we have a contingency plan to adapt our arrangements to include separate ‘bubbles’ should this be required.

Tracing close contacts and self-isolation

In the event of a positive case being detected in anyone linked to the nursery we will cooperate with NHS Test and Trace, who now have responsibility for contact tracing.

Children aged under 5 are not required by Public Health England to self-isolate if they are a close contact of someone who has tested positive. However, we would ask parents to consider keeping their child at home for 10 days in these circumstances to minimise the risk of an outbreak occurring in the nursery.

Face Coverings

Parents and carers are required to wear a face covering whenever they need to come inside the nursery unless they meet the criteria for exemption. Staff members and students are required to wear face coverings whenever they are in close contact with other adults or with a child who may be exhibiting symptoms of Covid 19, prior to being collected. Face coverings do not need to be worn outside.

PPE

Personal Protective Equipment is made available to any member of staff caring for a child exhibiting symptoms of Coronavirus while we wait for them to be collected. 

Control Measures



Hygiene

We will take steps to ensure good hygiene for all staff, students and children. 

This will be achieved by

1.    Regular and thorough hand washing. We teach children to wash their hands effectively and supervise them in doing so at all times. This will normally be done with soap and water. Adults will, in addition use hand sanitiser.

2.    Respiratory hygiene. We employ the ‘catch it, bin it, kill it’ approach and have shared resources from the e-bug website to support children’s understanding.

Cleaning

Measures will be taken to maintain a high level of cleanliness at all times.

1.    The premises are cleaned regularly by a contractor employed by St Mary’s Church.   

2.    Nursery staff will carry out additional cleaning throughout the day. Frequently touched surfaces, including handles, tables, chairs, equipment and storage are cleaned twice per day. Resources and equipment are rotated and washed/cleaned regularly. 

3.    Children who sleep during the day will have their own set of bedding which will be cleaned regularly.

4.    Staff will be vigilant to ensure children do not share food, drink, cups, cutlery etc.

Ventilation

Whenever possible the side door to the nursery will be kept open. Thermostats will be set so that the nursery remains comfortable for children and adults. Children will spend time outside whenever possible.

Covid 19 symptoms or positive tests

Children, staff and other adults will follow the latest guidance from Public Health England (PHE) on when to self-isolate. No one should come into the nursery if they have symptoms of Covid 19 or they know of any other reason that they may pass on Covid 19. Parents/carers will be contacted and asked to collect their child immediately.

Anyone who develops symptoms in the nursery will be sent home immediately and they will be required to follow PHE advice.

Asymptomatic testing

Staff carry out lateral flow tests twice weekly (3-4 days apart)

In the event of a positive lateral flow test the staff member should request a confirmatory PCR test and isolate until the result is received. If the PCR test is negative and taken within 2 days of the positive LFT they can return to the setting as long as they do not have Coronavirus symptoms.

If the PCR test is positive the staff member will follow PHE guidance with regard to isolation. Guidance will also be followed with regard to any staff member who is a close contact and is not exempt from self-isolating. 

Children exhibiting Covid symptoms

We feel sure that parents and carers will agree that a child with symptoms should not attend the nursery. In the unlikely event that a parent or carer is unwilling to keep their child at home we would reserve the right to refuse to allow the child to attend, in order to protect the well being of other children as well as adults and to ensure that the nursery is able to remain open.

Arrangement for providing meals

If a child who usually receives free meals at nursery is isolating at home, we will speak to parents/carers to see if this is creating hardship and look for alternative ways of providing meals.

Staying in touch

Whenever a child is away from the nursery for reasons related to Covid 19 or for any other reason we will maintain regular contact with their family. We will also put in place arrangements for the child to have contact with their Key Person and will aim to share ideas and resources to support their child’s learning. We will continue to provide suggestions for how parents/carers can create an effective home learning environment. This will include signposting parents/carers to a range of online websites.

Children’s well-being

As part of our curriculum, we will take steps to support children’s age-appropriate understanding of Covid 19 and the emotions and feelings it might evoke. 

Staff well-being

We recognise that this is a challenging time for everyone working in early years settings. We will take steps to support staff and their own concerns about the pandemic. 

Charging

Parents/carers will not be charged for services we are unable or unwilling to provide. For example, if the nursery was forced to close temporarily because of staff shortages.  If a child is absent because they have covid symptoms we will usually charge as is the case for any period of sickness. We aim to always act reasonably and if a parent is unhappy with our charges, we would ask them to discuss this with the nursery manager.

OFSTED

  Any confirmed cases of Covid 19 linked to the nursery will be reported to OFSTED.