Policies & Procedures: Part 4 - Getting to grips with the essentials

Karen Faux
Friday, July 12, 2013

Attention to detail is absolutely essential when mapping out your policies and procedures. Laura Henry provides some key pointers on what every setting should include.

When it comes to devising policies and procedures for your setting, you will need a clear outline of what needs to be in place. Here are my suggestions, but you may want to add pointers of your own.

Equality and child support

For promoting equality of opportunity and/or supporting children with special educational needs or disabilities, look at the following:

Clarify the role of the special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO).

How was the person chosen to do this role?

Personalise your policy stating the person's name within the policy.

Explain the training and guidance that is in place for the SENCO.

How does the SENCO share what they know with their colleagues?

How should the SENCO make sure that relevant paperwork is in place, for instance education and care plans?

How can the setting work with other professionals to make sure that children are supported effectively and are able to reach their full potential?

Give consideration to the equipment and resources that may need to be in place to support children. In addition, consider any adaptations that may be needed, where appropriate, to ensure that children can access 'all areas'.

The policy and procedure should clearly state how inclusive your setting is to staff, parents and visitors who may have needs and/or disabilities. Consider how the setting may look through their eyes.

Cover staff's attitude to special needs and disability and how they should see the child first as a person, with a focus on what the child can do. Also, include how staff's attitude and behaviour promotes every child as a unique individual, with special talents and gifts.

When we turn to equality of opportunity, think how you may break down these two terms in your policy. For instance, what you mean by 'equality' and what is meant by 'opportunity' and how this looks in practice.

Describe how you celebrate a range of festivals and why you do so. Think how the key person's role promotes equality of opportunity with children and families, especially making sure that they embrace diversity. With this in mind, images and resources should reflect the range of children and their families who attend the setting.

Explain how the setting acknowledges that there may be a range of languages spoken and how it might provide documents in community languages and/or provide a translator for parents.

Confirm that under no circumstances does the setting tolerate any discriminatory and/or offensive comments, from staff, parents or visitors.

Make clear in your procedures what would happen if a discriminatory and/or offensive remark or comment was made. Also, if children use discriminatory and/or offensive language, how staff will deal with this sensitively, mindful of the child's age, stage and ability.

Explain how activities and experiences promote equality and inclusion within your setting, referring to the three characteristics of effective teaching and learning and the seven areas of learning, especially Personal, Social and Emotional Development and Knowledge of the World.

Medicines

You should have details on administering medicines, including effective management to support individual children with medical needs and responding to children who are ill or infectious.

Describe how seriously you take administration of medicine and how you fully understand your legal duty, making reference to Ofsted's Giving Medication to Children in Registered Childcare guidance.

State that before you give medicine you check that you are complying with Ofsted's advice. Provide clarity around the key terms 'prescribe' and 'prescription'.

Your procedure may include:

parents signing to give permission

depending on the medicine, checking the child's name and date of birth

dosage and times that medicine is to be given

storage of the medicine

a witness signing to confirm they have seen the medicine being administered

medicine stored safely as per the instructions

monitoring of the child throughout the day, to note any reactions to the medicine

recognising that you are inclusive to children who receive regular medicine and/or have ongoing treatment.

State that where possible staff will receive specialist training to administer certain medication and/or procedures to children, such as an Epipen.

State your systems for senior staff to carry out regular audits on documentation and storage of medicine. In addition, regarding children who may appear to be given regular medicine and who are always ill, cross reference to fabricated or induced illness by carers and link to your safeguarding and child protection policy and procedure. Be mindful though that there may be a genuine reason for this and/or underlying undetected illness, and how you may signpost parents to their GP or health visitor for advice.

Confirm your arrangements for children who become ill and how you make it known to parents that they will be contacted if their child becomes unwell and they are unable to interact with activities and experiences. This could be because of a high temperature or you suspect that they have an infectious disease.

If a child becomes ill on site, how does the child's key person or another familiar adult offer appropriate care and attention? The child's welfare must be given priority until their parent or significant adult arrives.

The child is made comfortable in a 'cosy area', with any comforters if necessary. Also, state your exclusion period - it may be helpful to quote Government guidance on this.

Include a risk assessment policy, clearly stating when risk assessments will be carried out, whose responsibility this is, the date of review and any action taken following a review or incident - there is no requirement for risk assessments to be in writing.

Identify what is meant by the term 'risk assessment', the documentation used and what is risk assessed in your setting. How do you define what a hazard is? Link to Ofsted's guidance on requirements for risk assessments.

Health and safety

For health and safety relating to accidents, hazards and faulty equipment, list links to legislation and how you see health and safety as everyone's responsibility.

Staff and visitors have a duty to report hazards and faulty equipment. Record any significant training that staff have had in relation to health and safety and how you may consider seeking the advice from a health and safety expert, making sure that you are compliant at all times.

Make sure there are systems in place to report serious accidents that need to be reported within RIDDOR requirements.

State how staff are trained in first aid and paediatric first aid and that you have sufficient first aid boxes on site. Describe how when children are taken off site your arrangements for first aid are suitable.

Behaviour

Explain how you support children with their behaviour, giving consideration to helping children to self-regulate their behaviour, linking this to children's Personal, Social and Emotional Development and how your core values centre on an emotionally safe environment.

Describe how children play a role in forming the guidance of attitudes and behaviour within your setting. Also, include how staff support children with their feelings and discuss behaviour that is not linked to your guidance and values.

Clarify that staff are aware that at times some behaviour is linked to developmental milestones and it is the behaviour that is the issue and not the child.

Explain the role your behaviour co-ordinator plays in making sure that the policy is matched in practice.

Laura Henry is managing director of Childcare Consultancy

laura@childcareconsult.co.uk

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