Knee High Nursery, Newquay: Our Policies
Rated one of the top 20 nurseries in the South West
“Quality care and education, where your child comes first”
TERM TIMETABLE AND ATTENDANCE POLICY July 2020
Kneehigh is open five days a week, from 8am to 6pm, when required.
Kneehigh is open all year round, except for Bank Holidays and an agreed time at Christmas. Parents will be informed of arrangements during the Christmas period in advance.
Each child has a holiday allowance of 2 weeks per year, September to September. One weeks notice is required if you wish to use any of your holiday allowance, otherwise there will be a charge. However, if you tell us, upon enrolment, before starting Kneehigh, that you would only like a term-time place you forfeit the holiday allowance and will be required to re-register your child each September. This applies to all age groups.
Ideally, 3 days notice for irregular bookings would be appreciated, to accommodate for staff changes, however we will do our best to appraise the situation.
Children in receipt of funding will have this for 38 weeks of the year. During unfunded periods your child will be expected to attend Kneehigh for the same amount of sessions they were attending before receiving funding each week or use some of their holiday allowance or pay a reduced fee to keep their place, otherwise you will have to re-enrol. If you choose to re-enrol and there is a waiting list you will have to join the waiting list.
Children attending during lunchtime,12 noon to 1pm, may bring a packed lunch or choose a cooked meal from the menu displayed in the porch area.
Two weeks’ notice is required to withdraw your child from a regular session.
Payment for sessions must be up to date by the Friday of each week, unless by special arrangement with Sarah. If payment falls 2 weeks behind with no attempt to bring it
up to date, your child’s place may be cancelled and the outstanding fees will still be due.
If a child misses a session, the full fee is still applicable, unless Kneehigh is contacted at least an hour before the child is due to start at Kneehigh. It is preferable that you contact us at your earliest convenience if your child will not be attending. In the case of a child starting at 8am, then contact needs to be made as soon as possible before then. If notification of absence is made in time a reduction of 10% will be made to the fees. For example:- a session of £12.50 will be reduced to £11.25.
If a child is absent and you have not informed us by 9.30am, for a morning session, or 1.30pm, for an afternoon session, we will telephone you to find out why. Your child’s absence will be recorded on a form and kept in our absences file. If there has been no response from you, to our calls, after one week, we will contact Multi-Agency Referral Unit (MARU) as we will have a concern for your child’s welfare.
If your child is absent for a period of 2 consecutive weeks we will visit you to discuss home learning strategies for you and your child, so they do not fall behind in their development.
If your child is absent for more than two consecutive weeks, without notification, we shall cancel your child’s place at Kneehigh. The fees for any sessions missed will still be due. If a parent wishes the child to continue to attend Kneehigh after a period of un-notified absence the child will need to be re-registered.
If you have told us that your child will not be attending their session we may allocate this space to another child. If you wish to change your plans please call or speak to staff to find out if their space is still available for that session.
Parents are asked to ensure that a member of staff knows that their child is present and acknowledged before leaving them. In addition, if anyone other than the parent is collecting the child, then staff need to be informed and provided with a password if the person is unknown to the staff.
This policy was reviewed by all the staff and students at Kneehigh in July 2020.
Social, Emotional and Mental Health Policy March 2020
Kneehigh’s Social, Emotional and Mental Health Lead (S.E.M.H.L.)
is:- TAMMY JOHNSON
We believe that children and adults flourish best in an ordered environment in which an individual knows what is expected of them, and children are free to develop their play and learning without fear of being hurt or hindered in any way, by anyone else. Children need to learn to consider the views and feelings, needs and rights of others, and the impact that their behaviour has on people, places and objects. This is a developmental task that requires support, encouragement, teaching and setting the correct example. We will enable children to develop self-discipline and self-esteem within an atmosphere of mutual respect and encouragement. This policy demonstrates how children’s personal, social and emotional needs are met where there are clear and developmentally appropriate expectations for their behaviour. The principles that underpin how we achieve positive and considerate behaviour exist within the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) programme for promoting personal, social and emotional development.
✓ All adults provide a positive model for the children by treating children, parents/carers and one another with friendliness, care and courtesy.
✓ As well as using positive language with everyone at all times. Adults will tell the children what they want them to do – not what not to do.
✓ All staff will attend at least one of the following courses as part of their mandatory training to support children’s Personal, Social and Emotional Development, e.g. Understanding Children’s Personal, Social and Emotional Development; Five to Thrive; Emotion Coaching; Understanding Behaviour That Challenges.
✓ As a setting, we use a range of tools, resources and strategies to meet the individual social, emotional and mental health needs of each child.
Kneehigh promotes the Fundamental British Values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs. The Fundamental British Values are respected and adhered to in everything that we do. They are embedded into the philosophy and ethos of our daily practice. We recognise that codes for interacting with other people vary between cultures and require staff to be aware of – and respect – those used by members of the setting.
Kneehigh has a Social, Emotional and Mental Health Lead who has overall responsibility for our programme for supporting personal, social and emotional development, including issues concerning behaviour. The SEMHL is Tammy Johnson.
We require the Designated person to:
▪ Attend 2 day Understanding Children’s Personal, Social and Emotional Development training and to update this every 3-4 years.
▪ keep themself up-to-date with legislation, research and thinking on promoting positive behaviour and on handling children’s behaviour where it may require additional support;
▪ access relevant sources of expertise on promoting positive behaviour within the programme for supporting personal, social and emotional development ; and
▪ ensure that all staff have relevant training on promoting positive behaviour, such as the above 2 day training; Five to Thrive and Emotion Coaching. We keep a record of staff attendance at this training.
▪ familiarise new staff and volunteers with the setting’s social, emotional and mental health policy and its guidelines for behaviour.
These GOLDEN RULES reflect Kneehigh’s ethos of believing that children respond better to positive reinforcement of good behaviour, rather than punishment for negative behaviour.
* Be kind and gentle
* Walk when indoors * Take turns and share
In order to re-enforce these rules of positive behaviour, which state the code of conduct of our group, they are discussed with all children at the setting in ways that enable them to understand.
Celebrations/Smiley Face
Positive behaviour is to be encouraged by giving children praise in-the-moment in the form of a ‘celebration’. Celebrations are combinations of verbal praise with actions, e.g. “Excellent!” whilst crossing arms to form an X shape. Children may be encouraged to choose a known celebration or make up their own. When children display behaviour that is above and beyond their expectations (relative to each individual’s age, development, needs, etc.) they may be rewarded by having their name on the Smiley Face, which is displayed clearly for all adults and children in the setting to see. The adult leading circle time at the end of each session can then refer to the Smiley Face, encouraging children to share and reflect on their positive behaviour. Their achievement can then be celebrated as a group.
At Kneehigh we recognise each child as an individual and as such take each child’s age, developmental stage, character and length of time at our setting into consideration when handling any instances of inconsiderate, hurtful or serious misbehaviour behaviour. Ensuring that each child has a key person, to build a strong relationship with and provide security to the child, supports staff to implement all aspects of the strategies described below, in order to maintain a constructive learning environment for all. Staff assess each instance using their knowledge and understanding of each child involved.
* Physical Punishment within our setting is illegal, for both staff and parents. Children are never threatened with this.
Rough and tumble play and fantasy aggression
Young children often engage in play that has aggressive themes – such as superhero and weapon play; some children appear pre-occupied with these themes, but their behaviour is not necessarily a precursor to hurtful behaviour or bullying, although it may be inconsiderate at times and may need addressing using strategies as described below.
▪ We recognise that teasing and rough and tumble play are normal for young children and acceptable within limits. We regard these kinds of play as pro-social and not as problematic or aggressive.
▪ We will develop strategies to contain play that are agreed with the children, and understood by them, with acceptable behavioural boundaries to ensure children are not hurt.
▪ We recognise that fantasy play also contains many violently dramatic strategies, blowing up, shooting etc., and that themes often refer to ‘goodies and baddies’ and as such offer opportunities for us to explore concepts of right and wrong.
▪ We are able to tune in to the content of the play, perhaps to suggest alternative strategies for heroes and heroines, making the most of ‘teachable moments’ to encourage empathy and lateral thinking to explore alternative scenarios and strategies for conflict resolution.
Strategies with children who engage in inconsiderate behaviour
When a child is displaying inconsiderate behaviour we require all staff, volunteers and students to use positive strategies, thereby helping children find solutions in ways which are appropriate for the children’s ages and stages of development. Such solutions might include, for example, acknowledgement of feelings, or an explanation as to what was not acceptable and supporting children to gain control of their feelings so that they can learn a more appropriate response.
Adults are pro-active in helping children to understand the outcomes of their action and support them in learning how to cope more appropriately. For example, snatching toys, we teach the child to ask for the toy appropriately; an argument over a bike, we teach the children to take turns. When incidents like this occur we listen to each child involved. We explain to them why the behaviour was inappropriate and offer an alternative way of dealing with the situation. We provide strategies and tools, such as sand timers to support sharing and turn-taking. We acknowledge considerate behaviour such as kindness and willingness to share. We support each child in developing self- esteem, confidence and feelings of competence. We support each child in developing a sense of belonging in our group, so that they feel valued and welcome. We avoid creating situations in which children receive adult attention only in return for inconsiderate behaviour.
However, when a child continues to display inconsiderate behaviour, even after the above has been implemented, the child will be removed from the activity, or the item being argued over will be removed.
When two or more children are unable to play appropriately with one another, even with adult support and guidance, they will be asked to play in different areas of the setting for a period of time.
Hurtful behaviour
We take hurtful behaviour very seriously. Most children under the age of five will at some stage hurt or say something hurtful to another child, especially if their emotions are high at the time, but it is not helpful to label this behaviour as ‘bullying’. For children under five, hurtful behaviour is momentary, spontaneous and often without cognisance of the feelings of the person whom they have hurt.
▪ We recognise that young children behave in hurtful ways towards others because they have not yet developed the means to manage intense feelings that sometimes overwhelm them.
▪ We will help them manage these feelings as they have neither the biological means nor the cognitive means to do this for themselves.
▪ We understand that self-management of intense emotions, especially of anger, happens when the brain has developed neurological systems to manage the physiological processes that take place when triggers activate responses of anger or fear .
▪ Therefore we help this process by offering support, calming the child who is angry as well as the one who has been hurt by the behaviour. By helping the child to return to a normal state, we are helping the brain to develop the physiological response system that will help the child be able to manage his or her own feelings.
▪ We do not engage in punitive responses to a young child’s rage as that will have the opposite effect.
▪ Our way of responding to pre-verbal children is to calm them through holding and cuddling. Verbal children will also respond to cuddling to calm them down, but we offer them an explanation and discuss the incident with them to their level of understanding.
▪ We recognise that young children require help in understanding the range of feelings they experience. We help children recognise their feelings by naming them and helping children to express them, making a connection verbally between the event and the feeling. “Adam took your car, didn’t he, and you were enjoying playing with it. You didn’t like it when he took it, did you? Did it make you feel angry? Is that why you hit him?” Older children will be able to verbalise their feelings better, talking through themselves the feelings that motivated the behaviour.
▪ We help young children learn to empathise with others, understanding that they have feelings too and that their actions impact on others’ feelings. “When you hit Adam, it hurt him and he didn’t like that and it made him cry.”
▪ We help young children develop pro-social behaviour, such as resolving conflict over who has the toy. “I can see you are feeling better now and Adam isn’t crying any more. Let’s see if we can be friends and find another car, so you can both play with one.”
▪ We are aware that the same problem may happen over and over before skills such as sharing and turn-taking develop. In order for both the biological maturation and cognitive development to take place, children will need repeated experiences with problem solving, supported by patient adults and clear boundaries.
▪ We support social skills through modelling behaviour, through activities, drama and stories. We build self-esteem and confidence in children, recognising their emotional needs through close and committed relationships with them.
▪ We help a child to understand the effect that their hurtful behaviour has had on another child; we do not force children to say sorry, but encourage this where it is clear that they are genuinely sorry and wish to show this to the person they have hurt.
In cases of serious misbehaviour, such as racial, bullying, harassment, name calling, fear of being hurt or hindered in anyway, we make clear immediately the unacceptability of the behaviour and attitudes, by means of explanations rather than personal blame. We do not use words that ‘label’ or humiliate children i.e. naughty, selfish, etc. This way the children learn that it is their behaviour we don’t like, not them.
It is our duty of care to all children at our setting to protect their rights, as a child, to feel safe and secure within their environment. Therefore, if we feel that a child’s serious misbehaviour is causing extreme distress/ fear of children and hindering their ability to learn effectively at the setting, and we have tried to calm the situation but failed, we shall call for the child to be collected by an appropriate adult.
Bullying
We take bullying very seriously. Bullying involves the persistent physical or verbal abuse of another child or children. It is characterised by intent to hurt, often planned, and accompanied by an awareness of the impact of the bullying behaviour.
A child who is bullying has reached a stage of cognitive development where he or she is able to plan to carry out a premeditated intent to cause distress in another.
Bullying can occur in children five years old and over and may well be an issue in after school clubs and holiday schemes catering for slightly older children. Please be aware that this is not a common occurrence.
If a child bullies another child or children:
▪ we show the children who have been bullied that we are able to listen to their concerns and act upon them;
▪ we intervene to stop the child who is bullying from harming the other child or children;
▪ we explain to the child doing the bullying why her/his behaviour is not acceptable;
▪ we give reassurance to the child or children who have been bullied;
▪ we help the child who has done the bullying to recognise the impact of their actions;
▪ we make sure that children who bully receive positive feedback for considerate behaviour and are given opportunities to practise and reflect on considerate behaviour;
▪ we recognise that children who bully may be experiencing bullying themselves, or be subject to abuse or other circumstance causing them to express their anger in negative ways towards others;
▪ we recognise that children who bully are often unable to empathise with others and for this reason we do not insist that they say sorry unless it is clear that they feel genuine remorse for what they have done. Empty apologies are just as hurtful to the bullied child as the original behaviour;
▪ we discuss what has happened with the parents of the child who did the bullying and work out with them a plan for handling the child’s behaviour; and
▪ we share what has happened with the parents of the child who has been bullied, explaining that the child who did the bullying is being helped to adopt more acceptable ways of behaving.
In addition, in compliance with the Fundamental British Values, the following behaviours are not acceptable within Kneehigh.
• actively promoting intolerance of other faiths, cultures and races
• failure to challenge gender stereotypes and routinely segregate girls and boys
• isolating children from their wider community
All children, parents, carers, visitors and staff will be challenged if their behavior is not in line with the fundamental British values of democracy, rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance for those with different faiths and beliefs.
✓ We expect all members of our setting – children, parents, staff, volunteers and students – to keep to the guidelines, requiring these to be applied consistently.
✓ We work in partnership with children’s parents/carers. Parents/carers are regularly informed about their children’s behaviour by their key person or other staff members. Parents/ carers should be aware that on occasions children mimic other children’s behaviours, whether this is positive or negative. Where this is negative, we will teach and support the child to understand that such behaviour is not acceptable and model the positive expectation, praising them when this is demonstrated.
✓ As practitioners, we acknowledge that children behave differently in different environments, such as the home and the setting. As a result of this knowledge we want to reassure parents/ carers that displays of differing behaviours in different places is normal. If you have any concerns please speak to us.
When recurring inconsiderate or hurtful behaviour becomes problematic, we work in partnership with the parents/ carers to identify the cause and find a solution together. We use objective observation records (STAR charts) to establish an understanding of the cause and to decide jointly how to respond appropriately.
Adults should be aware that some kinds of behaviour may arise from an individual’s specific educational needs. We also understand that a number of situations and circumstances can trigger a change in a child’s behaviour. We ask that parents work with us, as partners, and inform us of any issues/ occurrences at home which may have an effect on their child’s behaviour. The main reasons for very young children to engage in excessive inconsiderate or hurtful behaviour are that:
▪ they do not feel securely attached to someone who can interpret and meet their needs – this may be in the home and it may also be in the setting;
▪ their parent, or carer in the setting, does not have skills in responding appropriately, and consequently negative patterns are developing where hurtful behaviour is the only response the child has to express feelings of anger;
with parents/ carers to support an improvement
Written records of meetings in behaviour will be kept in a Behaviour
Management file.
▪ the child may have insufficient language, or mastery of English, to express him or herself and may feel frustrated;
▪ the child is exposed to levels of aggressive behaviour at home and may be at risk emotionally, or may be experiencing child abuse;
▪ the child has a developmental condition that affects how they behave.
Where this does not work, we use the Code of Practice to support the child and family, making the appropriate referrals to a Behaviour Support Team where necessary.
When a child has been identified by parents, staff or other professionals with additional behaviour needs, individual positive behaviour re-enforcement strategies will be introduced, with permission from the parents. The strategy used would take into consideration each child’s individual needs, stage of development and characteristics (see Equal Opportunities, Inclusion and Specific Educational Needs Policy). An example of a strategy would be a personal reward chart with rewards at shorter intervals throughout the day to re-enforce positive behaviour more often than once during each session. Strategies will be reviewed regularly with parents to ensure their effectiveness. If the strategies Kneehigh are using do not make changes with the child’s behaviour, then a referral to the Early Help Hub to the Inclusion Team will be made (with parental consent).
Incident Book
Any actions that leave a mark on or cause distress to another person, as a result of another child’s unwanted, inconsiderate behaviour, will be recorded in the Incident Book each time they occur. When an incident is recorded in the Incident Book parents must sign to acknowledge that they have been made aware of this. After 2 months, or less (depending on the frequency of the child’s attendance) of continuous incidents the parents will be called in to meet with the key person and possibly the B.M.O. to talk about the problem. We would then initiate a positive behaviour management plan, placing the child on our Register of Need, with permission from the parents. This would involve putting strategies in place to support the child to achieve specific targets related to behaviour.
In exceptional circumstances, if the child is causing distress to a specific child continuously, affecting that child’s well-being, then, if possible, the aggressor will be asked to change sessions.
Physical intervention, where practitioners use reasonable force to prevent children from injuring themselves or others or damaging property, must not be used unless there is a risk of harm to a child. Any occurrences of physical intervention must be recorded on the relevant safe guarding form and parents are to sign to say they have been informed. The safe guarding lead must also be informed.
At Kneehigh, embedded in everything we do, is our determination to develop skills of empathy and tolerance to support everyone at our setting to feel valued and respected.
This policy was reviewed and revised in March 2020 by all staff at Kneehigh.
ADMISSIONS POLICY June 2020
It is our intention to make Kneehigh genuinely accessible to children and families from all groups of the community.
We will ensure that the existence of Kneehigh is widely known for its provision of quality care and education.
Kneehigh can accept children from 2yrs old up to their 6th birthday, unaccompanied by a parent or carer.
If there is a waiting list for a session required, then the name of the child is added to the end of the list.
The following is our criteria for priority of places in Kneehigh for children who have been on the waiting list:
1. Work requirements.
2. Only attending 1 session at Kneehigh and waiting to increase this.
3. Re-registration of a child who wishes to start at Kneehigh again, providing that this is pre-booked and all fees owed are paid up to date.
4. New people, no previous contact with funding.
5. New people, no previous contact, no funding.
If there are vacant places and no waiting list, then these will be offered to children as they become old enough to attend.
We have no limit regarding our catchment area.
If there is an urgent need for an immediate place at Kneehigh, we will assess the necessity from the reasons presented and liaise with social care team, regarding provision of an extra place.
Children do not need to be potty trained or out of nappies to attend Kneehigh.
This policy was reviewed in June 2020 by all the staff at Kneehigh.
SAFETY POLICY March 2020
The safety of young children is of paramount importance, in order to ensure the safety of both children and adults we will ensure that;
All children are supervised by adults at all times. Children will always be within sight or hearing of a staff member and usually within sight and hearing of staff (Statutory Framework 3.28). Children that go to sleep or are at rest are checked regularly.
Separate Accident and Incident Books are available at each session for the reporting of any accident/incident. Parents/ carers will receive a copy of any accident form signed on the day. On entry to the setting any pre-existing injuries a child has will be logged on an individual form and parents will be requested to sign this. This is to raise awareness to the staff of the pre-existing injury, so that further injury can be prevented and close monitoring of children’s safety can be maintained. If a pre-existing injury is noticed by a staff member, and it is deemed to be in an uncommon place of injury, a form will be completed and kept as above (see our Safe guarding policy).
A correctly stocked first aid kit is available at all times. It is checked each term.
All adults are aware of the systems in operation for children’s arrival and departures. Children will leave the nursery only with authorised adults or adolescents of at least 16 years old (see Safe guarding Policy). If a child is to be collected by any unknown person we require a password that has been disclosed to us by the child’s parent in advance. Whenever children are present at least two adults are present.
Equipment is checked regularly and any dangerous items are repaired or discarded. All electrical equipment has a P.A.T. test annually.
The layout and space ratios allow children and adults to move freely and safely between activities, both inside and outdoors. Staff use walkie talkies to keep in contact between these two areas.
Fires, heaters, electric points and leads are adequately guarded.
All dangerous materials, including medicines and cleaning materials are stored out of reach of children or in areas where they are not permitted to enter unsupervised. Staff cannot administer any medicines unless we have written permission from the parents and the medication has a prescription label on it. Permission to administer Piriton is sought from parents upon admission to Kneehigh.
Adults do not walk about with hot drinks or hot food or place them within the reach of children.
We aim to have two fire drills each term and a written record of this is kept.
A register of both adults and children, specifying the times, is completed as they enter and exit the setting so that a complete record of all present is available at all times. Throughout the day regular head counts are made, especially when free flow is over towards the end of each session.
There is no smoking anywhere on the premises, inside or outside.
Fire extinguishers are checked annually and staff are made aware how to use them properly. Kneehigh has two trained Fire Wardens. All staff are Fire safety awareness trained.
Large equipment is erected with care and checked regularly.
On outings the adult: child ratio is 1:2. Any staff transporting children at any time will have:- Fully comprehensive insurance, driving licence and M.O.T. certificate, as well as parental consent.
A written Risk Assessment is made of the setting and procedures annually. In addition, where necessary, there are individual activity Risk Assessments in place, as well as COSHH documents, to refer to.
Ofsted will be informed within 14 days of any serious accident, injury, or death of a child in their care. This information will be shared with the Local Safeguarding Children’s Board (01872 254551) and advise followed http://www.safechildren-cios.co.uk. RIDDOR – Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 will be notified where appropriate www.hse.gov.uk. For reporting fatal and specified injuries only – call the Incident Contact Centre on 0845 300 9923 (opening hours Monday to Friday 8.30 am to 5 pm).
This policy was reviewed, revised and agreed by staff in March 2020.
SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN PROCEDURES Kneehigh’s Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) is:-
LOREN CARR
In Loren’s absence the Deputy Designated Lead is AMANDA SIDEBOTTOM.As Manager, Sarah Rendell is also a member of the safeguarding team. All of these staff members have attended the full Level 3 Multi- Agency Safe Guarding training. All these staff members will attend a full day of safe guarding training every 2 years.
The Children Act Regulations state that we must keep a written statement of the arrangements in place for the protection of each child, including arrangements to safeguard children from abuse or neglect and the procedure to be followed in the event of allegations of abuse or neglect, including Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). This shall include a written record of pre-existing injuries on a child upon entry to the setting for their session. These procedures, from the South West Child Protection Procedures (SWCPP) and set by the Local Safeguarding Children‘s Partnership (LSCP), form the written statement. These procedures were accessed online from their website, http://www.safechildren-cios.co.uk/ .
At Kneehigh we are committed to the protection of children. We believe that all children have the right to be protected from any form of abuse. Therefore, any suspicion of abuse will be promptly and appropriately responded to (see Information Sharing Advice for Practitioners providing safe guarding services to children, young people, parents and carers 2018).
The steps to be taken when a concern is raised.
The staff involved in the referral process must bear in mind at all stages that THE CHILD’S WELFARE IS PARAMOUNT.
If a member of staff has a Safeguarding Children concern about a child (see What To Do If you are worried about a child being abused – 2015) at Kneehigh, or about the behaviour of a member of staff towards a child at Kneehigh, or a child has 2 unexplained pre-existing injuries within 3 months, or 3 explained pre-existing injuries within 3 months, the following steps should be taken by that member of staff:
1. The staff member should discuss their concerns with the Designated Lead, their manager or deputy designated lead, as appropriate, completing the appropriate safe guarding form. Please see list at the end of these steps.
2. In the case of a disclosure made by a child to a member of staff, no other staff should question the child. The practitioner should always believe the child and use open ended questioning to establish facts. The child’s exact words should be recorded in writing by the member of staff to whom the disclosure was made and these should be passed to the DSL to raise a concern. (Questioning a child further may, at best, cause the child distress and, in serious cases, may prejudice the chance of a prosecution).
3. The Designated Person or, in their absence, the most senior member of staff at Kneehigh will telephone Multi-Agency Referral Unit 0300 123 1116 or Out of Hours 01208 251 300 immediately for advice and guidance, to log the disclosure or to make a referral. The safeguarding team will then follow advice and instructions given by the Multi-Agency Referral Unit to respond to the disclosure made by a child to a member of staff. If a referral is made it will be followed up in writing within 24 hours. If, as in an extreme case, the member of staff is concerned for the life or well-being of the child, themselves or other people involved, the Police should be called by dialling 101. The Police will be called (101) if any case of female genitalia mutilation is suspected, then MARU (0300 123 1116) after that. If a child is already known to the Social Care Team and this is known to us and we have a concern, the child’s Social Worker will be notified at the same time.
4.Where possible the parents of the child concerned should be informed, either before the referral is made or after, depending on the circumstances and the degree of concern. Kneehigh will ALWAYS log a disclosure made by a child to a member of staff with MARU immediately and then call MARU back on the same day once hearing the parent’s account. There are circumstances where a parent should not be informed. (If fabricated illness is suspected, if sexual abuse or organised or multiple abuse is suspected or where informing the parent/s may lead to a situation where one’s own safety or the safety of others is a concern, or if it is not possible to contact parents/carers without causing undue delay).
5.The staff member should carry out any instructions given to them by MARU, or any other enforcing agency, e.g. the Police. Make sure you agree with the recipient of the referral what the child and parents will be told, by whom and when.
Through this entire process, confidentiality will be maintained, as far as possible. This will be achieved by speaking to only those members of staff who need to know, by making telephone calls in private and seeing parent/s, if applicable, in private and by reminding all staff who have been involved of the need for confidentiality.
6.Notify Ofsted via the online incident form, https://www.report-childcare- incident.service.gov.uk/serious-incident/childcare/update-incident/ about any allegations of serious harm or abuse against a child while the child is in our care within 14 days of the occurrence, following a referral made to MARU. You will need the following information:-
• our reference number – EY221987
the childcare address
details of the incident and those involved
Ofsted telephone number is 0300 123 1231.
Reporting Documents:- Pre-existing Injuries; Report a Concern/ disclosure; Record of Sensitive Information Shared by Parent or Carer; Record of Advice sought from other Professionals; Record of a Review/ Meeting; Record of staff contact with a child (injury or physical intervention); Body Maps.
The referral process should always be carried out by the Designated Lead unless there are good reasons why this should not happen. Such reasons may be:
* That the Designated Lead is not on the premises at the time of a serious and urgent concern being raised. In which case seek advice from the Deputy DSL or Manager. In the unlikely event these are not available or it is not appropriate to discuss concern, any staff member is able to make referral to MARU.
* That the Designated Lead is the person suspected of abusing the child causing concern.
* That there is some other good reason, not foreseen in these procedures, which prevents a member of staff from communicating with the Designated Lead. (In such circumstances, any senior member of staff may make a referral or the staff member themselves).
* That the Designated Lead has been informed of the concern but has not taken the further action required to protect the child, for whatever reason. In this case, a member of staff may seek the advice of a senior member of staff or may make a personal referral to MARU as a professional or as an individual. Refer to Whistle Blowing Policy.
In the case of allegation of abuse or misconduct caused by a member of staff
If a parent, child or other member of staff alleges that a child has suffered abuse by a member of staff, volunteer or visitor, the matter shall be reported straight away to the Designated Lead. They will:
Contact the Local Authority designated Officer (LADO) IMMEDIATELY (01872-326536).Then DBS to be contacted (01325 953795).
* Proceed according to advice received from the LADO according to the details of the case (http://www.safechildren-cios.co.uk/ or www.swcpp.org.uk). This may entail:-
* Talking to any relevant parties to determine if such abuse is likely to have occurred. Keep a written record of all conversations concerned with the case.
* Suspending from duty, temporarily, on full pay if employed, the member of staff or volunteer and seek advice and support from OFSTED (0300 1231231), Local Authority Designated Officer (01872 326536), Social Care Team – Enquiries (0300 1234 101), Multi-Agency Referral Unit – Referrals (0300 123 1116) and/or the Police (101), depending on the extent of the allegation.
* Advise the member of staff to seek professional support if required.
* Informing Ofsted within 14 days of any allegations of serious harm or abuse by a staff member / committee, using the online form, https://www.report-childcare-incident.service.gov.uk/serious- incident/childcare/update-incident/
Records
Whenever worrying changes are observed in a child’s behaviour, physical condition or appearance, a specific and confidential record will be set up, quite separate from the usual on-going records of children’s progress and development. The record will include, the name, address and age of the child: the time and date of observations, describing objectively the child’s behaviour/appearance (which may include a body map), without comment or interpretation; and including, where possible, the exact words spoken by the child, with a parent or with any other significant person; the date, name and signature of the recorder. Such records will be kept in a separate file and will not be accessible to people other than the appropriate nursery staff.
“It is essential that any accounts of adverse experiences coming from children are as accurate and complete as possible. Accuracy is key, for without it effective decisions cannot be made and, equally, inaccurate accounts can lead to children remaining unsafe, or to the possibility of wrongful actions being taken that affect children and adults.”
www.swcpp.org.uk. June 2010.
These procedures were revised by the staff at Kneehigh in June 2021.
SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN POLICY June 2021
All “Early Years providers have a duty under section 40 of the Childcare Act 2006 to comply with the welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation. Early years providers should ensure that:
• they are alert to any issues of concern in the child’s life
• they have and implement a policy and procedures to safeguard children. This must include an explanation of the action to be taken when there are safeguarding concerns about a child and in the event of an allegation being made against a member of staff. The policy must also cover the use of mobile phones and cameras in the setting, that staff complete safeguarding training that enables them to understand their safeguarding policy and procedures, have up-to-date knowledge of safeguarding issues, and recognise signs of potential abuse and neglect, FGM and at risk of radicalisation.
• they have a practitioner who is designated to take lead responsibility for safeguarding children within each early years setting and who must liaise with local statutory children’s services as appropriate. This lead must also complete child protection training”
(Working Together To Safeguard Children 2018:60). The welfare requirements can be found in Section 3 of the EYFS Statutory Framework 2017 online:- http://www.foundationyears.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/EYFS- Statutory-Framework-2017.pdf
At Kneehigh we consider that the welfare of the children in our care is paramount by providing an environment in which children are safe from abuse and in which any suspicion of abuse is promptly and appropriately responded to. With this in mind, all persons in attendance will adhere to the setting’s policies regarding mobile phones
and the use of visual images, as well as the Social Media Policy.
Staff Suitability
We will exclude known abusers from Kneehigh. This includes staff, volunteers and students. Parents and visitors will never have unsupervised contact with any of the children in our setting.
It will be made clear to applicants for posts within the Nursery that the position is exempt from the provisions of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. All applicants will be interviewed before an appointment is made, and will be asked to provide at least two references. All references will be followed up. All applicants will be subject to a 3 month probationary period and will not be confirmed unless the Nursery is confident that the applicant can be safely entrusted with children.
Persons who have not been cleared by OFSTED as a suitable person and received a DBS certificate will not be left on their own with children or accompany them to the toilet. For individuals who have lived overseas a DBS check will be required to be carried out by the applicant to check their criminal record in the country that they have previously lived in.
The layout of the Nursery will permit constant supervision of all children.
Staff members will only allow your child to leave with a responsible person who is aged 16 years or over and listed on the permitted persons for pick-up list completed by the child’s parent/guardian that is kept on file at Kneehigh. In circumstances where a child needs collecting by someone who is not on the permitted persons list, parents can request at any time to add a responsible person who is aged 16 years or over to their child’s list, or where unforeseen circumstances arise, the child’s parent/guardian can call Kneehigh and give verbal consent for a responsible person who is aged 16 years or over so long as they provide the persons full name, address and a password. This document will be completed by the member of staff whilst on the phone to the parent/guardian.
Staff Training
All Kneehigh staff are given training opportunities in Safeguarding children. Every member of staff will attend at least a short course to ensure that they recognise the symptoms of possible physical abuse, neglect, emotional and sexual abuse, female genitalia mutilation, poor parenting, radicalisation, racism and discrimination and know what their role and responsibilities are as carers of children. They will complete the online Female Genitalia Mutilation online course – https://fgmelearning.vc- enable.co.uk/Register/
As part of their Induction new staff will be required to read the following specific documents – Information Sharing Advice for Practitioners providing safe guarding services to children, young people, parents and carers 2018; What To Do If You are Worried A Child is Being Abused 2015 – Understanding and Identifying Abuse and Neglect; and how to Take Action (pgs 5-13), as well as the settings Social Emotional and Mental Health Policy; Social Media; Portable Device Policy and Prevent Duty Summary, which relate to Safeguarding practice and involves an online awareness course. New staff will also be told that it is their duty to inform the safe guarding officer immediately, if there is a change in their circumstances that disqualify them from working with children due to a person they are living with having a conviction, instead of waiting for their Supervision session.
If a member of the Social Care Team telephone, staff should take their name and then tell them we will call back. Call back on 0300 1234 101. When speaking only answer their direct questions, do not go into any background information. Relay details discussed with setting Designated Safeguarding Lead or Manager and complete Record of Shared Sensitive Information form.
Adults will not be left alone for long periods of time with an individual or small groups of children. Adults indoors or outdoors on own will be ‘checked on’ periodically by other staff to ensure this. Adults always make other staff aware when they are working with small groups of children in quieter areas, so if they have been ‘a long time’ they can be checked on. If an adult needs to take one child aside they will leave the door ajar.
Children will be encouraged to develop a sense of autonomy and independence and to find names for their own feelings and acceptable ways in which to express them. This will enable children to have the self-confidence and the vocabulary to resist inappropriate approaches. Kneehigh promotes these lifelong learning skills through the British Values.
If a staff member believes that a parent/carer of a child is under the influence of alcohol/ drugs, or appears to be too ill, or in a poor state of mental health, the child will not be released into that person’s care. The staff member will contact another responsible adult from the child’s contacts card. Following this, if they were suspected of being under the influence of alcohol or drugs, the Social Care Team shall be informed of the occurrence, in order to raise their awareness of parent’s inability to care appropriately for their child. See Support for Families section below.
We will respond appropriately to suspicions of abuse. This applies to all situations, including suspected abuse which may have happened off the premises and suspected abuse which may have happened on the premises. We will respond promptly and in a confidential manner to situations where a parent or a member of staff may be the possible abuser, without being judgmental or condemnatory, adhering to our Safeguarding Children Procedures which is in line with the South West Child Protection Procedures (SWCPP) and set by the Local Safeguarding Children‘s Partnership (LSCP). These procedures were accessed online from their website, http://www.safechildren-cios.co.uk/ .
Kneehigh will liaise with other agencies, for the purpose of protecting children in our care. These are:- Multi-Agency Referral Unit 0300 123 1116; Local Authority Designated Officer (01872 326536)Social Care Team – Enquiries 0300 1234 101 and Out of Hours 01208 251 300. Police 101. OFSTED 0300 1231231. Domestic Violence suspicions – REACH – 0300 7774 777 or visit www.safercornwall.co.uk
Kneehigh will keep records. Records will include Records of Concern where any member of staff may record concerns that they may have about the welfare of a child. We will keep records of any uncommon injuries (pre-existing injury form) that the child enters Kneehigh with at the beginning of their session. Records of any dialogue between ourselves and other agencies will also be kept. Other records will include discussions with parents about any concerns we have with regard to their child’s health, well-being, behaviour and absentism.
Reporting ‘risk of radicalisation’
In order to promote positive values of equality, tolerance and respect for others, we have regard for the following:
The DfE have published guidance stating that education settings must promote British values i.e learning right from wrong, taking turns, sharing and challenging negative attitudes and stereotypes (see documents below). Ofsted will be required to inspect our setting against these criteria’s as part of our safeguarding duty. Our ‘Prevent Lead’ (Amanda Sidebottom) and deputies (Loren Carr/ Sarah Rendell) will attend the WRAP 3 training that they need to identify children, siblings and parents/carers or staff and volunteers at risk of radicalisation and how to refer them for further help if necessary through the CORNWALL CHANNEL PROCESS (see flowchart in folder). We will not carry out unnecessary intrusion into our families lives but our staff will take action when they observe behaviour of concern and share concerns at the earliest opportunity. In the instance of a member of staff hearing a child/staff/volunteer/ third party worker, parent or carer make an anti-Semitic or discriminatory comment we would contact the local prevent lead and follow a Prevent action plan as deemed necessary. Referrals might be made to Channel (this is a programme that provides support for individuals who are at risk of being drawn into terrorism where they are deemed to be within the pre-criminal space). If a person is suspected to be within criminal activity and this is made known to us, we will contact the Cornwall Prevent Lead by emailing steve.rowell@cornwall.gov.uk, the police by calling 101 (non-emergency) or 0800 789 321 (anti-terrorist hotline). This information has been taken from the guidance document and our policy on this will comply with the requirements under The Counter-Terrorism and Security bill March 2015 passed through parliament. See Prevent Duty Summary.
Support documents:
HM Prevent duty guidance – https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prevent- duty-guidance
DfE Promoting fundamental British values as part of SMSC in schools; Departmental advice for maintained schools November 2014 – https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/promoting-fundamental-british-values- through-smsc
DfE The Prevent duty; Departmental advice for schools and childcare providers June 2015 – https://www.safeguardinginschools.co.uk/prevent-duty-guidance-from-the- dfe-july-2015
Cornwall Channel referral process document –
https://www.cornwall.gov.uk/media/16047439/the-channel-referral-process.pdf
What To Do If You are Worried A Child is Being Abused 2015 –
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/what-to-do-if-youre-worried-a-child-is- being-abused–2
Alongside emailing Cornwall lead/ police we
will also follow our safeguarding procedure by phoning MARU.
Female Genital Mutilation Guidelines 2020 –
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/multi- agency-statutory-guidance-on-female-genital-mutilation
Working Together To Safe Guard Children 2018 –
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working- together-to-safeguard-children
Keeping Children Safe In Education 2015 –
https://www.safeguardinginschools.co.uk/keeping-children-safe-in-education-2018/
Information Sharing Advice for Practitioners providing safe guarding services to children, young people, parents and carers 2018 – https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/safeguarding-practitioners-information- sharing-advice
South West Child Protection Procedures (SWCPP) – http://www.safechildren- cios.co.uk
and https://www.proceduresonline.com/swcpp/cornwall_scilly/index.html also, https://www.cornwall.gov.uk/health-and-social-care/childrens-services/cornwall-and-isles-of- scilly-safeguarding-children-partnership/
Section 175 (Duties of LEAs and governing bodies in relation to welfare of children) of the Education Act 2002 – http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2002/32/section/175
Guidance for non-mobile children –
http://www.proceduresonline.com/swcpp/cornwall_scilly/p_bruising.html?zoom_highli ght=non+mobile
Support For Families
Kneehigh will take every step in its power to build up trusting and supportive relationships between families and staff and volunteers in the group. Where abuse at home is suspected, Kneehigh will continue to welcome the child and family, while investigations proceed. Kneehigh has strategies in place to work closely with families who may need extra support. Parents are welcome to request extra support from any member of staff at Kneehigh and all information shared will remain confidential and, on a need, to know basis. Where a child’s welfare is concerned, the staff member must share with the designated lead, deputy designated lead or manager. Kneehigh can offer support strategies for dealing with behaviour at home and routines by holding regular review meetings on either a weekly, fortnightly or monthly basis where parents will be provided with tools to succeed and a set of agreed actions in preparation for the next review meeting.
Confidential records kept on a child will be shared with the child’s parents. With the provision that the care and safety of the child must always be paramount, Kneehigh will do all in their power to support and work with the child’s family. In the event that a child has 3 explained pre-existing injuries within 3 months, a safeguarding monitoring file will be opened by the designated lead. After the 2nd explained pre- existing injury within 3 months, Kneehigh will invite the child’s parent/guardian for a meeting to be offered support from us in setting or the Early Help Hub if required.
In certain circumstances, where we feel a child may potentially be at risk as a result of their family member’s behaviour, the Safe Guarding Officer or Prevent Duty Officer will advise a parent to seek advice from a doctor regarding that person’s mental health. If we have advised a parent to see a doctor, we are allowed to check that the parent has attended the appointment, as long as the parent has given us permission to do this. If permission is not given for staff to check this then Kneehigh will initiate a conversation with the family to offer support from the Early Help Hub, with their consent. If consent is not given to contact the Early Help Hub then Kneehigh will contact MARU for advice and guidance.
There are a full set of procedures in place to support this policy. All staff have access to a copy of the procedures and are familiar with the procedures and how to operate them in practice.
If you wish to have your own copy of these procedures please ask one of the staff.
All suspicions and investigations will be confidential, shared only by those who need to know.
This policy was amended by the staff of Kneehigh in October 2020.
The Role and Responsibilities of the Designated Person/s for Safeguarding
Children are:
* To ensure all staff are familiar with these procedures, including their professional roles and responsibilities, and their rights and responsibilities as individuals. This includes raising staff awareness of the appropriate forms to complete in all instances of safeguarding which may occur with both children and staff.
* To ensure that the procedures are implemented diligently, especially with regard to the employment of staff, by liaising closely with the Manager when a new employee has been introduced.
*To monitor safeguarding files on a weekly basis. Include weekly communications between the designated lead, deputy designated lead, and manager via the comments and further actions box on each safeguarding files monitoring sheet. Also, share information as necessary with other practitioners and professionals, reviewing current child protection concerns reported and ensure records are robust and determine if an immediate referral to MARU is required.(as policy and procedures outline).
* To ensure all staff receive appropriate training to meet their needs. To meet this requirement during Covid-19 we have delivered in-house safeguarding training once a term to all staff since September 2020.
* To monitor staff regularly to ensure good practice takes place at Kneehigh, and that children are protected from abuse while in the care of the staff employed by Kneehigh, by countersigning records of concern and pre-existing injuries completed by staff and add to chronologies where necessary. A safeguarding file, which would include a chronology, will be set up for a child when three explained pre-existing injuries forms, or two unexplained pre- existing injuries forms, have been recorded for that child within 3 months.
* To remain vigilant to any safeguarding concerns in children/ parents/ staff at Kneehigh, and investigate any concerns about possible abuse of children (methods of investigation are detailed in the safe guarding procedures).
* To refer any suspected cases of child abuse to the appropriate authorities (see referral process in the safe guarding procedures).
* To support the personal and emotional needs of staff who may be affected by specific issues relating to the protection of children (either personally or by referring staff members to specialists who may be able to help).
* To attend, where possible, any Safeguarding Children Conferences which may arise as a result of a child protection investigation, initiated either at Kneehigh or from another source.
* To write reports as requested by Social Care Team or another agency in connection with a child protection investigation on a child attending Kneehigh.
* To support the family of a child at Kneehigh who may be the subject of a child protection investigation. To continue to welcome them and to support the interventions which may have been recommended by Social Care Team or another agency.
*To keep the settings safeguarding policies, procedures and practice up-to- date by reading and implementing changes identified by the Government and Early Years.
* To monitor non-attendance, pre-existing injuries and concerns for all children and decide when evidence is sufficient to set up an individual file of concerns.
* To monitor the Staff Contact with a Child file and refer any suspected cases of child abuse to the appropriate authorities. (see referral process in the safe guarding procedures).
*To open individual case files for children and staff when required, which will include a chronology of events; contact details of the child and their family; a list of other professionals involved in the case; the child’s absence record sheet; and any pre-existing injury forms already on file.
*To liaise with other professionals when required and record conversations on correct form along with agreed actions.
*To ensure that a requirement for an e-mail follow up is made to MARU as confirmation of evidence that was provided by staff for an assessment of a child – multiagencyreferralunit@cornwall.gov.uk
*To ensure that the setting follows the Escalation Policy if a referral is not considered to meet the threshold of assessment for Children’s Social Care or that a child is not safeguarded.
KEY PERSON POLICY April 2021
Our key person system gives each member of staff particular responsibilities for several children.
Each child will usually be assigned a key person within 4 weeks of starting Kneehigh. This is done at staff meetings, unless a strong bond has been made prior to this between the child and staff member. The key person will then make themselves known to you.
It is important for parents and practitioners to work together as the results can only have a positive impact on your child’s development and learning. We recognise that parents are children’s first and most enduring educators. We need your knowledge and expertise to support our learning opportunities. A successful partnership needs a two- way flow of information, we hope we keep you fully informed of our Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Curriculum by displaying it on the notice board and white boards
Our key person system ensures that each adult is particularly responsible for, and closer to, a limited number of children, to enable that staff member to have a reasonable work load. Their role also includes the welfare of the family unit. Parents are welcome to discuss any issues they may be concerned about with their child’s key person or Sarah.
The key person will ensure that the needs of individual children are recognised within the nursery. They will also be a point of contact for that child’s parents, to support them in the development of their child’s learning and abilities at home. They will have regard for the Assessment Policy
The key person will support the child’s learning and development by:-
- Discussing and sharing relevant policies with the parent/carer and child.
- Having a completed Chat Wheel from the parents/carers, and review this regularly.
- Communicating with the parents/carers to establish positive relationships.
- Using the information provided by parents on Initial Child Profile as a baseline of their child’s Stage of Development, when making initial assessments.
- Keeping a special watchful eye on the child during their time at Kneehigh.
- Assisting the child to integrate into the nursery as necessary.
- Providing for the emotional needs of the child (to comfort and reassure the child at any time of distress).
- Caring for the child, but not to the exclusion of other children in the setting.
- Developing a play plan which enhances the child’s progress through the Phases of Development of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)curriculum, by observing, keeping records and liaising with the child’s parents/carers.
- Use weekly observations to develop a Learning Journey throughout the child’s time at Kneehigh.
- Forming strong bonds with the child through play.
- Making an initial assessment of the child’s communication and language abilities, in order to place the child at the right level within the Early Language Development Programme.
- Completing a 2 year progress check, where applicable.
- Gathering all necessary paperwork, as itemized on checklist, from parents/ carers upon becoming their key person.
- Formally assessing and evaluating their development every 16 weeks.
The key person will be available, where possible, to answer any questions from the child’s parents/carers. Please note that this will be done at Kneehigh or via Kneehigh’s email – admin@kneehighnursery.info, to ensure that information is shared via the appropriate media. The key person will also play an important part in facilitating strong connections between the home and setting environments.
The key person will be able to contribute information about an individual’s needs to the planning and implementation of Kneehigh’s curriculum by identifying their next steps weekly, as well as compiling individual play plans every 8 weeks. Two copies of which will be sent home, enabling the key person and parents to work together to support the child to progress through the EYFS at their pace and in their own style of learning. This information is best shared by returning one copy of the play plan to your key person, as it provides the key person with an overall view of your child’s abilities.
This policy was reviewed and amended by the staff at Kneehigh in April 2021.
GDPR – Privacy Notice
How Kneehigh Pre-school Nursery uses your information to provide services
1. Explanation of privacy and the policy
We, Kneehigh Pre-school Nursery, Tretherras Road, Newquay, TR7 2RE, Early Years Registration number EY221987, are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. Sarah Rendell is our current Data Controller. She can be contacted on 01637 876293 or email admin@kneehighnursery.info for more information on Data Protection matters.
This Privacy Notice sets out the basis by which any personal data we collect from you, or that you provide to us, will be processed by us, in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act.
2. Purpose of data processing
Kneehigh Pre-school Nursery provides education services and early help services to children, parents, carers and employees who attend or are employed there. We work within the network of Cornwall Early Years Development, who are part of the Children, Schools and Families Directorate.
Kneehigh Nursery needs to collect information about you in order to provide these services and, depending on the service, information about your family and other people associated with your placement at Kneehigh Pre-school Nursery. Kneehigh retains case histories in line with retention schedules or as long as we are legally required to and you will be advised on how long we will retain the data when it is collected.
Kneehigh Pre-school Nursery needs to use this personal, and often sensitive information to help make the right decisions about the type of service you need, and to check whether the services are helping you as they should. Kneehigh Pre-school Nursery will always comply with the General Data Protection Regulation, and the Data Protection Act.
Kneehigh Pre-school Nursery provides services in partnership with other agencies and providers on your behalf, when necessary. Social Care, education and health care workers in Cornwall often work together in teams providing support to people living in the community. Sometimes some of the information held by social care and education staff at Kneehigh Pre-school Nursery needs to be shared with staff working in other Council departments and staff employed by the Police, Schools, National Health Service (NHS), other Health organisations and also other charities or organisations working on our behalf.
We will ask your permission to share this information, prior to doing so, unless there is a risk of life. We will inform you of who and why we are sharing the information. This is to ensure that you receive appropriate care, support and treatment.
Sharing this information also helps to avoid you being asked for the same information more than once.
3. Why we need information about you
• To allow us to undertake accurate assessments and reviews of you and your child’s educational, early help and support needs.
• To ensure you receive services best suited to your needs and circumstances.
• To help us monitor and improve services.
4. Why we need information about other people in relation to your case
• To allow us to most effectively assist the people who are providing you with care and support.
• To allow us to protect you better, particularly if you are vulnerable or at risk.
5. Who we will share your information with
We will only use this information in conjunction with the services provided to you by Kneehigh Pre-school Nursery. We may also share your information with colleagues within the Cornwall Early Years Development Team, local safe guarding team, health colleagues and training providers if this is necessary to enhance the support we provide, or to protect another person or where we have a legal obligation to share with another public body.
Whenever your consent to share your information is required, we will always ask you and clearly explain why we are asking.
6. Will we share information without consent or knowledge?
In the following circumstances, the law allows information to be shared without your consent or knowledge:
• To aid in the prevention and/or the detection of crime.
• If your behaviour constitutes a serious risk of harm to yourself, others, including any children to whom you may have access.
7. Your data rights
Your personal information belongs to you and you have the right to:
• Be informed of how we will process it.
• Request a copy of what we hold about you and in commonly used electronic format if you wish (if you provided this to us electronically for automated processing, we will return it in the same way).
• Have it amended if it is incorrect or incomplete.
• Have it deleted (where we do not have a legal requirement to retain it).
• Withdraw your consent if you no longer wish us to process.
• Restrict how we process it.
• Object to us using it for marketing or research purposes (if it is used for this purpose).
• Object to us using it in relation to legal tasks or in the exercise of an official duty.
• Request that a person reviews an automated decision where it has had an adverse effect on you.
8. Accessing your data
If you would like to access any of the information we hold about you or if you have concerns regarding the way we have processed your information, please contact:
Sarah Rendell, Data Controller, Kneehigh Pre-school Nursery, Tretherras Road, Newquay, TR7 2RE Email – admin@kneehighnursery.info Tel. 01637 876293
9. Complaints, compliments and comments
Our complaints team can be contacted via the above address:
We would prefer any complaints to be made to us initially so that we have the opportunity to see if we can put things right. However, if you are unhappy with the way we have processed your information or how we have responded to your request to exercise any of your rights in relation to your data, you can raise your concerns direct with the Information Commissioner’s Office.
Tel: 0303 123 1113 or online: https://ico.org.uk/concerns
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES, INCLUSION AND SPECIFIC EDUCATIONAL NEEDS June 2020
We are committed to provide an equal opportunity for all children and families. We believe that no child, individual or family, should be discriminated against from participating in the nursery activities. We ensure our provision is inclusive to all children with specific educational needs.
We, as a team, work towards eliminating any form of discriminative practice. We welcome being made aware of any incidents of discrimination that may occur and are committed to challenging any form of discrimination or promotion of negative stereotypes.
We aim to ensure that all who wish to work in, or volunteer to help with, Kneehigh have an equal opportunity to do so. Commitment to implementing Kneehigh’s policy will form part of the job description for all workers. All staff are given a copy of the Kneehigh’s Equal Opportunities Policy in their handbook.
We ensure that all staff have an understanding and knowledge of equality and diversity, including the Equality Act 2010 which provides legal protection against discrimination for all people in relation to the protected characteristics (age; disability; gender identity; marriage and civil partnership; pregnancy and maternity; race; religion or belief; sex or gender non-specific; sexual orientation).
Kneehigh is open to every family in the community. Families joining Kneehigh are made aware of its equal opportunity and inclusion policy and made aware that our policies are available in other languages, if requested. We work closely with parents/carers of children with specific educational needs to create and maintain a positive partnership.
We show respectful awareness of all major events in the lives of the children and families of Kneehigh, as well as in our society in general. Kneehigh welcomes the diverse variety of backgrounds that children and their families come from. We embrace these diversities and involve all children in experiencing various aspects of different cultures. If you have any events or life experiences that you feel would be of benefit to the children, to gain better understanding of, then please talk to us about them.
Staff do not use words such as ‘naughty’, ‘selfish’ – or any words that label a child or are very negative. We actively encourage the same from the children and any visiting adults.
We have regard for the DfES Specific Educational Needs (SEN) Code of Practice (2015), a document about the identification and assessment of children with Specific
Educational Needs. We identify the specific needs of children with specific educational needs and meet those needs through a range of SEN strategies, which include welcoming and appropriate learning opportunities for all children, based on their interests and abilities. We provide a broad, balanced and differentiated curriculum for all children, including those with specific educational needs.
We actively work with parents, other professionals and service providers to ensure extra support for children, including those with specific educational needs, and families that need it, to meet individual children’s needs and give all children the opportunity to fulfil their full potential in life and education. This includes transfer arrangements to other settings and schools.
We monitor and review our policy, practice and provision and, if necessary, make reasonable adjustments at least once a year.
We raise awareness of any specialism the setting has to offer, e.g. Makaton trained staff. This is reflected in our Local Offer.
We provide a complaints procedure.
Specific Educational Needs Procedures Training
Kneehigh’s designated SENCO (Specific Educational Needs Co-ordinator) is SARAH RENDELL. She is available to both staff and parents to offer guidance and liaise with outside agencies. We ensure that the SENCO attends the 2 day SENCO Induction training, which will then be updated every 3-4 years. The SENCO will attend a minimum of 6 hours (out of the required 24) of SEN related training per year.
Where ratios allow, we will ensure other members of staff attend the SENCO Induction training, to allow them to offer support to the SENCO under their direction. Staff attending any SEN training will cascade it to other members of staff who are unable to attend. We ensure that the provision for children with specific educational needs is the responsibility of all members of the setting. All staff will be made aware of The Three Principles of the Code of Practice. These are that staff must have regard to:-
The views, wishes and feelings of the child or young person, and the child’s parents
The importance of the child or young person, and the child’s parents, participating as fully as possible in decisions, and being provided with the information and support necessary to enable participation in those
The need to support the child or young person, and the child’s parents, in order to facilitate the development of the child or young person and to help them achieve the best possible educational and other outcomes, preparing them effectively for adulthood
We provide in-service training and information on sources of independent advice and support for parents, practitioners and volunteers. These include:
SEN Disability Code of Practice: 0 to 25 (Jan 2015)
Supporting Early Years SEN Inclusion in Cornwall (May 2020)
- Emotion Coaching
- Five to Thrive
- SEN and disability in the Early Years: A Toolkit (2015)
We have systems in place for all children requiring SEN support. We keep a register of children who have specific educational needs. This is called the ‘Register of Need’. A child can only be added to this with their parent’s consent.
Each child will be treated as an individual and all of the following points will be discussed in depth with the parents, SENCO and key person if required.
1. Curriculum
2. Enhancement of staff ratios
3. Staff training
4. Parental involvement
5. Floor plan and access
6. Toileting
7. Diet and medication
8. Confidentiality
9. Involvement of other professional agencies
10. Provision of resources (human and financial) to implement our Specific Educational Needs Policy.
We use a system of daily observations and record keeping, which operates in conjunction with parents, and enables staff to monitor children’s needs and progress on an individual basis, as described in the continuous 6-week cycle of assess, plan, do, review for children requiring SEN Support. These are called Individual Learning Plans (ILPs).
We ensure that parents are informed and involved at all stages of the assessment, planning, provision and review of their children’s education.
We ensure that children with specific educational needs are appropriately involved at all stages of the graduated response, taking into account their levels of ability.
We ensure the effectiveness of our specific educational needs provision by collecting information from a range of sources e.g. Assessments, planning, Individual Education Plan reviews, staff and management meetings, parental and external agency’s views, inspections and complaints. This information is collated, evaluated and reviewed annually.
This policy was reviewed and amended by the staff at Kneehigh in June 2020.
COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE POLICY March 2020
We aim to provide the highest quality care and education for all our children. We aim to offer a welcome to each individual child and family and to provide a warm and caring environment within which all children can learn and develop as they play.
We believe children and parents are entitled to expect courtesy and prompt, careful attention to their needs and wishes. Our intention is to work in partnership with our parents and we welcome suggestions on how to improve our setting at any time.
A parent who is uneasy about any aspect of the group’s provision should be able to discuss any worries and anxieties with the staff. However, there is a complaints folder and a suggestion box situated in the porch area to write any complaints in anonymously, if desired, which is read and acted upon regularly. Any written complaints received will be responded to within 28 days of being received to inform the complainant of the outcome or the progress of their complaint.
If the problem does not have a satisfactory outcome within a reasonable period of time or if the problem recurs, the parent should put their concerns in writing and request a meeting with the manager. An agreed record of the meeting will be made.
We believe that most complaints are made constructively and can be sorted out at an early stage. We also believe that it is in the best interests of the setting and parents that complaints should be taken seriously and dealt with fairly in a way which respects confidentiality.
The Early Years Directorate of OFSTED is responsible for the registration and inspection of early years provision from September 2001 and publishes information on all aspects of regulation. They can be contacted at the address below.
OFSTED Early Years, National Business Unit,
Piccadilly Gate, Store Street,
Manchester, M1 2WD. Tel. 0300 123 1231
Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk
This policy was reviewed and agreed by all staff at Kneehigh Pre-school Nursery in March 2020