Keeping your children safe

As a childcare provider, keeping your children safe when they are at Little Ladybirds Day Nursery is of paramount importance and we treat this duty of care very seriously indeed.

When they are in our care, as a parent you rightfully expect that your own child will be as safe and secure as they are in your own home.

This is one of the reasons why we have a safeguarding policy which clearly sets out our roles and responsibilities as a childcare provider. We would ask you to take a moment to read the policy in full as it is very important.

We ensure the safety and security of your child by the following means:

• Secure external doors with intercom system linked to each room.
• Strict entry procedures with all visitors required to sign in on arrival.
• Staff are not permitted to use their mobile phones whilst they are at work and all are kept securely in staff lockers. We ask our parents and visitors to not use their mobiles as well.
• All toys and equipment are checked regularly for safety.
• All electrical equipment is PAT tested annually.
• Before opening, the nursery is checked every day by management for potential safety issues.
• A fire risk assessment is completed annually.
• A risk assessment for all new and current activities is carried out by nursery staff.
• All staff have a DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check. This is currently the highest level of checking available.
• If parents cannot drop off or pick up their children, they must inform us in advance of the person/people who will be picking up, including their own family members. This includes setting a password at first registration.
• We have a statutory responsibility to record every child’s attendance and absence.
• We have a strict no smoking policy both inside and outside the nursery.

We also want to support parents in protecting their children outside the nursery. In the age of tablets and smart-phones, one of the key areas is online safety. There are two excellent websites that provide practical advice on keeping your children safe if they are using the internet. These are:

www.kidsmart.org.uk/beingsmart/

www.safeguardingchildren.co.uk/parents-carers/e-safety-for-parents

Safeguarding children is everybody’s responsibility. If you would like to discuss any areas of safeguarding with us, please do not hesitate to speak to our Manager, Claire.