Covid-19

 On Arrival​

• Please do not arrive to Playgroup too early.

• If you have driven to Playgroup, please stay in your car as long as possible to avoid a mass of parents congregating unnecessarily.

• Please remain socially distanced while waiting outside.

• We will open the side gate to our outside play area at 9.00am. All children will then be asked to walk into the area independently with all their belongings. As soon as your child has walked into the secure play area, can we please ask that you leave the area promptly to avoid a gathering of parents.

• Children are encouraged to sanitize their hands on arrival.

• Children are not permitted to bring in their own item from home i.e. toys/blankets. Dummies are allowed if desperately required.

• If you are late to your child’s session, please use the main church doors and ring the doorbell.

• We will not be able to store pushchairs inside the church. If you bring your child in a pushchair, you will need to take it away with you. You can leave your pushchair outside the church building but this is at your own risk.

​

Collection

• At 12pm and 3pm we will open the main doors to the church.

• We will release children one at a time.

• We will ask you to approach the bottom of the ramp one at a time.

• If you need to speak to a member of staff, please be patient and a member of staff will assist you as soon as possible.

​

Play/learning

Provision for the development and learning of children from birth to 5 years is guided by the Early Years Foundation Stage. Our provision reflects the four overarching principles of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage:

A Unique Child - Every child is a unique child who is constantly learning and can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured.

Positive Relationships - Children learn to be strong and independent through positive relationships.​

Enabling Environments - Children learn and develop well in enabling environments, in which their experiences respond to their individual needs and there is a strong partnership between practitioners, parents and carers.

Learning and Development - Children develop and learn in different ways and at different rates. The framework covers the education and care of all children in early years provision including children with special educational needs and disabilities.

​

At all times we will follow the statutory guidance from the Department of Education, more information can be found here.

The full Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage (1st September 2021) can be found here.

​

Snack

• Parent/Carers will be required to supply their child with a piece of fruit for snack time, this is to minimise the risk of possible contamination.

• Fruit will need to be peeled (where appropriate), cut up and provided in a sealed container with your child’s name clearly written on it that your child can open and close themselves. 

• You may need to practice this with your child beforehand.

• Can you please ensure that all fruit is cut up appropriately as if it is not we will be unable to give it your child.

• A portion the size of your child’s palm is an adequate amount of fruit to provide as a snack.

• Every child will need to have with them a CLEARLY LABELLED water bottle/flask that they can confidently open and seal by themselves. This must contain water as this is for throughout the day.

​

Lunch time

• Please ensure all food in your child’s lunch box can be accessed independently by your child. This is to reduce/eliminate staff contact with your child’s food. 

• If your child is unable to open Crisp packets you can place them in a Tupperware, try to avoid cling film as this can be fiddly. 

• Children can bring a separate juice drink for lunch time though please be mindful of Capri Sun style drinks that are notoriously difficult for children and staff to get the straw in! 

• Can you please ensure your child’s lunch box is kept clean and wiped thoroughly at home. Most soft style lunch boxes can be washed in the washing machine.

​

Hand Washing

• We will as always be promoting high standards of general hygiene and handwashing. 

• Children will be washing/sanatizing their hands on arrival, before/after eating, after playing in designated small group areas, i.e. outside, after coughing/sneezing into hands (if visibly seen) and before leaving the setting. 

• This may cause your child to develop sore or cracked skin. Please keep an eye on the condition of your child’s skin. Applying a barrier cream at night before bed can help ease any dryness.

​

Clothing​​

• Sun hats - Please can you ensure your child with a suitable summer hat for the summer weather, this will need to be CLEARLY LABELLED and identifiable by your child.

• In hot weather, please send your child in a top that totally covers their shoulders (no spaghetti strap tops). If your child is wearing sandals, they must also wear socks to protect their feet.

• We spend time outside all year round; please ensure that your child arrives with outdoor clothing suitable for the weather. We encourage a change of suitable outdoor footwear is brought (wellies/boots/old trainers) when the weather is wet and cold, for your child to change into when we go outside. 

• Please ensure you provide extra layers of clothing during colder weather, we are required to  keep the hall well ventilated, the doors to the hall will be open where possible.

​

Sun Cream

• Sun cream is to be provided by the parent/carer.

• Parent/carers MUST ensure that your child’s name is clearly printed on the bottle.

• All children are required to have had sun cream applied prior to attending the setting.

• We will top-up sun cream throughout the day, if required, though the initial application MUST be done by the parents and carers prior to attending.

• Parent/Carer must sign a 'Sun Protection Policy Consent Form' at the start of every session.

• Sun cream must have a minimum of SPF of 30  https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-body/sunscreen-andsun-safety

• Our outside area is very shaded and if it becomes extremely hot, we will limit our time outside accordingly.

• For more information please see our Sun Protection Policy.

​

Use of PPE

• The government has advised against using face masks in an early year setting unless a child or adult is displaying symptoms linked to Covid19.

• Any children wearing a mask on arrival will be asked to remove it themselves and if disposable place it in a secure bin themselves or if reusable place it in a sealed bag or container and place it in their bag themselves. They will then be required to wash their hands.

• Staff members will wear suitable PPE (Apron/Gloves) when changing nappies and when routinely cleaning areas and equipment throughout the day.

​

Communication

• A member of staff is always available at the door to assist with any questions or queries you may have. If you would like to discuss anything with a member of staff, please be patient at drop off/collection as we let the children in or out. Please feel free to contact me with any question by text, telephone or email. If you want to arrange a confidential face to face meeting or virtual meeting, I can schedule this at a time to suit.

​

If a child/staff member becomes unwell.

• In the event of a child or staff member developing suspected coronavirus symptoms whilst at preschool, they must return home immediately and isolate in line with the governments guidance.

• If your child begins displaying a continuous cough or a high temperature, we will contact you to collect them. While awaiting collection, your child will be moved to an area away from all other children and will be supervised by a member of staff.

• If a child or member of staff becomes ill and shows symptoms of Coronavirus, then they must be tested. They will only be allowed back to preschool after a negative test result or appropriate isolation has finished.

• If we have a positive case of coronavirus in playgroup all parents will be contacted. All children and staff that have been in contact with the person/child are advised to take a lateral flow test. In the event that we have an outbreak or a "cluster" at Playgroup will follow our "Outbreak Management Plan" and contact the relevant authorities. We may need to introduce attendance restrictions. Where attendance restrictions are necessary there will be an order of priority applied in terms of which children would continue to attend on-site provision. As a last resort, it may be decided that Playgroup has to emporarlity close In  close to all children until isolation has been served.

• For more information on how to obtain a test and isolation periods please visit the Gov.uk website by clicking here.  If clinical advice is needed, the setting staff, parent or guardian should go online to the NHS website by clicking here

​