Nursery Mission Statement

The Swansea University Students’ Union Day Nursery exists in order to enhance and facilitate the quality of life of those Union members who choose to place their children in its care. The Nursery seeks to provide a warm, friendly and stimulating environment for children, staffed by professional and dedicated staff.

Staff Structure

Below is the Staffing structure of the Management team for the Nursery-

STUDENTS UNION General Manager

Nursery Manager

Senior Nursery Nurses

Room Leader

Nursery Assistants

Training staff

Welcome to our Nursery

The information in this pack is designed to explain the Nursery’s activities Policies and Procedures. It is hoped that after reading this you will have a better understanding of our aims and practices. If you still have any unanswered questions please do not hesitate to speak to the Nursery Manager.

Our Nursery

The nursery caters for all children. If the needs of a child require any extra provision or staff training the Students Union will endeavor to assist these needs.
For information on the way in which children are admitted into the nursery please read see our Admissions Policy.
The daily routines followed by all the children can be found in the cloakroom and on page 6.
Our Nursery is a facility providing places for thirty eight children;

Twelve children aged 0-2 years of age

Twenty six children aged 2 years of age & over

Our opening hours are 8.00 to 5.30 weekdays.

The Nursery covers all academic terms and is closed for two weeks at Christmas and all bank holidays (this may vary slightly). First priority for places always goes to the students and any spaces left are open to the staff and the general public.

Aims of the Students Union Day Nursery

To recognise that the child’s needs and safety are paramount and supersede all other considerations.
To provide an environmentwhich is stimulating and happy?
To actively support the development of positive self image within the nursery.
To work in Partnership with the parents/carers in all aspects of Nursery life.
To provide for the children’s needs which arise from race, culture, language and religion. Providing positive images of different cultures to all children in the nursery.
To create a non-sexist atmosphere with the introduction of appropriate toys, books and games to encourage the development of both sexes.
To provide high quality care and suitable educational needs for all children monitoring their progress and talking to parents/carers.
To develop an appropriate curriculum to meet the developmental needs of each child.
To support and help the children and their families.
To encourage equal opportunities for both children and adults.
To encourage and support staff training which will enable them to develop new skills.
To develop and maintain strong links with other agencies and for them to recognise our professionalism.
To provide a comfortable/happy atmosphere that makes the children and the parents/carers feel relaxed and safe.

Staff

We are extremely proud to offer a team of dedicated and committed staff who hold a range of childcare qualifications including NNEB and BTEC in nursery nursing as well as other recognized qualifications such as NVQ LEVEL 2 & 3 in childcare.

Staff also hold Certificates and attend update courses on First Aid, Food Hygiene and additional relevant qualifications/ courses.

Our low turnover of staff boasts a Nursery management team that has been with the nursery for over a decade.

The team consists of the Nursery manager,senior Nursery nurses, a baby room leader, a curriculum coordinator, Nursery assistants and training childcare staff.

Nursery tel no: 01792 513151 Email:

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

The Students Union exists to support and enrich the experience of the Students at Swansea University.

First priority for childcare places goes to the students and any places left open to the general public.

The nursery is registered for 38 children

12 children under the age of 2 years

26 children over the age of 2 years

The nursery opens between the hours of 8.00-5.30pm, weekdays only. The main language used at the nursery is English we do however have Welsh speaking staff. The nursery values and respects all languages and for those children to whom English is not their first language parents are encouraged to teach the nursery staff keywords in the language spoken at home.

The nursery caters for all children if the needs of a child require any extra provision or staff training the Students Union will endeavour to accommodate these needs.

The nursery is proud of the low turnover of its staff and our dedicated and highly trained team consisting of the following-

A nursery Manager

Two senior nursery Nurses

Room Leader

Nursery Assistant

Training Staff

For daily routines and planned activities please see information boards in the nursery cloakroom. On enquiry all the relevant information/welcome pack will be given to the parents/carers and a visit arranged. If the parent /carers then require a place a waiting list form will be given to be completed and returned to the nursery. As soon as this is returned the child will be placed on the waiting list then contacted once a place becomes available. The availability of places depends on staff ratio’s and the age of the child. During this admission process no child is discriminated against and all children are welcome regardless of culture, ethnic origin, religious beliefs, creed or disability.

Upon gaining a nursery place you will be given all the relevant information about the nursery and its Policies and Procedure pack. The pack includes information on settling in, arrival and departure and information on payments for your nursery fees.

The Nursery asked to inform all we that the have Fish on the premises.

The nursery management team have an open door policy where any questions, concerns or complaints can be discussed. Should you require to speak to the registered person or Care and Social Services Inspectorate for Wales (C.S.S.I.W.) PLEASE SEE THE FOLLOWING DETAILS.

Nursery manager 01792 513151

Registered Person – Stuart Rice

Union MANAGER

01792 295484

C.S.S.I.W- 01267 245160

Statement of purpose reviewed Jan 2012

Next review due Jan 2013

DAILY ROUTINE

8.00-10.00 Foundation play/activities

10.00 -10.10 Tidy up time, toilet and wash hands

10.10-10.30 Toast time

10.30-10-50 Story/rhyme time

10.50-11.10 Outdoor play (toddlers)

10.50-12.00 Curriculum/foundation activities

11.40-12.00 Outdoor play (babies)

12.00-12.15 Tidy up time, toilet and wash hands

12.15-1.00 Lunch time

1.00-1.20 Television

1.20-3.00 Sleep time

1.20-3.00 Curriculum/foundation activities

2.30-2.45 Outdoor play (toddlers)

2.45-3.00 Outdoor play (babies)

3.00-3.20 Story/rhyme time

3.20-3.40 Snack time

3.40-5.00 Foundation play/activities

5.00-5.30 Quiet time

Role of the Nursery Key Worker

The primary aim of the key worker system is to provide close relationships between the nursery and the child for whom the key worker is responsible, and the parents/carers of those children in order to assist the welfare and development of the children.

A key person is:

A named member of staff who has more contact than others with the child.
Someone to build a relationship with the child and parents/carers. Never forgetting parents/carers are a child’s primary key carer.
Someone who helps the child become familiar with the nursery. This involves comforting distressed children by acknowledging their feelings, offering explanations and reassurances calmly and gently.
Someone who responds sensitively to the children’s feelings, ideas and behaviour, for example anger, joy, distress excitement, jealously and love.

As a key worker you will need to take time during the day for your key group. This means carrying out activities already planned, spending time talking with them, explaining things and reinforcing things already learnt.

A key worker will be responsible for completing daily information sheets for each child in their group. These sheets must contain as much information for parents/carers as possible.

The key worker needs to work with their group in improving language, social skills, physical abilities and intellectual capabilities which are incorporated into our curriculum.

All areas of development need to be observed and recorded by written observations and tick charts provided.

The advantages we expect from using the key worker are...

Making a good relationship with parents/carers and children.
Excellent communication between key worker staff and parents/carers so being able to identify and deal with any problems that may arise efficiently.
Making it easier to observe smaller groups of children and so recognise developmental stages and plan accordingly.
Any areas where progress is needed can be picked up on and learning experiences planned.
New children given one to one attention in order to settle well.

Role of transition worker

The transition worker will oversee the transition from baby room to toddler room. Both settling in and the transition from rooms is an individual process and will be led by the child’s needs. These needs will be discussed with the baby room key worker, parents/carers, transition worker, nursery manager and the child’s new toddler key worker.

Glossary

The following terms are used throughout this publication and refer to:

CSSIW – Care and Social Service Inspectorate Wales regulate and inspect early year’s providers in Wales against the National Minimum Standards.

Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) – statutory framework for care and early learning in Wales. This became statutory in September 2008 and covers all early years’ providers caring for and educating children from birth to the end of the academic year following their fifth birthday. The welfare requirements lay out the statutory areas of the framework including the policy and procedure requirements.

Estyn - is the office of Her Majesty's Inspectorate for Education and Training in Wales and inspects nurseries receiving funding for three and four year olds delivering the Foundation Phase.

Foundation Phase – curriculum framework for children aged 3 – 7 in Wales. It sets out the curriculum and outcomes under seven Areas of Learning.

National Care Standards – the standards required by all early education and childcare up to the age of 16 in Scotland. This lays out the 14 standards all nurseries need to follow and implement and the Social Care Social Services Improvement Scotland (SCISWIS) (formerly the Care Commission) regulate and inspect against this.

National Minimum Standards – 23 standards laying out the standard of care required in full day-care providers in Wales. CSSIW inspect against these standards.

Parents – refers to mothers, fathers, legal guardians and the primary carers of looked-after children. There may also be other significant adults in children’s lives and other relatives who care for them. You may want to adapt the example documents to use the terminology you feel most comfortable with.

Practitioner – Any adult who works with children in a nursery.

Key Person – The named member of staff with whom a child has more contact than other adults. This adult shows a special interest in the child through close personal interaction on a day-to-day basis.

Safeguarding Children Policy

Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, for the sake of this policy is defined as:

Protecting children from maltreatment.
Preventing the impairment of children’s health or development.
Ensuring that children are growing up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care.

(Definition taken from the HM Government document ‘Working together to safeguard children’)

We support the children within our care, protect them from maltreatment and have robust procedures in place to prevent the impairment of children’s health and development. Safeguarding is a much wider subject than the elements covered within this single child protection policy, therefore this document should be used in conjunction with the other nursery policies and procedures.

Our nursery will work with children, parents, external agencies and the community to ensure the welfare and safety of children and to give them the very best start in life. Children have the right to be treated with respect and to be safe from any abuse in whatever form.

To this end we will:

Create an environment to encourage children to develop a positive self-image.
Encourage children to develop a sense of independence and autonomy in a way that is appropriate to their age and stage of development.
Provide a safe and secure environment for all children.
Always listen to children.

The Students’ Union Day Nursery has a clear commitment to protecting children and promoting welfare. Should anyone believe that this policy is not being upheld, it is their duty to report the matter to the attention of the nursery manager/ Union manager at the earliest opportunity.

The legal framework for this policy is based on:

Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act (2006).

Practitioners have a duty to protect and promote the welfare of children. Due to the many hours of care we are providing, staff will often be the first people to sense that there is a problem. They may well be the first people in whom children confide about abuse. The nursery has a duty to be aware that abuse does occur in our society.

This statement lays out the procedures that will be followed if we have any reason to believe that a child in our care is subject to welfare issues including physical, sexual, emotional abuse or neglect.

Our prime responsibility is the welfare and well-being of all children in our care. As such we believe we have a duty to the children, parents and staff to act quickly and responsibly in any instance that may come to our attention. All staff will work as part of a multi-agency team where needed in the best interests of the child.

The nursery aims to:

Ensure that children are never placed at risk while in the charge of nursery staff.
Ensure that confidentiality is maintained at all times.
Ensure that all staff are alert to the signs of abuse, understand what is meant by child protection and are aware of the different ways in which children can be harmed including by other children i.e. bullying, discriminatory behaviour.
Ensure that all staff are familiar and updated regularly with child protection issues and procedures.
Ensure parents are fully aware of child protection policies and procedures when they register with the nursery and are kept informed of all updates when they occur.
Keep the child at the centre of all we do.
Regularly review and update this policy with staff and parents where appropriate.

Children will be supported by offering reassurance, comfort and sensitive interactions. Activities will be devised according to individual circumstances to enable children to develop confidence within their peer group.

Contact telephone numbers

CSSIW01267 245160

Local Safeguarding Children’s Board – 01792 635180

Out of hours emergency duty team 01792775501

Types of abuse

Abuse and neglect are forms of maltreatment of a child. Somebody may abuse or neglect a child by harming them, or by failing to act to prevent harm. Children may be abused within a family, institution, or community setting by those known to them or a stranger. This could be an adult or adults, another child or children.

The signs and indicators listed below may not necessarily indicate that a child has been abused, but will help us to recognise that something may be wrong, especially if a child shows a number of these symptoms or any of them to a marked degree.

Physical abuse

Action needs to be taken if staff have reason to believe that there has been a physical injury to a child.Where there is definite knowledge, or reasonable suspicion that the injury was inflicted or knowingly not prevented. These symptoms may include bruising or injuries in an area that is not usual for a child, e.g. fleshy parts of the arms and legs, back, wrists, ankles and face.

Many children will have cuts and grazes from normal childhood injuries – these should also be logged and discussed with the nursery manager or room leader.

Children and babies may be abused physically through shaking or throwing. Other injuries may include burns or scalds. These are not usual childhood injuries and should always be logged and discussed with the nursery manager.

Procedure:

All signs of marks/injuries to a child, when they come into nursery or occur during time at the nursery, will be recorded as soon as noticed by a staff member.
The incident will be discussed with the parent at the earliest opportunity
Such discussions will be recorded and the parent will have access to such records.
If there appear to be any queries regarding the injury, the Local Safeguarding Children’s Board (LSCB) in the local authority will be notified.

Fabricated illness

This is also a type of physical abuse. This is where a child is presented with an illness that is fabricated by the adult carer. The carer may seek out unnecessary medical treatment or investigation. The signs may include a carer exaggerating a real illness or symptoms, complete fabrication of symptoms or inducing physical illness e.g. through poisoning, starvation, inappropriate diet. This may also be presented through false allegations of abuse or encouraging the child to appear disabled or ill to obtain unnecessary treatment or specialist support.

Sexual abuse

Action needs be taken under this heading if the staff member has witnessed occasion(s) where a child indicated sexual activity through words, play, drawing, had an excessive pre-occupation with sexual matters, or had an inappropriate knowledge of adult sexual behaviour or language.