Phoenix House Montessori Nursery School

PHOENIX HOUSE MONTESSORI NURSERY SCHOOL

27 Stamford Hill, London N16 5TU

Telephone 0208 880 2550

Email:

Quality Day-Care & Pre-School Education for 6 months -5 year olds

Terms and conditions

1.Admissions:

A child’s name will be entered on the waiting list when a completed registration form is received, together with a registration fee of £20.00 and £300.00 towards the deposit; the full deposit is £650.00 {please note that the deposit and registration fee is non- refundable}.

Places will be offered on a first come first serve basis upon payment of deposit; however we reserve the right to give priority to applicants who require a full time place.

One month deposit in full is required and must be paid before your child starts their first official day at the nursery, the deposit will be refunded once we have received 4 weeks written notice stating you wish to withdraw your child from the setting, however if there are any outstanding fees when your child leaves we will deduct this from your deposit.

A copy of your child’s Birth certificate is required, the Birth certificate will remain on file.

2. Fees and deposits:

Fees are calculated on a monthly basis and are payable in full on the first working day by standing order or in the event that fees will be paid weekly, they are to be paid on the first day of attendance of the week.

Fees must be paid regardless of absences due to illness, holidays, bank holidays, nursery closure dates and training days.

This includes any days where the nursery has had to close due to unforeseen circumstance, e.g.; no heating.

Refunds cannot be arranged for non-attendance for whatever reason.

If you fall behind on payment of fees you will be asked to withdraw your child until fees are settled in full.

A 10% discount, for one child only, will be given to parents who have more than one child attending the nursery; this only applies to children who are on a full time basis, i.e. 5 days per week.Once one of the children leave the 10% discount no longer applies.

Please note that Nursery fees are subject to annual increases. We will inform you by email.

Free Entitlement for 3 and 4 year olds / 2 year pilot scheme:

The nursery operates 52 weeks per annum; the NEF is for 38 weeks per annum.

Free Entitlement for 2, 3 and 4 year olds is 15 hours per week for 38 weeks per annum from September to June; totaling to 570 hours.

This is equivalent to 10.96 hours per a week over 52 weeks

Free Entitlement for 2, 3 and 4 year olds
15 hours per week for 38 weeks / Free Entitlement for 2, 3 and 4 year olds10.96 hours per week for 52 weeks
Hours / Hours
Hours per annum / 570.00 / 570.00
Hours per week / 15.00 / 10.96
hours per month / 63.33 / 47.50

3.Opening times and holidays.

The opening times are from 8:00am to 6:00pm Monday to Friday, excluding bank holidays and during each of the Easter and Christmas periods; our Easter period is 5 days plus 1 training day and Bank holidays and our Christmas period is 8days, 1 training day and bank holidays.Please make sure that you are fully aware of our holiday dates in advance, the nursery will inform you of these dates in our monthly newsletter.

As a requirement for the Nursery Educational Funding the nursery closes for 4 days per a year for training. As much notice as possible will be given informing of the dates of closure.

Please note that we close at 1pm during the Christmas and Easter closure to prepare for the academic year.

4.Removal of children from the Nursery

By Parent

Four week’s notice in writing must be given by the parent or carer, when the child leaves the Nursery, if you fail to give 4 weeks’ notice in writing your deposit will not be refunded. The notice period can either be emailed or written.

In the event of fees or any other sum payable to Phoenix Nursery not being settled then the difference will be deducted from the deposit.If at any time the fees are left outstanding at more than the value of the deposit parents will be asked to either pay all the arrears in full or remove their child from the nursery.

By Nursery Management

Management may at any time request the removal of a child if in the nursery’s opinion the interests of the child or nursery dictate such an action. Some children do not settle well into the nursery environment. Unacceptable behaviour such as constant hitting, biting, swearing and inappropriate behaviour may constitute that a child will be asked to be removed from the nursery. Should such a case or event arise, the parents may be asked to remove their child immediately from Phoenix Nursery, with no notice given.

5.Collection.

We must be informed if your child is being collected by someone else other than yourself, there will be no exception to this rule, and a password must be given to the staff with a description of the person. Parents/Guardians are to collect their children promptly on time, in accordance with their schedule. Children must be collected by their designated time; you will be charged £1.00 per minute for the first 5 minutes and £5.00 thereafter, until your child is collected, if your child is collected late. If this occurs frequently then we will have no alternative but to inform Children and Families Services as this is unacceptable.

The nursery is not insured or registered to have children on the premises after 6pm. We can support you in putting strategies in place to prevent late collection.

The nursery will not under any circumstances release your child to anyone under the age of 17 years old.

6.Attendance.

Please notify the setting before 10:00am if your child is going to be late or unable to attend.Please ensure your child is in the nursery by 10am, as late arrivals can be disruptive.

The nursery contact number is 0208 880 2550; please leave a message if you are unable to speak to a member of the team.

7.Clothing.

The nursery will request up to three sets of spare clothing for your child in case of an emergency; please clearly label your child’s clothing.

We will require Nappies for children not yet potty trained and a pack of wipes.

Children who are starting the potty training process {2 years of age} we will require pull ups to support the transition before asking for underwear.

We also requiretwo aprons {cooking / messy play}, four photographs for your child’s peg, birthday board, key worker board and profile book.

A pair of slippers and we will require you to purchase a Phoenix Logo bag, which costs £6.00, this is for identification when on outings.

Children who are under the age of 2 years need to provide the above and nappy cream, wipes, bottle and a plastic bib for meal times. Each clearly labeled with their name on them.

During the summer period you will need to provide a sun hat and sun cream.

We will require suitable footwear for the children, with a rain coat during the warmer periods and a padded coat for the winter period, with a hat, scarf and pair of gloves.

8. Excursions.

Children will be taken on excursions to local parks, libraries and to other local amenities. Parent’s written permission will be obtained in advance prior to any other trips outside the nursery, please note that your child’s class will be closed on the day of the outing.Blanket permission may also be obtained i.e. permission slip covering all trips to local amenities for a period of 6 months. Please note we take photographs of the children and place them around the setting; if you do not wish this to happen please inform us.

9.Loss or damage.

Every effort will be made to take care of children’s and parents property, however we can not be held liable for any loss or damage of property or clothing which may occur.

Please clearly label your child’s belongings.Jewellery is acceptable although we do prefer small hoops or studs, although staff members will make recommendations if they feel the item of jewellery may cause harm or be hazardous to other children. . Sweets, chocolates and other treats are not to be given to children to keep in their pockets whilst in the nursery. Please do not give your child toys to bring into the nursery.

Health and Illness Policy:

This policy is designed to ensure that a safe, healthy environment in maintained at Phoenix Montessori Nursery. The nursery recognises that infections can spread quickly amongst children in a childcare environment therefore we will endeavour to ensure that infections are controlled and good health and hygiene practices are maintained.

Who is Responsible?

It is the responsibility of the Management team to ensure that any children, parents and members of staff who have a contagious illness are excluded from the nursery for the recommended period of time. The management team has a responsibility to inform parents and carers when their child enters the setting with a contagious illness, the Management team must also inform all parents if more than 3 children attending the setting have a contagious illness, the setting will also inform Ofsted. All members of staff have a responsibility to ensure that any children who arrive at the setting unwell, the child’s parent or carer must speak to management or a senior staff before a decision is made and whether the child should remain at nursery or go home.

All members of staff have a responsibility to ensure that they do not attend the session if they have an infectious illness, this will assist Phoenix Montessori Nursery to prevent the spread of any infectious illness.

How the Policy will be implemented

Phoenix Montessori Nursery aims to prevent the spread of infectious illnesses and infections by adhering to the following procedures:

• Excluding children with infectious illnesses and infections for the recommended period of time (please see the NHS Exclusion Guidelines for further information on this).
• Excluding all members of staff with infectious illnesses and infections for the recommended period of time (please see the NHS Exclusion Guidelines for further information on this).
• Identifying signs of illness in children and staff whilst they are in the setting
• Informing parents and carers that their children are ill and arranging for them to be collected at the earliest opportunity.
• Limiting the contact of sick children with other children until they can be collected from the setting, taking into account the sensitivity of the situation and that the child does not feel bad as a result of any action.
• Preventing the spread of infection by adhering to the setting's health and safety policy, personal hygiene policy and food safety policy and procedures.
• Reporting incidences of certain infections to other parents and members of staff whilst maintaining the anonymity of all children and members of staff involved.

The following are the types of infections that would be reported to parents and members of staff:

• Sickness / diarrhoea
• Head Lice
• Measles
• Chicken Pox
• Mumps
• Meningitis
• Whooping Cough

We aim to highlight the importance to parents that if their children have not been immunised then they will be in a high risk category if an infectious illness presents itself in the setting. Parents have the right to choose whether or not they will send their child to the setting. This is particularly relevant in cases of:

• Measles
• Mumps
• Rubella
• Whooping Cough

We will monitor children and members of staff where there has been exclusion for signs of the same illness. All cases of infectious illnesses are recorded in an illness form and is signed by the child's parent or carer on collection. Members of staff who become unwell during working hours will immediately be sent home and a relief member of staff called in to ensure ratios of staff and children are maintained.

When dealing with Children who become Unwell, in accordance with setting registration guidelines children will not be admitted into the setting if they are showing signs of any ailment that could be contagious or could affect the settings ability to care for the child and the other children in attendance. Similarly, any member of staff who attends work showing signs of any ailment that could affect their ability to carry out their duties will be sent home and a replacement member of staff called in to cover the minimum child to adult ratios. Children who become unwell during the course of the session will be made comfortable and will be cared for by a member of staff until their parent or carer can collect them. The dignity of the child will remain paramount and the child will not be made to feel bad as a result of their illness, but the setting will put measures in place to ensure that the risk of the illness spreading is minimised.

A child’s parent or carer will be contacted upon a child becoming unwell and will be asked to come and collect the child or make arrangements for the child to be collected as soon as possible. Where the parent or carer cannot be contacted the setting will contact the child’s emergency contact provided on the registration form. The person collecting the child will be asked to sign any records, for example, illness form.

Exclusion Guidelines

In cases where a child, parent or member of staff is known to have contracted a contagious illness or infection that could affect other children or staff the nursery will implement the following exclusion guidelines:

• Any child who has an illness that results in a greater need for care than members of staff can provide and who may be placing other children at risk will be excluded until such time as treatment has been received and the child is feeling better.
• Any member of staff who has an illness that affects their ability to carry out their duties and who may be placing children or other members of staff at risk will be excluded until such time as treatment has been received and they are feeling better.
• Any child or member of staff showing signs of fever, lethargy, or difficulty breathing or any other manifestations of severe illness will be excluded until such time as a diagnosis has been made and treatment received and they are feeling better.

Recommended incubation periods for Illnesses at Phoenix Nursery:

Gastric upset / Exclusion for 48 hours after last attack of vomiting or diarrhoea.
Rash with fever or behavioural change / Exclusion until medical advice has been sought and a determination of further infection is made.
Fever /Throat infections / Exclusion until 24 hours after fever has gone down, if you have not administrated Calpol / Paracetamol. .
48 hours for throat infections that have been given Antibiotics for throat infections may be required
Slapped cheek syndrome / Exclusion until rash has appeared, no longer contagious once rash has developed
Impetigo / Exclusion for at least 48 hours after treatment {antibiotics} has been received and spots are no longer weeping fluid.
Head lice / Exclusion until treatment has been given
Ring worm / Those who have the infection in an exposed area such as the scalp and hands will be excluded for 1 week and permitted to return only after treatment has commenced. Those who have the infection on an area of the body that can be covered with clothing can return within 24 hours of starting treatment. They should not share clothing or towels and wash hands thoroughly after using the toilet and before eating
Threadworm / Can return once treatment has been received.
Hand, foot and mouth disease / Exclusion until treatment has been received and last lesion has disappeared.
Influenza / Exclusion until clinically well
Chicken Pox / Shingles / Exclusion until all spots have crusted over, usually 5 – 7 days
Rubella {German measles} / Exclusion for 7 days after onset of rash
Mumps / Exclusion until 9 days after the first appearance of symptoms (most notable symptom is swelling of the glands)
Whooping Cough / Exclusion for 5 days as long as antibiotic course has been completed, if antibiotics have not been given exclusion will be 14 days
Meningitis / Exclusion until clinically well
Scarlet fever / Exclusion for 48 hours- requires antibiotics
Diarrhoea / Vomiting / Exclusion for 48 hours, after the last vomiting or diarrhoea
Conjunctivitis / 24hours, after eye drops have been administrated

All infectious illnesses must be reported to the Management team who will advise of any exclusion period and make the decision to inform other parents and staff members.

We may request a doctor’s note to confirm if your child is well enough to attend, however we will request this before the child returns to the setting. Please keep us updated on your child’s progress by telephone.

Medication procedure: