Funhouse Learning Centre

Important Policies for Families

Child Health

Purpose:

Funhouse is committed to providing an environment that promotes the health and wellbeing of the children and staff within our centre;
Sickness and illness among children and adults within an early childhood environment is a common occurrence and so a level of sickness is to be expected;
This policy outlines our position on sickness for children who attend Funhouse;
We endeavour to keep all our children, staff and whanau safe from infection and below we clarify under what circumstances children should remain home or when whanau will be phoned to collect their child from the centre.

Procedures:

Funhouse follows guidelines from the Ministry of Health. Exclusion of children and adults with infectious diseases is sometimes necessary to stop the spread of the illness;
Where a child exhibits any of the following conditions (including but not limited to) the parent/ caregiver will be contacted and asked to collect their child and to seek medical advice as soon as possible:
Fever - determined as being a temperature of 38.5 C or higher. Children must be fever-free unmedicated for 24 hours before returning to the centre;
Respiratory infections - Difficulty breathing, flu or flu-like symptoms, Strep throat, Whooping cough,persistent coughing coupled with other signs of illness;
Runny noses - this will be determined on a case by case basis. Regular wiping may be acceptable but a constant pouring that is potentially being spread to resources and surfaces and cannot feasibly be maintained may require a child goes home;
Rash and skin infections - Chicken pox – until blisters have dried, Hand foot & mouth disease – until blisters have dried or can be covered, Headlice – until treated with a medicated headlice shampoo,Ringworm – must be covered, Rubella, Measles, Scabies – 24 hours from treatment, School sores – 24hours on antibitioics, Cold sores, Slapped cheek, other rashes until a doctor has determined that the illness is not a communicable disease;
Conjunctivitis - child must remain home until there is no discharge from the eyes;
Viruses - if diagnosed with a virus, a child must stay home for a minimum of 24 hours and up to 48 hours after diagnosis. While viruses are not treatable by antibiotics, they are still contagious and we must take actions to minimise spread;
Vomiting & diarrhoea illnesses - may return once symptom free for 48 hours. If a child is at Funhouse, has two loose bowel movements in one day the whanau will be contacted to collect their child from the centre
When a child exhibits a combination of the following whanau maybe contacted to collect their child:

the child is not participating comfortably in the programme
the child has unusually low energy levels or is unusually sleepy
the child is unusually uninterested in activities or play and requires a greater level of care than teachers can reasonably provide without compromising the health and safety of the other children;
- - a child prescribed antibiotics for any reason should only return to the centre a minimum of 24 hours after initial treatment;
  Teething - teething powders and gels can be administered, they must be recorded in the Medicine Administration book. However, if a child will not settle the parent may be called to come and collect them;
  Children who become unwell while attending the service are kept at a safe distance from other children (to minimise the spread of infection) and returned to the care of a parent or other person authorised to collect the child without delay. A teacher will remain with the child until collected;
  Funhouse reserves the right to request a medical certificate from a medical practitioner;
  Funhouse reserves the right to request a child stay home even if they have been cleared by a doctor;

Medicine Administration Procedure

Purpose:

At Funhouse we want to ensure that all medicines (prescription and non-prescription) are administered and stored appropriately and safely and a record of medicines given to children and by whom will be kept.

Procedures:

If a child requires medicine, the parent/caregiver must record the following details in the medicine register:

Date, name of child, name of medicine, time of last dose given,
Dosage and specific time(s) to be given
Parent signature

At Funhouse, medicine can only be administered by a first-aid-qualified teacher;
Prior to administering the medicine, the medicine register will be checked to ensure that the medicine,dosage and frequency on the bottle matches the register details;
At no time will Funhouse teachers administer a different dosage than that stated on the prescribed medicine, an expired medicine, or administer medicine to a child that is not stated on the prescribed label.
Dosage must be witnessed by a second person before being administered.
A teacher will then record the amount given, time and this will be signed by the teacher who administered the medicine and the initials recorded of the staff member who witnessed;
It is the team leader’s overall responsibility to ensure children requiring medication have received it however all teachers will ensure children receive the medication they need;
Funhouse teachers are unable to administer medicine that has not been prescribed to the child by a medical practitioner e.g. Paracetamol purchased from the pharmacy. By law the medical practitioner’s directions must be included on the label of all dispensed medication;
Pamol will not be administered without a predetermined (established, known in advance) reason. Pamol must come with a doctor’s letter specifying why. Pamol or equivalent will not be given to a child for more than three consecutive days unless authorised by a doctor as this medication can mask other symptoms.No Pamol will be given to a child if they have been sent home with a fever in the past 48 hours;
In the event of a child developing a temperature over 38.5C, the recommended first-aid procedure will be to try and bring the child’s temperature down by removing extra layers of clothing and applying a cool flannel until their parent arrives;
Children’s individual health plans and Medication Authorisation Forms are located on the teacher’s desk in Little & Big Funhouse in a Red Clear File and remain confidential at all times;
An Individual Health Plan must be completed before blanket covers for asthma and other medications are accepted;
Medication must be signed in each day by the parents or guardians;
We will not hold any Category (ii) medication on site, so these must be supplied each day they are required by the parent.
CATEGORY (i) - non-prescription medications that are:

not ingested
used for the first-aid treatment of minor injuries; and
provided by Funhouse

Parents sign their agreement to this in their child’s enrolment form;
Arnica cream - to assist the body’s natural response to injury and bruising. It is rubbed gently onto affected areas 3 x daily
Savlon cream / Insect bite cream - gives fast relief from pain and itching caused by mosquitoes, bees, sand flies, minor burns, rashes, cuts, scratches, sunburn and windburn
Cornstarch baby powder - bepanthen, zinc and castor oil
Sudocrem - zinc based nappy rash cream
Sunscreen - Nivea Sensitive (parents can opt to bring their own brand of sunscreen in for their child)
CATEGORY (ii) - a prescription medication such as antibiotics, eye/ear drops or prescription medication such as paracetamol liquid or cough medication that is prescribed by a doctor for that child only and used for a specific time period for a specific condition;
This category of medications must be recorded in the medicine register and signed daily for the duration;
Medicines must have specified times to be administered, “if needed” will not suffice;
These medicines must have a prescription label with clear dosage/directions, frequency, the child’s name and expiry date on it;
Bonjela and herbal cough mixtures are the only exceptions that a parent may bring in that do not require a prescription label. However, where a child is unable to participate in the programme and/or is not responding to these treatments, Funhouse reserves the right to contact the parent to collect them.
CATEGORY (iii)– a long-term, preventative medication such as asthma inhalers, antihistamine syrup,lanolin cream medication that is used for ongoing treatment of a pre-diagnosed condition and provided by the parent for their child only and forms part of an Individual Health Plan;This category of medications requires that a long-term form to be filled out by the parent;
These forms must be rewritten every three months.

Illness Register

Whenever a child becomes unwell while attending the centre and is required to be collected, the illness register must be completed stating the date, child’s name, illness, time noted, explanation and the action taken. This will be signed by the staff member that cared for/monitored the child until the child was collected and they will obtain a signature from whanau;
The illness register has a carbon copy so that one copy can go home with whanau and the other copy can remain at the centre;
When a child’s temperature reaches 38.5C whanau will be contacted to collect their child from the centre.The child’s temperature will be monitored and recorded in the illness register at 10-minute intervals until the child’s whanau have arrived;
When a child has vomited once and/or had two runny bowel movements, whanau will be called to collect;
For all other reasons a parent might be called to collect, please refer to the initial “Child Health” portion of this policy;
It is expected that whanau will collect their child as soon as possible in these instances.

Sun Protection Policy

Purpose:

It is within our duty of care to protect children enrolled in our service from harm. This includes and is not limited to minimising the risk of exposure to the harmful rays of the sun during the summer months.

Procedures:

Funhouse is aware that children require adequate levels of Vitamin D which is gained from sun exposure and we balance this need across the year with the need to apply sunblock and protect children from excessive sun exposure which can cause sunburn and skin cancer;
During the hotter months (between October and May), sunblock is applied at 10am / after morning tea, 12pm / after lunch, and 3pm / after afternoon tea;
We do not apply sunscreen in the winter months or prior to 10am in order for children to receive adequate opportunities for Vitamin D absorption;
During the sunblock application season we use an app called UV2Day which tells us the UV Index and alerts us to what times of the day sunblock is required. An UV Index over 3 requires sun protection;
Sunscreen is applied at any area of exposed skin including: face, neck, ears, arms, legs, feet; Infants and children who often remove their hats will also have sunscreen applied to their scalps where required;
Funhouse provides sunscreen – Cancer Society Kids Pure SPF50+. Parents are welcome to provide their own sunscreen for their child should they wish to use an alternative brand. We will label these bottles with the child’s name and this sunblock will be used on this child only;
Funhouse has a large enough supply of sunhats for all the tamariki on our roll. Parents are welcome to supply their child with their own sunhat should they prefer this;
Sunhats should have a brim that goes all the way round to protect the face, ears, and neck; No sleeveless items of clothing are permitted. T-shirts must cover the shoulders to provide extra sun protection;
Children will be monitored during all outside play that they have sunscreen applied, are wearing appropriate clothing, and are wearing a sunhat;
Teachers role model the use of hats and sunscreen outside;
Children are encouraged to choose the shaded areas of the outdoor area in the heat of the day; Sunhats are washed once a week on a Friday.

Accidents Policy

Purpose:

At Funhouse Learning Centre we are committed to the promotion of wellness and the provision of a safe environment. It is deemed important to record all injuries that occur at our centre to facilitate communication with parents/caregiver and provide a record. The team leader of each centre will review these records to evaluate whether there are any recurring accidents.

Procedures:

The accident register has space to record the name of the child, the date and time of accident, description of accident both in terms of probable cause and effect on the child, who observed and/or investigated the accident, what actions were taken and by whom, evidence of parental knowledge of the incident. The child’s parent is to be advised in any case of a head injury.
Minor – Apply first aid and then record the accident in the teacher’s diary and communicate to the closing teacher if you are likely to leave before the parent arrives. Minor is defined as anything that does not have a visible mark at the time of the incident (excluding head injuries); If the injury develops a visible mark then complete the process for Non-Serious.
Non-serious – Apply first aid and then record the injury in the accident book and write a note on the sign sheets to “Please see staff”. Non-serious is defined as bite, scratch, graze, bruise, swelling, nose bleed or general other bleeding. Depending on the severity, you may wish to call the child’s parent so they are not alarmed at the end of the day.
Significant – Apply first aid and advise Centre Manager immediately. Centre Manager will determine next course of action, contact the child’s parents and advise them of the situation. If unable to get hold of parent(s), contact emergency number. Record the accident in the Funhouse Learning Centre Accident Book and monitor the child until the child is picked up. Significant is defined as deep cuts, head injuries, severe bruising, black eye, twisted ankle/wrist etc., minor burn, serious abrasions, insect sting, crush injury;
Serious – Comfort the child and apply first aid if practicable. Advise Centre Manager/Centre Director immediately. Centre manager will determine next course of action, seeking medical advice and/or treatment, and contacting the child’s parents or the emergency contact. Serious is defined as head injury, loss of limb, broken limb, dislocation, serious burn, crush injury, Where the accident is defined as “serious” – needing hospitalisation for more than 24 hours, concussion, loss of eye/limb then the Department of Labour will be advised by the Centre Director no later than 5 days after the accident.
Both Big and Little Funhouse each have a first aid kit.
The first aid kit may also contain any Category (i) medicines the service chooses to use, providing the appropriate written authority has been gained from parents (see Criterion HS28).
At the Centre’s discretion, an ambulance will be called if we deem the injury is beyond first aid training. Only first aid registered teachers are to administer first aid, and sign the accident book.
The accident form needs to be signed by the teacher who witnessed the incident and administered first aid to the child.
The signature of the parent must be obtained on the accident form on the day of the incident.
Funhouse accident books are carbonated to allow a copy to go home and a copy to stay at the Centre. These are archived and kept for 7 years.
It is the responsibility of the teacher who completed the accident form to handover all information regarding the incident to the closing teacher if they finish their rostered shift before the child is collected from the centre.
A note must be written on the sign in sheet stating, “please see staff” to inform the parent that there is information regarding their child that needs to be handed over.
The information recorded in the accident books will be collated monthly by the Team Leader to monitor recurring incidents and allow Funhouse to take steps in reducing these incidents.

Inclusion Policy

Purpose:

At Funhouse we adhere to the Ministry of Education’s “Success for All” policy which advocates for inclusive education and care. The purpose of this policy is to outline our commitment to including, respecting and empowering all tamariki and their whānau regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, language, family structure and values, socio-economic status, religion, culture or health needs, diversity of ability and learning needs.

Procedures:

At Funhouse we ensure that every child is valued as a unique individual, has equitable opportunities, and is supported to be actively involved in meaningful play accessing the full breadth and depth of the curriculum;
Funhouse treats all tamariki as capable, competent and confident learners who are active participants in their learning;
We are committed to providing an environment that invites, acknowledges, and celebrates the diversity that each child and their whānau bring;
An inclusive curriculum is one that is strengths-based and respects and connects with Māori values and the principles of Te Whāriki;
An essential role of kaiako is to know each child in our service really well, understand their individual needs, how they learn best, and to develop responsive and reciprocal relationships with them;
Kaiako actively respond to the strengths, interests, abilities and needs of each child, providing additional supports, making adaptions, or removing barriers where required;
We are committed to family partnerships and working alongside key professionals that enable us to know when and how to provide additional support and/or remove barriers for children to promote their participation and learning;
The environment is welcoming and respectful, catering for the ability of all the children with resources easily accessible;
We plan individually for each child so that we can determine pathways for learning that are specifically beneficial for each child;
Each child is affirmed as an individual, taught to recognise and appreciate their own ability to learn;
We encourage children to learn with and alongside others so that respect and understandings of differences is cultivated, accepted and facilitates depth of learning.