Sickness and Exclusion Policy

Polisi Salwch ac Allgáu Sickness and Exclusion Policy Aim:

The aim of this policy is to highlight the key principles and code of conduct expected of all staff members, students, trainees and parents at Balŵn Coch with respect to sickness and exclusion. It is imperative that our sickness policy is strictly adhered to.

Exclusion times guidance: Within Balŵn Coch it can be said that not all of our exclusion periods reflect those of Public Health however because of how young some of our babies and children are, hand washing procedures are not always effective and therefore at Balŵn Coch we take extra precautions to ensure the health and well-being of our children, staff members and possibly pregnant mothers.

In relation to our exclusion times a member of Public Health Wales, Environmental health team has stated that ‘Exclusion times stipulated by PHW Guidance are based on minimising the spread of infection with an educational setting and are a minimum and more importantly a recommendation’. The PHW member also clarified that we have a responsibility under the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 for the health safety and welfare of our children and staff therefore we can make the decision to keep children away longer if it’s in the interests of the health safety and well- being of the children being excluded and the children remaining in Nursery.

Procedures to minimise illnesses:

Informing staff It is important that parents keep staff informed about their child’s health care needs at all times. Prior to a child starting nursery, parents are required to declare on the registration form any allergies or diagnosed illnesses as well as an up to date record of immunisations. It is important that all information is accurate and kept up to date.

Informing Parents Balŵn Coch staff will inform parents if a child attending the setting is suspected of or has been diagnosed as having infectious disease. An alert will be displayed on our parent notice board.

Collecting Children from Nursery When a child becomes ill at nursery, parents or another adult designated by parents are contacted and asked to collect their child as soon as possible. This will help to restrict the spread of illness in the nursery.

Antibiotics When a child is prescribed antibiotics, they must remain at home for a period of 24-48 hours. After this time they may return to nursery where staff will administer any medication prescribed when the appropriate medicine forms are completed and signed.

Good Hygiene Practice For information on this please see our Health Care Policy.

Time Away from Nursery for Specific Conditions We inform parents not to bring their child after he/ she has had his/her immunisations and/or 1 vaccines such as MMR, flu jab and polio. They may need one to one attention at this time, which the staff are unable to give. Attached is a chart showing the time children should be absent when suffering from specific conditions.

Illness 24 hrs 48 hrs 72 hrs Symptom Able to Completely Free attend recovered

Immunisations Children are not able to attend Balŵn Coch the same day as their Immunisations and/or and/ or vaccines. vaccines

Chest  infection

Head Lice 

Thrush 

Tonsillitis 

Ear Infection 

Eye Disorders 

Gasto- 48 hours enteritis symptom free

Sickness/diar 48 hours rhoea symptom free Allergies 

Eczema 

Roseola  Infantum

Chicken Pox Scabbed over – no open sores Hand/Foot/ Scabbed Mouth over – no open sores Herpes Scabbed simplex over – no open sores Imetigo Scabbed over – no open sores Measles 

Meningitis 

Mumps 

2 Ringworm 

Rubella 

Scarlet fever 

Scabies 

Slapped  Cheek

Whooping  cough

NoroVirus 48 hours symptom free

For any illnesses or viruses not stated above, please speak with a manager.

Asthma, eczema and allergies: If your child suffers from asthma, eczema and/or allergies please ensure that this is disclosed in detail upon admission to the setting or when diagnosed. If your child is prescribed medication for any of the above, such as a antihistamine medicine, asthma pump or an adrenaline auto-injector pen, please supply Balŵn Coch with this/these, the medication will be kept in the office unless otherwise stated i.e fridge.

Staff members must also supply Balŵn Coch with any medication and store within the office as stated within our Health & Safety policy (unless need to be kept within our medication fridge).

Immunisations & Vaccinations: Below is a list of vaccinations that are routinely offered free to all children in Wales and the UK with the age at which they should ideally be given. In addition to this children who are at increased risk of certain diseases may be offered additional vaccinations. The information below has been gathered from NHS Wales, 16/10/2017.

At Balŵn Coch we ask all parents to ensure that all babies and children are fully immunised, this is to protect them from potentially serious diseases as well as protect others within the setting. We understand that some parents may be worried or have worries queries about immunisations however we are not medically trained and therefore ask all parents to discuss them with their Health Visitor, G.P or Practice Nurse.

At two months of age:  6-in-1 vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), polio,

haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) and hepatitis B. The vaccine is known as DTaP/IPV/Hib/HepB.  Pneumococcal vaccine (PCV13)  Rotavirus vaccine

At three months of age:  6-in-1 vaccine second dose (DTaP/IPV/Hib/HepB)

3  Rotavirus vaccine

At four months of age:  6-in-1 vaccine third dose (DTaP/IPV/Hib/HepB)  Pneumococcal vaccine second dose (PCV13)

Between 12 and 13 months of age:  Booster vaccine against haemophilus influenza type b (Hib) and meningitis C (Hib/MenC)  MMR vaccine against measles, mumps and rubella  Pneumococcal vaccine third dose (PCV13)

At three years and four months of age (pre-school vaccinations):  MMR vaccine second dose against measles, mumps and rubella  4-in-1 vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis and polio (known as DtaP/IPV or DTaP/IPV)

Staff member vaccinations: It is the responsibility of all staff to ensure that they keep up to date with their vaccinations, particularly the Hep A, Hep B, Meningitis C in staff under 25 and the measles mumps and rubella for all staff born after 1970.

We also encourage staff members to have the Flu immunisation as this is the best way to protect against catching and spreading flu.

At Balŵn Coch we ask any members of staff considered to be more at risk of complications from the flu TO HAVE the vaccine. This includes those who:  are aged 65 and over  have a chronic heart condition  have a chronic chest complaint, including asthma which requires regular medication  have chronic kidney disease  have chronic liver disease  have a chronic neurological condition  have diabetes  have lowered immunity due to disease or treatment such as steroid medication or cancer treatment  have no spleen, or your spleen doesn’t work fully  are a morbidly obese adult (BMI of 40 or above)  are pregnant

Can the flu jab cause flu? It can be said that some people believe a flu jab can cause flu, this is not correct. As confirmed by the NHS The vaccine does not contain any live viruses, so it cannot cause flu. You may get a slight temperature and aching muscles for a couple of days afterwards, and your arm may feel a bit sore where you had the injection. Other reactions are rare, and as stated above flu jabs have a good safety record.

4 Reviewed 18th of October 2017 SMHM