Accident, Illness and Emergency Policy
Whilst your child is having so much fun playing and developing, it is inevitable that accidents may happen. To minimize the risk of an accident happening I will undertake regular risk assessments and promote good behaviour of children so they are able to follow instructions and keep themselves safe as appropriate to their age. I have full paediatric first aid training which will always be kept updated, and first aid treatment will be administered in accordance with my training. I have a first aid kit in my house and car and also some essentials such as plasters and wipes in my bag. I will always have my mobile phone with me and the contact numbers of parents/ carers in case of emergency.
If your child has an accident I will:
- Always wear gloves when dealing with blood or broken skin to prevent cross infections
- Call for immediate medical assistance if the injury is severe
- Reassure and comfort your child, Treat the injury as I have been trained to do
- Record the injury and treatment on an accident form which I will ask you to sign when you collect your child.
- If the injury is significant or to the head I will call to let you know what has happened & also give you an information sheet on head injury and concussion when you collect your child.
- If the injury requires further medical advice or treatment I will call you to collect your child or to confirm that I am taking them myself to the minor injury’s unit, doctor’s surgery, or accident and emergency department.
- When possible, practical and reasonable I will remove the cause of the accident to prevent another accident happening.
- Inform Ofsted, my insurance company and RIDDOR as necessary. Enter into the risk assessment if appropriate.
I ask parents to keep me informed of their child’s wellbeing & recovery following an accident, also to let me know if you have sought medical advice following an injury which happened whilst your child was in my care.
Illness
Being around other children at my house and at groups/ outings will mean that your child will come into contact with many childhood illnesses. I will ask for details of their immunisations and whether they have had common childhood illnesses before a child starts so I know which ones they may be susceptible to.
I am familiar with the symptoms of common childhood illnesses so I know what to look out for. I am happy to care for your child if they have minor coughs or colds, however I cannot care for them if they are infectious, have high temperature or are not well enough to take part in the usual daily activities, including outdoor play. If a child has had sickness and/ or diarrhoea they cannot attend for 48 hours after their last bout. I am happy to give mild medication such as teething gels, paracetamol, ibuprofen, when appropriate, please read my separate policy on medication.
If your child becomes unwell whilst in my care, and I am unable to continue to care for them I will call you or another emergency contact person to collect your child. In this instance I will expect your child to be collected as soon as possible, and I ask that you keep the contact details of yourself and your emergency contacts up to date.
There are some illnesses for which your child will not be able to attend, such as chicken pox, sickness and diarrhoea. I use the public health agency’s guidelines on illness symptoms, infection control and exclusion periods.
Please inform me if your child is unwell, so that I can keep a closer eye on them if attending and also so I can look out for symptoms in other children, and inform parents, carers and the department of health as appropriate.
Emergency situations
If I need to accompany a child to hospital or attend hospital myself for my own accident I will contact my emergency cover childminder or another responsible adult who will take care of the other children and contact their parents / carers for collection when necessary.
Challenge and risk taking
It is important that children are given opportunity to undertake challenges appropriate to their development. This is important to prepare children for the wider world and to master the skills needed to manage risk and danger for themselves. This may inevitably lead to accidents, but this is usually part of the learning curve. Children will be supported and encouraged to consider the risks involved in more challenging activities, however this must be balanced with preventing children from becoming over fearful, lacking confidence, or over protected. There is risk involved in everyday activities such as eating (risk of choking) or learning to walk (risk of falls), it is important to judge whether the benefits to the child outweigh the risk involved.
Rather than having separate policies and permissions to cover challenging and adventurous activities such as trampolines, climbing frames, paddling pools I consider that when you leave your child in my care you trust me to make judgements about what activities are appropriate for your child and the level of supervision required for these. I will consider safety rules and boundaries of every activity, such as how many children to allow on the bouncy castle and how high they can climb on a climbing frame, based on the ages and abilities of each individual child. When you sign to agree with my policies and procedures you also agree that your child can participate in any activities I provide.