Play and Learning Station - Health & Safety

HEALTH
Children need to be in good health in order to get the most out of their school day. Please do not bring your child if the child cannot participate fully in the indoor and outdoor program. In order to reduce the spread of many illnesses, please keep your child home with the following:

• Vomiting and/or diarrhea: Children may return to the school 24 hours after symptoms are gone.
• Runny nose with green or yellow discharge associated with fever or cough with mucous secretion: Children may return to school after all symptoms are gone.
• Fever of 100°F (axillary) or above: Children may return to the school after being free of fever for 24 hours without Tylenol or other similar product.
• Conjunctivitis or pink eye: Children with red, itchy, draining, or crusty eyes may have conjunctivitis. Children may return to the school after 24 hours of successful antibiotic therapy.
• Rashes or skin conditions such as impetigo or contagious cold sores: Any unusual rashes should be examined by a doctor. Children may return to the school after all symptoms are gone or child’s doctor has provided written clearance.
• Chicken pox: children with chicken pox may exhibit the symptoms of low fever, rash, blisters, scabs, and malaise. Children may return to school after all sores are crusted over and dried.
• Lice/Hair Infestation: Children may return to the school 24 hours after receiving a specified shampoo treatment and all signs of eggs are gone.
• Other Symptoms: Children will be excluded if the director or Health Department determines it is inappropriate for the child to be at the school.

You will be notified immediately if your child becomes ill or injured while at the school. If you cannot be reached, we will call an emergency contact listed on your enrollment form. For the health and safety of all the children, it is important that you pick up your child at the time you are notified. Please inform the school if there is any change in address, phone numbers (work and home), emergency contacts or medical information. We request notification as soon as possible if your child has a contagious disease (e.g. conjunctivitis, chicken pox) so we can alert other families in your child’s class.

Please note that many children have frequent illnesses when they first enter a child care or school environment. Once the child’s immune system becomes more resistant, those illnesses often decrease in frequency.

MEDICATIONS
Medication will be administered in accordance with state regulations and individual school policy. If administration is permitted, it will only be administered with written permission from a parent or legal guardian. This includes all over-the-counter drugs such as Tylenol and Benadryl. Note that Tylenol or similar drugs should not be sent with a child to school to treat a fever.

All prescription drugs must be in the original container showing a label with: child’s name, name of medication, expiration date, dosage, and frequency per day. Siblings may not share medication. All medication brought to school must be checking in and stored in an area not accessible to children. Medication will not be stored at the school overnight. NEVER send your child to school with medicine packed in his or her belongings. Always hand any medication directly to your child’s teacher immediately upon arrival. Children will not be permitted to take any medication that is not administered by staff, including cough drops and throat lozenges. The school will not be responsible for and will not administer any medication that has not been labeled, delivered, or authorized as described above.

REST TIME
Adequate rest or quiet time is a very important part of a young, growing child’s day. The children rest in the afternoon for one to two hours or longer depending on the individual child. Children who do not nap are allowed to quietly read a book, play with puzzles or participate in other quiet activities.

Mats or cots are provided by the school. Please bring a blanket for your child. Be sure you put your child’s name on the blanket with indelible ink.

Infants sleep according to their needs and the individual plan prepared by the parents and staff. Unless otherwise indicated in your written enrollment materials, parents are expected to provide all bedding for their child’s crib and to wash and return the bedding on a regular basis.

NUTRITION
Children’s nutritional needs must be met for them to maintain a high level of interest and energy throughout the day. Any meals or snacks provided by the school will be of the quality and in the quantity necessary to meet the needs of the children. Menus are prepared and displayed each week so parents know what their child is being served. We encourage the selection of foods that reflect the cultural and ethnic diversity of the children in our schools. Please indicate any allergies or special dietary restrictions your child may have on the appropriate registration form. Our staff is available as a resource to you in relation to your child’s nutrition and eating patterns.

Except for special occasions, cupcakes, cake, cookies, candy, etc. should not be sent to school with your child for nutritional reasons and to prevent other children from asking for or expecting have such foods at school.

OUCH REPORTS AND CHILD ACCIDENT REPORTS
Although many precautions are taken to ensure a safe environment, occasional incidents do occur. If an incident or injury occurs, first aid is administered and an Ouch Report or Child Accident Report is filled out and given to you. This report will describe the nature of the incident and the follow-up that was provided.

EMERGENCY INFORMATION
Because we strive to maintain a safe environment for your child, we make every attempt to be prepared to handle emergency situations. An emergency plan is posted in each school with emergency numbers and procedures.

Parents may be asked to purchase or provide individual disaster kits with necessary supplies for their child in certain locations.

The local fire department makes annual checks with recommendations for improved safety devices. Fire drills are conducted in each classroom once every month. Children are instructed on the proper procedure during the drills.

BITING
Although common in young children, biting can be a frustrating problem. The following is an outline of our preventative strategies:

• For infants and toddlers, positive teething activities will be provided to comfort and soothe their gums.
• When children bite out of frustration or during confrontation, behavior will be redirected to some other activity or they will be shown an alternate way to get what they want. We will encourage the use of language in expressing wants and needs.
• If a child bites frequently, staff will utilize a more intensive approach which involves carefully observing the child to determine precipitating events, and maintaining a log to help track the behavior. Conferences with parents may also be utilized to discuss the child’s actions at home, search for outside resources, etc.
• Parents will be notified if their child is bitten at school. However, in order to protect the privacy of all of our families, parents will not be informed of the identity of the biter.

Biting incidents will also be communicated to the parent of the biter to ensure that staff and parents work together to understand and prevent this behavior. In order to ensure the safety of all the children, if all attempts to stop the biting fail, we reserve the right to remove the biting child from our program.

TOILET TRAINING
Toilet training is most easily accomplished when teachers, parents, and children work together. Children learn toileting skills through consistent, positive encouragement from adults at home and school.

Toilet training usually begins around two years of age. When a child shows interest in toilet training, the parents and teachers should complete a Potty Training Contract that describes how they will work together to encourage toilet training. This form is available from the director. This plan is a commitment to work with the child in a consistent manner; it is not a timeline for completing toilet training. The contract will be kept in your child’s file.

Each child will begin and progress at a different rate. The staff will provide you with documentation of your child’s progress each day. The director and staff are available as a resource to answer any questions about your child’s toilet training progress at the school. Several complete changes of clothes should be kept at the school during this process.

SECURITY
The primary mechanism for ensuring the security of the school is strict adherence to established procedures for your child’s arrival and departure, including clocking in and out on the school computer. All of our schools either meet or exceed state licensing regulations for building safety.

MANDATED REPORTING INFORMATION
Teachers and child care administrators are required by law to report evidence of child neglect or abuse. Those who fail to report according to state regulation can be held accountable under the law. No one, including school management and/or a child’s parents, can interfere with this reporting requirement. The name and phone number of the area regional director is posted at the school if you have any questions regarding this policy.