Keeping Safe

Safety of the children in our care is paramount, and we take the standards of health, care and safety very seriously. By entrusting us with your child, we understand how important it is for you to feel relaxed and confident that he/ she is being cared for within a secured and safe environment, with second to none safety measures in place. We take every precaution to ensure, not only that the nursery building and surroundings are safe and secure, but that staff are appropriately vetted, police checked and referenced, this is reflected by our employment policies.

The nursery

The whole team ensures that the setting, both inside and outside is a safe place and that equipment and resources are of highest quality and condition. We introduce simple safety rules to our children as they get older about behaviour and how to stay safe.

We have the highest quality CCTV system installed around nursery, with a camera in each room and outside areas. The rooms can be monitored from both offices and additional monitor provided in the toddlers room to see visitors at the main entrance before access is granted into the nursery. Recordings are kept for a maximum of 30 days and may be passed on to the police if a serious incident occur.

Visitors and entering the nursery

The nursery operates a ‘buzzing system’ for anyone wishing to enter the nursery building. Visitors must buzz on the main entrance door where they will be greeted by a member of staff over the telecom. If the member of staff is familiar with the visitor, he/ she will allow them entry, otherwise the manager will answer the door personally. There is also a second locked door by the manager’s office where they will need to be granted access by a member of staff.

Evacuation in an emergency

In the event of an emergency where children and staff must vacate the building, a specially organized route is given to each room and displayed on their notice boards. This also includes an alternative route incase the first is unsafe. The staffs are all trained in emergency evacuation and procedure and the nursery undergoes regular fire drills to prepare children in case of an emergency.

Risk assessments 

Springwood nursery believe that the health and safety of children is of paramount importance. We make our Nursery a safe and healthy place for children, parents, staff and volunteers by assessing and minimising the hazards and risks to enable the children to thrive in a healthy and safe environment.

The basis of this policy is risk assessment. Our risk assessment processes follow five steps as follows:

•    Identification of risk: Where is it and what is it?
•    Who is at risk: Childcare staff, children, parents?
•    Assessment as to the level of risk as high, medium, low. This is both the risk of the likelihood of it happening, as well as the possible impact if it did.
•    Control measures to reduce/ eliminate risk: What will you need to do, or ensure others will do in order to reduce that risk?
•    Monitoring and review: How do you know if what you have put in place is working, or is thorough enough? If it is not working, it will need to be amended, or maybe there is a better solution.