Accident Policy

The safety of your child is paramount and I will take every measure I can to protect your child from hurting themselves. However, sometimes accidents do happen. I have written the following procedure on how I will deal with such a situation:

• I will comfort the child and reassure them.
• I will assess the extent of their injuries and if necessary call for medical support/ambulance.
• I will give any first aid procedures that are necessary. I have been trained to carry out to these procedures and have the required certificate.
• Once the child is more settled I will contact the parent as soon as possible to inform you of the accident, and if necessary I will ask you to return to care for your child / meet me at the hospital.

After every accident, however minor I will:

• Complete a report for my files
• Ask you to sign the report.

If the incident requires any medical treatment then I will:

• Inform Ofsted
• Inform my Insurance Company.
• Contact the Kingston LSCB for additional advice/support.

It is important that you keep me informed regarding your child’s condition following an accident and if you have sought medical advice.

Back up paediatric first aider: Sarah Holt
Responsible adult: Nick Holt

Admissions Policy

As an Ofsted registered over 8s voluntary activities provider I am not restricted to the number and ages of children that I am responsible for at any one time. However, to provide a high quality learning experience group sizes are limited to the number of adult supervision staff. Normally there
will be 16 places available on any course with a minimum ratio of 1 adult: 8 children or young people.

I am happy to take on children with special needs providing I feel I can provide them with the support they need. (For example as our venue, New Malden Library, has a lift I can look after a child in a wheelchair) If your child has additional needs please discuss them with me first as I would not
want to raise your expectations.

When taking on a learner who is eligible for one to one support during their statutory school education I must take into consideration the children already in my care who are happy and settled on the course. It would be very unfair on them to introduce a child who was disruptive.

If you have any concerns regarding my admissions policy please do not hesitate to contact me.

Alcohol and Drugs Policy

We accept young people up to the age of eighteen on courses. Drugs and alcohol are now more readily available to young people. If I have any concerns that your child may be drinking alcohol, taking drugs or smoking I will discuss the matter with you immediately. I reserve the right to refuse any child or young person access to the course if I believe their behaviour is being affected by alcohol or substances.

During course working hours neither I or any assistant staff working with me, will ever be allowed to be under the influence of alcohol or any form of drugs (including some prescription medication).

If you have any concerns or questions regarding this matter please do not hesitate to contact me.

Allegations of Abuse Policy

Typing’s Cool courses are always team taught to protect ourselves from any allegations of abuse being made against myself or my team. I will take precautions to protect myself from this happening by:

• Ensuring all course tutors and assistant tutors over 16 are DBS cleared
• Ensuring there is no unsupervised access to the children under any circumstances during a course
• Ensuring, where possible, that no member of the public are allowed access to the room where courses are run nor workmen unless it is to repair an emergency service or for Health and Safety Reasons.
• Document every accident and incident that occurs whilst in my care, informing parents and requesting them to sign my records
• Noting any marks on the children when they arrive and asking parents to inform me of any accidents that have occurred whilst outside my care
• Ensuring the children are supervised at all times
• Keeping accurate records on each child

However sometimes allegations are made and this unfortunate situation cannot be avoided. I will then follow the procedure detailed below, in order to gain support and professional advice:

Contact: my Insurance Company, Kingston LSCB , Family Solicitor, Ofsted

I will write a detailed record of all related incidents, including what was said and by whom, with times and dates.

I will ask any witnesses (if there were any) to also write a statement detailing the incident they witnessed and giving their contact details in case it needs to be followed up by the authorities.

If you have any concerns regarding this procedure please do discuss them with me.

Asthma Policy

I am willing to care for a child who has asthma and have put together the following policy and procedures. I recognise that asthma is an important condition that affects many children.

I will:

• encourage and help children with asthma to participate fully in activities
• ensure children have immediate access to reliever inhalers
• ensure the environment is favourable to children with asthma
• ensure that other children in my care understand that asthma can be serious
• ensure that I know what to do if a child has an asthma attack to protect the child’s welfare in the event of an emergency
• I will ask parents to tell me about their child’s asthma symptoms.
• Discuss how to recognise when their symptoms are getting worse and how to help them take their reliever medicine.
• I will record this information to pass onto parents.

Please let me know if your child needs to be reminded to take their inhaler and if they need to do it privately (I appreciate that some children are shy about taking their medication in front of others) I will always inform parents if their child has experienced asthma symptoms and had to use their reliever medicine. If, after discussion between the parents/carers and the doctor or nurse, it is believed that a particular child is too young to carry their inhaler, I will keep it with me.

I need parents to provide written information detailing:

• What asthma medicines the child takes and when
• What triggers the child’s asthma and what to do if the child’s asthma gets worse
• Emergency contact details

Bullying Policy

I will not permit any form of bullying and this behaviour will lead to exclusion from a course.

Bullying can be:

• Physical: pushing, kicking, hitting, biting etc
• Verbal: Name-calling, sarcasm, rumour spreading and teasing
• Emotional: Excluding, ridicule, humiliation, tormenting
• Racist: taunts, graffiti and gestures

Typing’s Cool believes in a Positive Behaviour Policy. All children will be given lots of praise, encouragement and responsibilities to make them feel valued. Criticism will never be personal and will only relate to constructive ways in which improvements in learning can be achieved. Each course session will be strongly structured to make children feel safe and to focus their energies and
attention onto positive achievement.

Respectful behaviour will be modelled to the children by the adult tutors and assistants.

The rule of “keeping hands and feet to yourself” will discourage aggressive physical contact. The no touch rule will be extended to tutors and assistants and physical restraint will only ever be used if a child is in immediate danger to them self or another child.

Any child who is unwilling to work within the positive ethos and atmosphere of the course will be challenged and asked to leave the course if necessary.

If you have any concerns regarding your child please discuss them with me as soon as possible. It is much better to deal with these problems before they become major issues.

Complaints Policy

I hope that you are happy with the service that I provide, but I appreciate there may be times when I am not offering you and your child the service that you require. I hope that you will feel able to discuss any concerns or issues that you may have with me directly. If you would rather not talk in front of your child then we can arrange a more convenient time, for example, through a phone call outside the course.

It is a requirement by Ofsted that all complaints are logged along with the outcome and any action taken. These records must be available to show an Ofsted Childcare Inspector if required.

If you feel that you are unable to talk to me or that after talking the matter remains unresolved then you can talk in confidence to:

The Kingston LSCB Single Point of Access team on 0208 547 5008.

If you wish to make a formal complaint then you can contact the Ofsted Complaints and Investigation Unit on 0300 123 4666.

Confidentiality Policy

Any information regarding your child or your family, given to me either verbally or in writing, will be treated as confidential.

Parents will have access to their own child’s records but not to others. All documentation relating to your child is stored in a file, which is not accessible to any other party.

I will not discuss your child with others unless I have permission from you, for example, a teacher at your child’s school. I will however, divulge confidential information to Social Services and to Ofsted if I have any concerns that your child is being abused. Please see my Child Protection Policy.

Dropping Off & Collection Policy

Dropping Off
Please let me know in advance if you intend to arrive at a different time from the published course timings. If you arrive unexpectedly early I may not be ready to care for your child. Please discuss with me if you need to drop off your child early.

Collection
I will only release your child from my care to adults who have permission to collect him/her. I will therefore need you to provide me with a list of people authorised to collect.

It is important that you arrive at the contracted time to collect your child. I know sometimes delays are unavoidable, especially if you are relying on public transport. If you are delayed, for whatever reason please contact me and let me know when you expect to arrive. I will normally be able to accommodate the additional care, however if I am unable, I will contact other adults from the
authorised list and arrange for them to collect your child. I will reassure your child that you are on the way and if necessary organise additional activities and a meal.

If I have not heard from you and you are very late I will try and make contact with you. I will also attempt to contact the emergency numbers provided. If I am unable to make contact with anyone I will inform Social Services and follow their advice.

I reserve the right to make an additional charge for late collection.

Emergency Evacuation Procedure

In the event of an emergency, for example, a fire, flooding, gas leak children will be evacuated from the Library with assistance from library staff and assemble on the forecourt.

Parents will be contacted immediately and, if necessary we will use New Malden Baptist Church as a safe place to wait until parents can collect their children.

Health & Safety Policy

An important aspect of the course will be to teach learners proper posture and technique to avoid the risk of RSI, back problems, the risk of head aches and other risks of using IT equipment for long periods of time.

Before each course the room will be checked in case of faulty electrical equipment, hazards such as loose cables and other obstacles.

Parents are expected to supply an emergency contact number and their address on the course application form.

Children will be supervised when using the toilet immediately adjacent to the course venue room and will be encouraged to wash their hands.

Healthy Eating Policy

Each course session will provide access to water at any time, individual sealed cartons of fruit juice and non nut biscuits during break times (Bourbons, Jammie Dodgers and Custard Creams.) Learners can bring their own snacks if required.

Inclusion Policy

I give all children in my care the opportunity to reach their full potential. Sometimes this means adapting an activity to the child’s ability and stage of development, providing additional resources or giving one child more attention and support than others during a particular activity or routine.

No child in my care will be discriminated against in anyway, whether for their skin colour, culture, gender, ability or religion. I will challenge any remarks that I feel are inappropriate.

I encourage the children to develop a healthy respect of each other’s differences and to value everyone as an individual.

Internet Policy

As an IT based activity, Typing’s Cool will promote the following values:

• The library computer filters block out most inappropriate material
• I do not permit the children to go onto chat rooms
• I talk to the children about the websites they are using
• I am always nearby so can keep an eye out on what websites they are visiting
• I discuss with the children about the importance of keeping safe on line, not forwarding on chain letters, not talking to people they don’t know, not giving out personal information that could enable people to identify them, to tell me if they are worried about anything and to never arrange to meet anyone they have spoken to online.

Language Policy

This policy is for children who have English as a second Language.

Young bilingual learners need time to observe, tune into the new language and try out things that are unfamiliar. Where possible the courses will try to have some link with different cultures, clear illustrations, repeated actions and language patterns and offer visual support in the form of pictures
and illustrations.

I need to keep activities practical and I need to repeat key vocabulary and phrases.

I will work closely with the family to ensure the needs of their child are met.

Managing Behaviour Policy

Promoting positive behaviour is very important and I do this by:

• Giving lots of praise for good behaviour
• Giving the children individual attention so they feel valued
• Setting a good example, being a good role model
• Listening to what the children have to say
• Rewarding good behaviour (choosing next activity etc)
• Giving children stickers for good behaviour, sharing etc.

I help the children understand my house rules, which are realistic and I am consistent in the enforcing of them. I do not give out confusing signals, Saying No means No!

I am aware of the different reasons why children misbehave and will endeavour to keep to routines so that your child feels safe and is not over tired or hungry.

However all children will misbehave at sometime. I have developed several different strategies on how to deal with a child misbehaving and use different ones depending on the age/stage of ability of the child and the situation:

• Distraction. Remove the child from the situation and give them an alternative activity.
• Ignore. Depending on the situation I may ignore the bad behaviour as I feel it is being done to get a reaction.
• Discuss with Child. If the child is able to understand I will discuss their behaviour and try and get them to appreciate the consequences of their actions on others. I inform them that it is their behaviour I do not like, not them.
• Time Out. Removing the child from the activity and sitting them quietly for a few minutes.

I will never touch your child in any way due to disciplinary reasons. I will not humiliate your child.

If a child misbehaves I will let you know by ringing you later after collection. Some children can become upset if the incident is retold in front of them. I will also inform you of how the matter was dealt with.

If you have any concerns regarding the managing of your child’s behaviour, please do not hesitate to contact me. It is important that we work together on managing behaviour in order not to confuse your child.

Medicine Policy

I am happy to give your child non-prescribed medication, such as cough mixture, Calpol or nurofen, teething gel etc, but only if you have signed a parental permission form for me to do so.

This permission form will be regularly reviewed to ensure that there are no changes, for example a child may no longer be able to take some medication or may need an additional form.

Even though you may have signed a form, I will still contact you by telephone to check that I can administer this medication. This is to protect your child, you and myself. It is vital that you inform me of any medication you may have given your child before they arrive into my care. I need to know what medicine they have had, the dose and time given.

I will ensure that all medication given to me will be stored correctly and I will check that it is still within its expiry date.

If your child has a self-held medication please obtain an additional one for me to be kept at my home. Older children can easily forget to bring home an inhaler. What could be a simple puff of ventalin then turns into a major incident and a trip to the hospital. If your child has acute allergies
and carries/needs an epipen, please discuss the matter with me. I may need additional training to administer these forms of medication.

If your child needs to take medication prescribed by a doctor, please discuss this with me. I will need you to sign an additional permission form. In some cases a child on antibiotics may be asked not to attend for 2-3 days in case they react to the medication and to prevent the spread of an infection to
others.

All medicine given to me to administer must be in its original bottle/container and not decanted. It must have the manufacturers guidelines on it and if a prescription medication the details from the Doctor/pharmacy.

I will record all medication administered in my book and request a parental signature at the end of each day.

If you have any concerns regarding medication please do not hesitate to discuss them with me.

No Smoking Policy

No one (including parents) is permitted to smoke inside the New Malden Library premises.

A no smoking policy will be promoted and children will be told that it is unhealthy.

Safeguarding Children Policy

My responsibility as a child care provider is to ensure the safety and welfare of children in my care.

I have received training on safeguarding children issues and am aware of the signs and symptoms of abuse, physical, emotional and sexual, and those of neglect. If I have any reason to suspect a problem I will seek advice from the Child Protection Team and / or discuss with the parent.

If I have reason to believe that any child in my care is being abused in any way I will follow the local safeguarding children board procedures and report the matter to the Social Services. Under these circumstances I will not be able to keep information relating to your child confidential, but will need to share it with Ofsted, Social Services and the Police if requested.

Sick Child Policy

I appreciate that as a working parent you need to be able to go to work. However, if your child is unwell then they will be better cared for in their own home, with a parent.

If your child has had diarrhoea or sickness in the last twenty-four hours please do not bring them, but do call and let me know.

If your child becomes ill whilst in my care, I will make them as comfortable as possible, isolate them from the other children if necessary and reassure them. I will contact you immediately and continue to care for your child until you arrive.

I am happy to administer prescribed medication after obtaining a signed consent form.

Special Needs Policy

Ofsted require me under Standard 10, to be aware that some children may have special needs and to be proactive in ensuring that appropriate action is taken when a child is identified as having special needs or starts in my care. I must promote the welfare and development of the child in partnership with parents and other relevant agencies.

I have therefore put the following procedures in place:

If I am caring for a child with special needs I will include them by:

• Valuing and acknowledging children’s individuality and help them to feel good about themselves
• Seek information from parents about the child’s routines, likes and dislikes
• Adapting activities to enable children with special needs to take part
• Arrange access to specialist equipment if needed
• Consider any risk factors
• Encourage children’s confidence and independence
  I will work in partnership with parents and discuss:
• Agencies that are also involved in the child’s support and care
• Equipment that the child may need
• Advice or support that will help me to provide the best care possible for their child

I will consider how I can ensure the privacy of a child with special needs whilst continuing to supervise other children in my care.