Day Nurseries Safeguarding Policy

We support the children within our care, protect them from maltreatment and have robust procedures in place to prevent the impairment of children’s mental and physical health and development. In our settings’ we strive to protect children by creating a safe culture where adults and children are empowered to voice concerns. We promote acceptance and tolerance of other beliefs and cultures through our ethos, mission statement and pedagogy (please refer to our inclusion and equality policy for further information). Safeguarding is a much wider subject than the elements covered within this single policy, therefore this document should be used in conjunction with the nursery’s other policies and procedures to support all children`s physical and mental health and ensure safer recruitment is followed.

Legal Framework, Support and Guidance documents:

• Children Act 1989 and 2004
• Childcare Act 2006
• Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006
• The Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) 2025
• Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023
• ‘What to do if you’re worried a child is being abused’ 2015
• Inspection in Early Years
• Prevent Duty Guidance 2023
• Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015
• Domestic Abuse Statutory Guidance 2022
• Female Genital Mutilation Risk and Safeguarding Guidance for professionals 2016
• Child Sexual Exploitation: Definition and a guide for practitioners, local leaders and decision makers working to protect children from child sexual exploitation 2017
• Children and Social Work Act 2017
• Data Protection Act 2018
• Keeping Children Safe in Education 2024
• Right Help Right Time (BSCP 2025)

Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, in relation to this policy is defined as:

• Providing help and support to meet the needs of children as soon as they emerge whether within or outside the home including online
• Protecting children from maltreatment
• Preventing the impairment of children’s health or development
• Ensuring that children are growing up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care
• Taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes.

(Definition taken from the HM Government document ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023).

Policy Intention

To safeguard children and promote their welfare we will:

• Create an environment to encourage children to develop a positive self-image
• Provide positive role models and develop a safe culture where staff are confident to raise concerns about professional conduct
• Encourage children to develop a sense of independence and autonomy in a way that is appropriate to their age and stage of development
• Provide a safe and secure environment for all children
• Promote tolerance and acceptance of different beliefs, cultures and communities
• Help children to understand how they can influence and participate in decision-making and how to promote British values through play, discussion and role modelling
• Always listen to and value children
• Provide an environment where practitioners are confident to identify where children and families may need intervention and seek the help they need
• Share information with other agencies as appropriate.

The nursery is aware that abuse does occur in our society, and we are vigilant in identifying signs of abuse and reporting concerns. Our practitioners have a duty to protect and promote the welfare of children. Due to the many hours of care we are providing, staff may often be the first people to identify that there may be a problem. They may well be the first people in whom children confide information that may suggest abuse or to spot changes in a child’s behaviour which may indicate abuse.

Our primary responsibility is the welfare and well-being of each child in our care. As such we believe we have a duty to the children, parents and staff to act quickly and responsibly in any instance that may come to our attention. This includes sharing information with any relevant agencies such as local authority services for children’s social care, health professionals or the police. All staff will work with other agencies in the best interest of the child, including as part of a multi-agency team, where needed.

The nursery aims to:

• Keep the child at the centre of all we do
• Ensure staff are trained right from induction to understand the child protection and safeguarding policy and procedures, are alert to identify possible signs of abuse, understand what is meant by child protection and are aware of the different ways in which children can be harmed, including by other children through bullying or discriminatory behaviour
• Be aware of the increased vulnerability of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and other vulnerable or isolated families and children
• Ensure staff understand how to recognise early indicators of potential radicalisation and terrorism threats and act on them appropriately in line with national and local procedures
• Ensure that all staff feel confident and supported to act in the best interest of the child, share information and seek the help that the child may need
• Ensure that all staff are familiar and updated regularly with child protection training and procedures and kept informed of changes to local/national procedures
• Make any child protection referrals in a timely way, sharing relevant information as necessary in line with procedures set out by Birmingham Children’s Trust www.birminghamchildrenstrust.co.uk
• Make any referrals relating to extremism to the police, or the Government website Report Extremism in Education - Start in a timely way, sharing relevant information as appropriate
• Ensure that information is shared only with those people who need to know in order to protect the child and act in their best interest
• Keep the setting safe online using appropriate filters, checks and safeguards, monitoring access at all times
• Ensure that children are never placed at risk while in the charge of nursery staff
• Identify changes in staff behaviour and act on these as per the Staff Behaviour Policy
• Take any appropriate action relating to allegations of serious harm or abuse against any person working with children or living or working on the nursery premises, including reporting such allegations to Ofsted and other relevant authorities
• Ensure parents are fully aware of child protection policies and procedures when they register with the nursery.

We will support children by offering reassurance, comfort and sensitive interactions. We will devise activities according to individual circumstances to enable children to develop confidence and self-esteem within their peer group and support them to learn how to keep themselves safe.

Types of Abuse and Particular Procedures Followed

Abuse and neglect are forms of maltreatment of a child. This policy will discuss the four main types of abuse with an extensive appendices exploring many other types of abuse a child may experience.

Somebody may abuse or neglect a child by inflicting harm or by failing to act to prevent harm. Harm can include ill treatment that is not just physical but includes the impact of ill treatment of others. This can be particularly relevant for example in the relation to the impact on children of all from of domestic violence, including where they see, hear or experience it affects. Children may be abused within a family, institution or community setting by those known to them or more rarely by others. Abuse can take place wholly online or technology may be used to … offline abuse.

The signs and indicators listed below may not necessarily indicate that a child has been abused but will help us to recognise that something may be wrong, especially if a child shows a number of these symptoms or any of them to a marked degree.

Indicators of Child Abuse:

• Failure to thrive and meet developmental milestones
• Fearful or withdrawn tendencies
• Aggressive behaviour
• Unexplained injuries to a child or conflicting reports from parents or staff
• Repeated injuries
• Unaddressed illnesses or injuries
• Significant changes to behaviour patterns.

We are aware that child on child abuse does take place, so we include children in our policies when we talk about potential abusers. This may take the form of bullying, physically hurting another child, emotional abuse, or sexual abuse. We will report this in the same way as we do for adults abusing children and will take advice from the appropriate bodies on this area.

Recording Suspicions of Abuse and Disclosures

Staff should make an objective record of any observation or disclosure, supported by the nursery management team or Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL). This record should include:

• Child's name
• Child's address
• Age of the child and date of birth
• Date and time of the observation or the disclosure on CR8/CR10
• Exact words spoken by the child on CR8/CR10
• Exact position and type of any injuries or marks seen on Existing Injury Form
• Exact observation of any incident including any concerns reported, with date and time; and the names of any other person present at the time on Incident Reporting Form or Confidentiality Reporting Form
• Any discussion held with the parent(s) (where deemed appropriate) on CR8/ CR10 and/ or signing Existing Injury Form/ Incident Reporting Form

These records should be signed by the person reporting this and the DSL, dated and kept in a confidential file in line with GDPR and kept for a period of 21 years.

If a child starts to talk to an adult about potential abuse, it is important not to promise the child complete confidentiality. This promise cannot be kept. It is vital that the child is allowed to talk openly, and disclosure is not forced, or words put into the child’s mouth. As soon as possible after the disclosure details must be logged accurately.

It may be thought necessary that through discussion with all concerned the matter needs to be raised with the Birmingham Children’s Trust and Support Service (CASS) and Ofsted, and/or Early Help or Think Family. Staff involved may be asked to supply details of any information/concerns they have with regard to a child. The nursery expects all members of staff to co-operate with CASS, Police, and Ofsted in any way necessary to ensure the safety of the children. Should an assessment of a child result in case being referred into the local authority children’s social care and assigned to a social worker, clarification of the referral received should take one working day and the referrer to be informed of this.

Agency, Worklink and any other persons working on the premises are required to complete a Medical History and Declaration form upon arrival so that the nurseries have their contact details onsite should they be required.

Recording of Low-level concerns

A low-level concern is defined as

• A concern no matter how small, that an adult working with children may have acted in a way that is not consistent with our Staff behaviour policy, which may also include inappropriate behaviour outside of work
• A concern that you do not feel comfortable with or does not meet the harm threshold or serious enough to refer to LADO

We encourage a work environment that is open and trustworthy, that our staff are confident with and reinforce the expected nurseries values and behaviours. Any concern or allegation raised by staff will be responded to and shared with the DSL via a CR8/CR10 form. We do not expect staff to know if behaviours witnessed are a concern, complaint of allegation, the DSL will determine this with the support of LADO if required, but we do expect reporting procedures to be followed.

There may also be times when a staff member could find themselves in a situation which could be misinterpreted or appear compromising to others. If such instances occur, all staff are encouraged to self-report/self-referral to the DSL. If a staff member’s manner falls short of expected standards of conduct in relation to our Staff behaviour policy self-reporting is a priority. Staff who are confident to self-report/self-refer demonstrates an awareness of our expected standards of conduct and behaviour.

If a self-report is received the DSL will consider if the behaviour-

• Meets or may meet the harm threshold and contact LADO
• Meets the harm threshold when reviewed alongside previous low-level concerns and contact LADO
• Meets the low-level threshold
• Is appropriate and consistent with law and our Staff behaviour policy.

The DSL will record appropriate information that is shared-

• With the reporting person
• Context of the concern
• Witness information
• External intervention such as LADO
• Decisions made regarding the concern
• Reasons for the decision
• Action taken

All reported information is kept securely in appropriate files and is retained during the individuals length of service with us.

Four types of abuse

This list is not exhausted, please see appendices for further types of abuse

Physical Abuse

Action needs to be taken if staff have reason to believe that there has been a physical injury to a child, including deliberate poisoning, where there is definite knowledge or reasonable suspicion that the injury was inflicted or knowingly not prevented. These symptoms may include bruising or injuries in an area that is not usual for a child, e.g. fleshy parts of the arms and legs, back, wrists, ankles and face.

Many children will have cuts and grazes from normal childhood injuries. These should also be logged and discussed with the nursery management team or senior practitioner.

Children and babies may be abused physically through shaking or throwing. Other injuries may include burns or scalds. These are not usual childhood injuries and should always be logged and discussed with the nursery management team or setting DSL.

Procedure:

• The observed instances will be reported to the nursery management team or DSL
• All signs of marks/injuries to a child, when they come into nursery or occur during time at the nursery, will be recorded as soon as noticed by a staff member using our accident books or Existing Injury Forms as appropriate
• The incident will be discussed with the parent at the earliest opportunity, where felt appropriate
• Such discussions will be recorded and the parent will have access to such records
• If there are queries regarding the injury, the CASS will be notified in line with procedures set out by the Birmingham Local Safeguarding Children Partnership (LSCP).
• All procedures will have a dynamic and continuous assessment throughout the process

Sexual Abuse

Action needs be taken if the staff member has witnessed an occasion(s) where a child indicated sexual activity through words, play, drawing, had an excessive preoccupation with sexual matters or had an inappropriate knowledge of adult sexual behaviour or language. This may include acting out sexual activity on dolls/toys or in the role play area with their peers, drawing pictures that are inappropriate for a child, talking about sexual activities or using sexual language or words. The child may become worried when their clothes are removed, e.g. for nappy changes.

The physical symptoms may include genital trauma, discharge and bruises between the legs or signs of a sexually transmitted disease (STD). Emotional symptoms could include a distinct change in a child’s behaviour. They may be withdrawn or overly extroverted and outgoing. They may withdraw away from a particular adult and become distressed if they reach out for them, but they may also be particularly clingy to a potential abuser so all symptoms and signs should be looked at together and assessed as a whole.

If a child starts to talk openly to an adult about abuse they may be experiencing the procedure below will be followed:

Procedure:

• The observed instances will be reported to the nursery management team or DSL
• The adult should reassure the child and listen without interrupting if the child wishes to talk
• All signs of marks/injuries to a child, when they come into nursery or occur during time at the nursery, will be recorded as soon as noticed by a staff member using our accident books or Existing Injury Forms as appropriate
• The incident will be discussed with the parent at the earliest opportunity, where felt appropriate
• Such discussions will be recorded and the parent will have access to such records
• If there are queries regarding the injury/ disclosure, the CASS will be notified in line with procedures set out by the Birmingham Local Safeguarding Children Partnership (LSCP).
• All procedures will have a dynamic and continuous assessment throughout the process

We will be aware of the possibility of Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) and refer to the February 2017 document and detail about the signs and symptoms that may be observed and manifest CSE. If we have concerns, we will follow the same procedures as for other concerns and we will record and refer as appropriate.

The nurseries use the NSPCC Pantosaurus resource to help keep children safe from abuse by talking PANTS. Below is the link which is also shared with parents at points throughout the year.

The NSPCC ‘Pantosaurus’ campaign helps to raise the awareness, particularly for our over two’s, of what is private and belongs to them on their bodies, so that they also keep themselves safe in the bathroom areas and reduce any risk of peer-on-peer abuse. In any instance where a child is found to be exposing themselves or otherwise, this would be discussed with the child and their parents and supported on a case-by-case basis, making a consideration about whether the child has been exposed to inappropriate material/ scenes/ abuse.

Emotional abuse

Action should be taken if the staff member has reason to believe that there is a severe, adverse effect on the behaviour and emotional development of a child, caused by persistent or severe ill treatment or rejection.

This may include extremes of discipline where a child is shouted at or put down on a consistent basis, lack of emotional attachment by a parent, or it may include parents or carers placing inappropriate age or developmental expectations upon them. Emotional abuse may also be imposed through the child witnessing domestic abuse and alcohol and drug misuse by adults caring for them.

The child is likely to show extremes of emotion with this type of abuse. This may include shying away from an adult who is abusing them, becoming withdrawn, aggressive or clingy in order to receive their love and attention. This type of abuse is harder to identify as the child is not likely to show any physical signs.

Procedure:

• The observed instances will be reported to the nursery management team or DSL
• All signs or symptoms of abuse to a child, when they come into nursery or occur during time at the nursery, will be recorded as soon as noticed by a staff member using CR8/CR10, Confidentiality Reporting Form or otherwise.
• The incident will be discussed with the parent at the earliest opportunity, where felt appropriate
  • Such discussions will be recorded, and the parent will have access to such records
  • If there are queries regarding the injury, the CASS will be notified in line with procedures set out by the Birmingham Local Safeguarding Children Partnership (LSCP).
  • All procedures will have a dynamic and continuous assessment throughout the process
  • Only appropriately trained professionals should attempt to make a diagnosis of a mental health problem.

Neglect

Action should be taken if the staff member has reason to believe that there has been any type of neglect of a child (for example, by exposure to any kind of danger, including cold, starvation or failure to seek medical treatment, when required, on behalf of the child), which results in serious impairment of the child's health or development, including failure to thrive. Neglect is not a one off incident: it is a repeat pattern of behaviour, when combined it’s serious enough to cause harm to a child. This is known as cumulative harm.

Neglect can be difficult to recognise as the signs can vary. Signs may include a child persistently arriving at nursery unwashed or unkempt, wearing clothes that are too small (especially shoes that may restrict the child’s growth or hurt them), arriving at nursery in the same nappy they went home in, or a child having an illness or identified special educational need or disability that is not being addressed by the parent. A child may also be persistently hungry if a parent is withholding food or not providing enough for a child’s needs.

As practitioners we are generally confident in identifying the more obvious physical signs however it can be harder to notice the emotional ones, e.g., a child may not be receiving the attention they need at home and may crave love and support at nursery. They may be clingy and emotional. In addition, neglect may occur through pregnancy as a result of maternal substance abuse.

No one indicator means a child is definitely being neglected and it my need further exploration. A number of signs over a period of time may indicate that there is a more serious concern. Persistent failure to meet a child’s basic and/or psychological needs are likely to result in serious impairment of a child’s health or development.

Procedure:

• The observed instances will be reported to the nursery management team or DSL
• All signs or symptoms of abuse to a child, when they come into nursery or occur during time at the nursery, will be recorded as soon as noticed by a staff member using CR8/CR10, Confidentiality Reporting Form or otherwise.
  • The incident will be discussed with the parent at the earliest opportunity, where felt appropriate
  • Such discussions will be recorded and the parent will have access to such records
  • If there are queries regarding the injury, the CASS will be notified in line with procedures set out by the Birmingham Local Safeguarding Children Partnership (LSCP).
  • All procedures will have a dynamic and continuous assessment throughout the process
  • Possible use of the Neglect Screening tool/Graded Care Profile for Birmingham

Children with SEND

The nurseries will recognise that children with special educational needs and disabilities can face additional safeguarding challenges as they may have an impaired capacity to resist or to report abusive behaviour. These children may experience elements of social isolation as they may potentially be away from home and nursery for periods in hospital, respite care or otherwise.

Private Fostering

The setting as a mandatory duty to inform the local authority if they learn that a child (for these purposes under 16 years old) is being cared for by someone who is not their parent (s) or close relative through a private arrangement made between a parent or carer that exceeds a period over 31 days. Any communication between parents and/ or local authority will be recorded on CR8/ CR10 forms by practitioners/ DSLs/ Nursery Management team.

Monitoring Children’s Attendance

As part of our requirements under the statutory framework and guidance documents we are required to monitor children’s attendance patterns to ensure they are consistent and no cause for concern.

Parents should inform the nursery prior to their children taking holidays or days off, and all sickness should be called into the nursery on the day so the nursery management are able to account for a child’s absence. If any child is absent for 2 consecutive nursery days then nursery staff will contact the parents to understand the reason for absence. For each child in attendance, the nurseries have emergency contact details for any adults with parental responsibility (parents) and at least one designated person. In the instance where both parents have not being contactable after 2 days of absence and / or a concern for well-being, a child’s designated person will then be contacted as well. If no contact can be made then this is documented on a CR8/CR10. If there are any safeguarding concerns surrounding this child, then actions will be discussed on a case by case basis with the nursery management team and/ or DSL, with potential escalation to the Local Authority, CASS or Police for a well-being checked to be carried out. An overview of this process is shared with parents/carers as part of the Parent Induction undertaken by a member of the Management team

This should not prevent parents taking precious time with their children but enables children’s attendance to be logged so we can monitor whether a child is safe.

Staffing and Volunteering

We only allow an adult who has gone through safer recruitment procedures to be appointed to care for children including them holding an enhanced clearance from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS.) We have our own safer recruitment guidelines and otherwise only obtain staff through reputable childcare agencies. We do not allow student volunteers or any other adult who may be present in the nursery to be alone with a child regardless of whether or not they have a DBS clearance.

Staff Training

All staff attend Safeguarding and Child Protection training every 2 years in January biannually, with an inhouse annual refresher. New staff members will undertake an in-depth online course. Safeguarding training will be high quality and accessible supported by national guidelines (EYFS Statutory Requirements Annex C: Criteria for effective SG training) such as procedures for spotting signs and behaviours of abuse and abusers/potential abusers, recording and reporting concerns and creating a safe and secure environment for the children in the nursery. During induction staff will be sign posted to contact details for the LADO (Local Authority Designated Officer), CASS, Birmingham Children’s Trust and Ofsted, to enable them to report any safeguarding concerns, independently, if they feel it necessary to do so. These details are displayed around the nursery, in playrooms, the staff room, the nursery office and adult toilets.

All staff attend Paediatric First Aid (PFA) training every 3 years with Birmingham Day Nurseries qualified in-house training team which is regulated by Highfield Awarding Body

Young people/Learners

Any learners/students on placement or employed practitioners under the age of 18 and will be protected as children. It is essential that a thorough risk assessment and nursery induction is complete to ensure their safety and well-being is paramount. If situations arose during their time at nursery which identified or disclosures made that individuals aged 18 and under were at risk from abuse or neglect, appropriate bodies would be contact and all safeguarding procedures followed.

We have named persons within the nursery who take lead responsibility for safeguarding and co-ordinate child protection and welfare issues, known as the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL’s), there is always at least one designated person on duty during all opening hours of the setting.

These designated persons will receive comprehensive training at least every two years and update their knowledge on an ongoing basis, but at least once a year.

The nursery DSL’s liaise with the Birmingham Children’s Trust, CASS, undertake specific training and receives regular updates to developments within this field. They in turn support the ongoing development and knowledge to keep the whole staff team updated. All DSL's will be given additional time where needed to completed paperwork or referrals as well as the appropriate supervision and support to carry out the role effectively. DSL's should help promote educational outcomes for all children.

Any long term students and volunteers on placement aged 17 or over and staff working as apprentices in early education (aged 16 or over) may be included in the ratios at the level below their level of study, if the provider is satisfied that they are competent and responsible and if they hold a valid and current PFA qualification.

Across both sites, we have a Safeguarding Trainer: Kelly Fisher-Beasley

These above named persons are aware of Birmingham Safeguarding Children Partnership's policy for escalation when you feel that appropriate action has not been taken when a child is at risk. You can read more about Resolution and Escalation Protocol (multi-agency) here.

Staff Team (Also see Safer Recruitment Policy):

• Applicants for posts within the nursery are clearly informed that the positions are exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. Candidates are informed of the need to carry out checks before posts can be confirmed. Where applications are rejected because of information that has been disclosed, applicants have the right to know and to challenge incorrect information
• We request DBS checks on a 3 yearly basis and we use the DBS update service to re-check staff’s criminal history and suitability to work with children. For those persons on the update services, these checks are completed 4 times a year
• We will ensure that any students starting a placement at the nurseries have a clear DBS which has been conducted by their college or university. We check and record these details prior to a placement starting
• We abide by the requirements of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 and the Childcare Act 2006 in respect of any person who is disqualified from providing childcare, is dismissed from our employment, or resigns in circumstances that would otherwise have led to dismissal for reasons of child protection concern
• We have procedures for recording the details of visitors to the nursery and take security steps to ensure that we have control over who comes into the nursery so that no unauthorised person has unsupervised access to the children
• All visitors/ contractors must sign the visitors’ book on arrival and departure. A member of staff may accompany visitors around the nursery building if supervision is required to complete a task
• As a staff team we will be fully aware of how to safeguard the whole nursery environment and be aware of potential dangers on the nursery boundaries.
• The Staff Behaviour Policy sits alongside this policy to enable us to monitor changes in behaviours that may cause concern
• All staff have access to and comply with the Whistleblowing policy which will enable them to share any concerns that may arise about their colleagues in an appropriate manner
• All staff will receive regular supervision meetings where opportunities will be made available to discuss any issues relating to individual children, child protection training and any needs for further support

Informing Parents

If a suspicion of abuse is recorded, parents are informed at the same time as the report is made, except where the guidance of CASS/Police does not allow this. This will usually be the case where the parent or family member is the likely abuser or where a child may be endangered by this disclosure. In these cases, the investigating officers will inform parents.

Confidentiality

All suspicions, enquiries and external investigations are kept confidential and shared only with those who need to know. Any information is shared in line with guidance from the Birmingham Children’s Trust.

Confidential records kept on a child are shared with the child's parents or those who have parental responsibility for the child, only if appropriate in line with guidance of the Birmingham Children’s Trust with the proviso that the care and safety of the child is paramount. We will do all in our power to support and work with the child's family offering and seeking ‘Early Help’ to sign post them to the relevant services available. The nurseries can attend ‘Early Help’ panel meetings where there is the opportunity to discuss families and the best intervention to support their needs.

When a child leaves the setting and is subject to Child protection record a transfer of information form must be complete within 5 days or within 5 days of the new term and shared with the new nursery/school environment.

Employees, students or volunteers of the nursery or any other person living or working on the nursery premises

If an allegation is made against a member of staff, student or volunteer or any other person who lives or works on the nursery premises regardless of whether the allegation relates to the nursery premises or elsewhere, we will follow the procedure stated on our ‘What to do if If you are worried a child is being abused by a staff member.’

• Support will be provided to all those involved in an allegation throughout the external investigation in line with LADO support and advice
• The nursery reserves the right to suspend any member of staff during an investigation
• All enquiries/external investigations/interviews/CCTV footage will be documented and kept in a locked file for access by the relevant authorities
• Unfounded allegations will result in all rights being reinstated
• Founded allegations will be passed on to the relevant organisations as advised by LADO and our HR department. Where an offence is believed to have been committed, this will result in the termination of employment. Ofsted will be notified immediately of this decision. The nursery will also notify the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) to ensure their records are updated
• All records will be kept until the person reaches normal retirement age or for 21 years and 3 months if that is longer. This will ensure accurate information is available for references and future DBS checks and avoids any unnecessary reinvestigation
• The nursery retains the right to dismiss any member of staff in connection with founded allegations following an inquiry
• Counselling will be available for any member of the nursery staff who is affected by an allegation of a colleague in the nursery or a child’s parents.
• Ensuring children are supervised using internet devices
• We abide by an acceptable use policy, ensuring staff only use the work IT equipment for matters relating to the children and their education and care. No personal use of tablets or smartphone devices will be tolerated

Our nursery has a clear commitment to protecting children and promoting welfare. Should anyone believe that this policy is not being upheld, it is their duty to report the matter to the attention of the nursery management team and DSL at the earliest opportunity.

All staff read the nurseries’ Confidentiality Policy, Whistle Blowing Policy, Promoting Positive Behaviour Policy and the ‘What to Do’ posters detailing procedures during their first week induction. Any policy reviews and updates are then discussed during staff supervisions and team meetings/ briefs.