Swansacre Policies
Swansacre Playgroup is governed by The Care Inspectorate and operates according to the necessary Policies and Procedures by legal requirement. Copies of these documents are available to read in Swansacre Playgroup. Please ask staff or a committee member if you would like to view these.
Fees
Our fees are agreed annually at our AGM and voted for by our committee and any other parents/carers attending the AGM. A notice of current fees is displayed in Swansacre.
You will be required to read the Fee Policy and confirm you agree to our payment term, prior to your child being accepted at Swansacre.
One month notice is required for withdrawal of a child from Swansacre, and fees are due for these four weeks whether the child attends Swansacre or not.
We also accept various child care vouchers. Please speak to a member of staff for more details.
PLEASE DOWNLOAD AND SIGN OUR FEES POLICY
Adult Ratio
Our adult to children ratios are 1 adult to 5 children aged 2-3 years and 1 adult to 8 children aged 3 – 5 years.
In the event of staff absence, staff members may be substituted by supply Practitioners who are PVG checked.
Suitable Clothes
Our Outdoor Policy states that children will be encouraged to spend time playing outside at each session. Children will be taken outside in wet, cold and snowy weather as well as in hot weather unless it is extreme or poses a danger to the health and wellbeing of the children.
Please send your children appropriately dressed with suitable headgear and footwear.
Please apply sunscreen to your child before leaving them at playgroup and provide appropriate clothing in their bag: Hat, gloves, scarf, wellies, sunhat, socks, waterproof trousers etc.…
Please name footwear and outerwear!!
Food Policy – Snacks & Lunch
Swansacre offers a healthy lunch at an additional cost, also a healthy snack each day this is displayed as a weekly menu prominently in Swansacre, but is shared via the Seesaw app. If your child has any food allergies or intolerances please advise staff immediately and see the section below on Medication. Please read our Healthy Eating Policy for more details regarding our snacks.
At Lunch, we promote healthy eating, so we ask that you do not send fizzy drinks or excessive amounts of sweets. We encourage children to attempt to eat all of their packed lunch contents, so please think of how much your child is likely to eat!.
We also ask that you do not include any nuts (or items containing nuts) within the lunch boxes.
Settling In
Swansacre Playgroup operates a key worker scheme whereby each child is allocated to one member of staff, as their key worker. We aim for your child to start playgroup on a session when his/her key worker is present.
The key worker will help with settling in and provide consistency of care to your child during the settling in period. Please read our Settling in Policy for more details. We are very flexible in our approach to settling in, as each child is individual and settles at his/her own pace. However, we do advise from the very beginning that the parent/carer leave for at least part of the first session, as otherwise the child can get a false impression and think that the parent/carer will always be staying. Please speak to a member of staff if you have any queries or issues regarding settling in!
Illness & Absence
It is our policy not to accept any child who has been vomiting or had diarrhoea until at least 48 hours has elapsed after the illness. If you are concerned about the health of your child, please discuss your concerns with a member of staff prior to leaving your child at Swansacre.
If your child is ill and will not be attending a session or you are going to be on holiday, please advise staff either beforehand or on the morning of that session. Otherwise, staff must contact you to find out the reason for the absence in line with our Child Protection Policy.
Toys
Staff at Swansacre would prefer parents and carers to discourage children from bringing their own toys into our premises. The exception to this is any item, blanket, or toy that is a comforter for your child. Please speak to a a member of staff to advise how the comforter is used by your child.
Toileting and Nappy Changing
In line with our Child Protection Policy, all toileting, nappy changing and handwashing at the sinks beside the toilets will be dealt with by ONLY our staff having been satisfactorily disclosure checked as per the Disclosure Scotland Act. Please read our Toileting and Nappy Changing Policy for details.
When your child is toilet training, please advise a member of staff to allow them to work with you and support your child in whatever way you feel appropriate in order to make the transition from nappies to pants as stress free as possible for your child. Also, in case of accident, please supply spare clothes in a bag with your child’s name on. Your child’s wet/soiled clothes will be double bagged and labelled with their name and if it is wet from play or from a toileting accident. We asked our parents where they would like their child’s wet/soiled clothes and this is what they had asked for.
Please complete a Toileting Information Form for playgroup children.
Medication Policy
As per our Medication Policy, please advise a member of staff before you leave your child at Swansacre for the first time if your child has any health issues which may require the staff to administer medication either regularly or as a one off
If your child needs Calpol, Inhalers, anti histamines or antibiotics these must be prescribed by a doctor/pharmacist with your child’s details on both the medication and package. Please ensure that the correct written information has been imputed onto the forms have been submitted to playgroup prior to leaving your child when they need to be given medication by a member of staff.
Additional Support Needs Statement
Children with Additional Support Needs will not be excluded from Swansacre Playgroup.
Please contact a member of staff if you require any further information.
Promoting Positive Behaviour
Challenging behaviour is taken very seriously at Swansacre and every effort is made to work with parents in dealing with this. Our staff will inform you of any issues they feel need addressing and will work with you as detailed in our Promoting Positive Behaviour Policy which is displayed on our policy noticeboard.
Child Protection
Swansacre Playgroup is inspected by The Care Inspectorate who ensures that we operate in line with our Child Protection Policy. We also operate within the Perth and Kinross Child Protection guidelines.
We have two members of staff who are our named Child Protection Officers they are the Manager Debbie and Early Childcare Practitioner Faye. They will be informed if there is a suspicion of child neglect, etc. All of our CPO has the right to inform the area child protection team in any event concerning a child attending Swansacre Playgroup without consulting the parent/carer.
Collection of Children
Please inform staff when you drop your child off at playgroup if someone else is going to collect them. If you do not inform staff your child may not be released to the nominated person.
Fire/Emergency
In the event of a fire/emergency at Swansacre all children will be taken to Kinross Day Care Centre, High Street Kinross and all parents/carers will be contacted and asked to collect their child from this location as soon as possible. Please review our Health & Safety Policy and Procedure.
Working in Partnership with Parents
Swansacre Playgroup is run by a committee of parents and carers who are responsible for the success of the group. Please speak to a staff member if you feel you would be able to help the committee in any way or if you would like to take on a specific role within the committee. We are always looking for our parents to help with day to day running of the group and with fundraising events.
Please remember, Swansacre Playgroup is your playgroup.
Photographs and the Internet
Parents are asked to give permission for photographs to be taken of their child. These are mostly used for their individual care plans, which they receive at the end of the year. Permission will be sought for the images to be displayed in Swansacre, or on Facebook/our Website. Permission is also required for the use and distribution (to other parents) of photographs where your child is participating in group activities or in the background of a photo of another child. This information should be given at first registration and reviewed every 6 months thereafter.
Neighbours
Swansacre shares an access point with neighbours and rely on our members being considerate when dropping off and collecting children.
- Please respect our neighbours – please do not park across their garage or driveways; please leave buggies and bikes against the wall of Swansacre, not our neighbours’ wall;
- Please do not smoke or drop cigarette ends or litter in the vicinity of Swansacre.
- Please do not leave bikes and buggies outside during the session. Bring buggies inside and speak to a member of staff about bikes.
Thank you for respecting our neighbours.
Data Protection
Swansacre is fully compliant with Data Protection legislation. We also collate information which is legally required from the Care Inspectorate and our insurances.
We are very strict about confidential information and how we handle it. The information we collate is necessary in order ensure we provide the highest standard of care. There is a Data Protection Policy which is displayed on our notice board for your reference.
We seek permission to use personal data, such as (but not limited to), photographs and email addresses.
You can request to see the information we hold on you or your child at any time, please refer to the policy for directions on how to do this.
You have a right to withdraw permission for us to use data at any time, please refer to the policy for directions on how to do this.
Please do not discuss anything that happens during a playgroup session out with Swansacre.
Complaints Policy
Complaints can be made to a member of staff, committee, or our Manager in confidence in line with our Complaints Policy.
Our Complaints Policy is displayed in our Parents Information area in the hall.
Parents and carers can contact The Care Inspectorate directly at the following address to report any complaints without first informing Swansacre Playgroup:
Compass House
11 Riverside Drive
Dundee
DD1 4NY
01382 207100
Complaints 0845 6030890
Please read the Complaints Procedure displayed on our notice board for further information.