FAQ’s

The car park area is for staff only, and unfortunately no parents/carers are able to park here when dropping off or collecting their children. The safety of the nursery and school children is paramount, and lots of cars driving around in school hours can be dangerous. Thank you for your co-operation and we apologies for any inconvenience caused.

Children’s Paracetamol may only be given if you have previously given permission on the consent form. Children’s Paracetamol may only be given to your child in order to reduce their temperature and relieve immediate distress. The nursery will gain permission over the phone and the medication will only be given if you are unable to collect within 30 minutes.

If your child is ill enough to warrant This medication, they are too ill to be at nursery, and we ask you to keep them at home.

We should not wish for any parent to be unhappy with the care The Orchard Nursery provides. Should you become concerned about any aspect of nursery life, care or procedure then you should immediately raise that concern with the nursery manager or deputy. Any such matter will be swiftly addresses, either in a meeting with the parent to discuss and resolve the concern, or in writing if applicable, to Angela Prieur (Chairperson of Committee) See complaints policy in full.

We want our nursery to be a safe and secure place for you and your child. On arrival you will need to ring the door bell to gain access to the building. Our main door has a key fob system of which only the staff know the code. Older (2-4yr) children need to go to the door near their rooms and ring the door bell to gain access.

Your child may only be collected by authorised collectors, an up to date photograph of the collector and a password must be provided. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WHATSOEVER, will the nursery release a child to any unauthorised person. This includes relatives of any generation. Should you wish for an unauthorised person to collect your child, in extraordinary circumstances, then a phone call from yourself with a clear description of the collector and a password may satisfy the manager/deputy to release your child to that person.

Children must feel happy and secure whilst at the nursery, before they can play and learn successfully. They need to be confident that you will return at the end of the session. We recognise that you know your child best and we endeavour to work with you to make your child feel safe and secure in our environment. This can be achieved by doing the following:

You and your child can visit the nursery to look around before they start.

We encourage you to separate from your child for brief periods at first which can be built up to longer absences until the child is ready to be left for a whole session.

Settling in sessions will normally be 2 sessions. The duration of stay will be according to your child’s age and needs. This will be discussed with you and the sessions can be extended if your child is not finding it easy to settle into nursery. You will not be charged for these sessions.

Children develop at different rates and you should not be discouraged if your child does not settle in as quickly as another. We will offer reassurance and support.

Emma Middleton is overall responsible for all safeguarding concerns.

At the nursery we have a care of duty for the children in our setting. We aim to work with children, parents/carers and the community to ensure the safety of the children. We intend to create an environment in which children are safe from abuse and in which any suspicion of abuse is promptly and appropriately responded to. We provide adequate and appropriate staffing to meet legal requirements and to meet the needs of the children. We check criminal records using the Disclosure and Barring service (DBS) and take up two references on all staff members. Staff, students and volunteers are never left on their own and mobile phones and personal cameras are forbidden from the rooms where children are present. We have procedures for recording the details of visitors to the nursery and have security steps in place to ensure that we have control over who enters the nursery so that no unauthorized person has access to the children. For safeguarding reasons please can all parents not allow other parents to gain entry into the nursery without a member of staff present.

We aim to offer support to children and their families with identified special needs/learning difficulties. We believe that all children should be included in all aspects of the nursery and learn alongside their peers. We have a named member of staff responsible for liaising with outside agencies and co-ordinating support were needed. Our SENCO (Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator) at the setting is: JO MARTIN.

Children will be provided with regular drinks and well balanced, nutritional meals. Fresh drinking water will be available to children at all times. These are situated in the water dispenser’s in each of the older rooms, and the children are encouraged and taught how to use them appropriately. Babies are offered drinks at regular intervals. Staff hold a currant basic Food Hygiene Certificate, and food will be stored and prepared safely using the correct methods. Staff will be seated with the children during all meal times to encourage social and language skills. We aim to teach the children good manners and please and thank you is always encouraged. The pre-school room are encouraged to cut up their own snack and serve themselves at lunch time.

For the benefit of all our children and staff, please do not bring your child to nursery when they are unwell. As long as your child is well enough in themselves to enjoy the nursery day. It is advisable to telephone the nursery to enable an informed decision to be made on attendance. You will still be charged for any session missed through illness to cover staffing costs all year round. If your child becomes unwell whilst at nursery we will contact you to collect. If we are unable to contact you we will telephone the emergency contacts.

If your child has a temperature, cough or cold we will ask you to do an LFT to test for COVID. If you have a positive test result we ask you to isolate for 3 days, or until you child’s temperature has gone and they feel well enough in themselves. We have tests available at the nursery, if you need one.

If a child is ill enough to warrant Children’s Paracetamol, they are too ill to be at nursery, and we would ask you to keep them at home. 

The administration of medication can only be given if it is prescribed by your child’s G.P. This must be given to a senior member of staff and you must sign a medication form. If your child is asthmatic a medication form must be completed and an inhaler, clearly labelled, must be provided.

Please dress your child so they are ready to play! (Clothes and shoes you don’t mind getting messy!) Please provide suitable clothing, appropriate for all kinds of weather (coats, hats, Wellington boot etc in winter, sunhats, legionnaire or fisherman style preferred in the summer)