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Safeguarding

Keeping children safe is the most important thing we do, and whilst Safeguarding has always been our top priority; we felt within the current climate it was important to outline our approach for your piece of mind. Our Designated Safeguarding Officer at Stationhouse Nursery is Jade Evans, the Nursery Leader. If you are ever worried about anything or see anything concerning, please talk to her; you can also contact Emma Jones, Nursery Leader of Lakehouse Nursery if this is more appropriate.

Our Team

We take our safer recruitment procedures very seriously and have a robust system for checking the suitability of our team, from the initial stages of the application and interview processes and throughout their time as part of our team. Every member of staff has been checked through the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), and an enhanced police check has been obtained before they start working with us. We also require 2 satisfactory references that are verbally followed up by our Nursery Managers before they are able to start working with us too. Although DBS checks are only required at the beginning of each staff member’s employment, we have committed to doing these DBS checks more often as an extra layer of safety. In addition, we have ongoing suitability checks that are completed twice yearly.

Ensuring our team are well-equipped and confident in dealing with safeguarding issues is essential. We have always committed to enhanced training for all our staff with each of them completing a level 2 certificate in Safeguarding and Child Protection annually, alongside other specific training around our responsibilities in regard to the Prevent Duty. Each of our Room Leaders have attended an Interagency Child Protection course and all our Designated or Deputy Designated Safeguarding officers have attended the Advanced Inter-agency Child Protection course and attend 6 monthly Safeguarding Cluster meetings too. Every member of the team holds a Paediatric First Aid certificate which is refreshed every 3 years – we also run First Aid courses for parents too.

Safeguarding children is also recognising when adults in their lives are struggling. This is really common and we are on hand to offer advice and support for a whole range of parenting issues from weaning and feeding, sleeping, tackling tricky behaviour to developmental concerns. We are also able to signpost parents who need Confidential specialist support, for example those suffering from anxiety, depression and those experiencing trauma.

Whilst we are a Private day nursery, we do run a Lakehouse Nurseries Ltd Foundation. This foundation can help with financial support to pay for activities, food and resources and in some cases to subsidise fees for those on low income and children requiring additional support. We accept 0 to 2, 2 year old and 3 to 5 year old Government funding for those aged 3 to 5. Please speak to the Nursery Leader on application.

Our Buildings

Stationhouse has security systems in place to ensure that nobody gains access to the nursery premises that are not authorised to do so. Door codes are not shared externally, and our main office is always manned so we can greet everyone before drop off and collection – this also helps us to get to know you better and to be there for questions, advice and support. At present due to Covid-19 safety protocols, each room has their own entrance, each door is fitted with a nest camera and doorbell so the team can check who is at the door before they take the children out to greet their parents or carers.

We understand that someone else might need to collect your child from nursery, either on a regular or ad-hoc basis. For this reason, when children first start with us, we ask you to set up a password and give us the names of people who are authorised to collect your child. We will always need you to inform us on the day if this is happening so we are able to do the relevant safety checks before we allow them to leave with your child.

Our Environment

We always tell our parents that our nurseries are not risk free. Judging risk is a skill children need to develop in a considered and controlled way. The team regularly assess the risks in our environment, but sometimes children will have bumps and falls, and this is a normal stage in their development as they negotiate different spaces, other children, and their ever-growing little bodies. The team will always tell you if your child has had an accident whilst in nursery and ask you to sign a form that explains how it happened. To add another layer of risk assessment and monitor our environment and resources, all accidents and incidents are collated in our unique monitoring system. They are analysed each month by the senior leadership team, so they are able to highlight any reoccurring themes in order for us to take any necessary steps to minimise risks if required.

Our Technology

We have an incredibly robust IT policy and have developed and manage all of our own nursery management systems. This means we know exactly who has access and what people are doing with information at all times. Tablets used to take photos and record children’s wow moments for their learning profiles are only connected to our own networks and not the internet so images cannot be sent externally. The team also only have access to this information whilst on site; we do not allow homeworking on children’s profiles. All systems have controls to only allow access to safe sites and materials and when being utilised by children this is always supervised. As you would expect personal mobiles cannot be carried by staff during the course of their working day and are only accessed on breaks in the staff room or off site. Emergency Nursery mobiles with no camera feature are carried by the team when out and about exploring Portishead.

Our Policy

Our full safeguarding policy will be sent to you on registration, it is also accessible along with all of our policies via our parent site www.mychildatnursery.co.uk for which you will be given log in information once your child starts nursery. Hard copies of all our policies can be found in the main nursery office.