Illness, Medication & Allergies

It is no problem for children with mild illness (for example, a cold) to attend nursery. However for any contagious or more serious illness, we will ask parents to collect their child. This includes high temperature, (we follow NHS Guidance https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/fever-in-children), vomitting or diarrhoea and persistent head or stomach pain. We understand that it might not be possible to pick children up straight away, so please don't worry if this is the case. 

We follow the illness exclusion guidance provided by UK Health Security Agency (previously Public Health England) 

A full list of the conditions requiring staying at home and the exclusion period is available HERE  

If your child has been too ill to attend nursery, we ask that you take them to the doctor before returning them to the setting. 

In case of vomiting or diarrhoea, children should not return to nursery until 48 hours after their last symptoms. If your child has had a fever during the nursery day, we ask that you keep them at home for 24 hours to ensure the fever has subsided.

Consistent with government guidelines, children should be kept at home:

• For the duration of the exclusion period specified by UK Health Security Agency (previously Public Health England) 

• If they have a fever of or above 38 degrees Celcius

• If they have a runny nose with yellow/green mucous

• If wheezing, coughing continuously or experiencing shortness of breath

• If they exhibit an undiagnosed rash, continuous itching or uncovered sores

• If they have a sore throat or swollen glands

• If they are not feeling well enough to participate in indoor and outdoor activities as normal

We collect allergy and dietary requirement information during the registration process prior to your child starting with us. Your child's Key Person will be aware of this information, which is also recorded in our nursery management software (Famly) and displayed prominently in the eating areas.

If a child has a severe allergy requiring medication (e.g. Cetirizine or Epipen), we will ask you to complete a Permission to Administer Medicine Form and a Child Allergy & Dietary Report, which documents: 

• The allergen and the nature of the allergic reaction;

• Procedures in case of allergic reactions, including medication to be used and method of administration.

If required, EpiPens should be provided by parents and will be safely stored onsite by us for individual children. We do not keep a spare EpiPen.

If your child develops any additional allergies or food sensitivities, simply inform the nursery manager, who will ensure the information is posted in all the necessary locations.

If your child has been prescribed antibiotics the first dose of medication must be given at home before we can administer the medication at nursery. 

Prescription

We administer prescription medication as requested, but please note we must be able to see that the medicine is prescribed to your child and it must be in its original packaging with storage instructions.

Non-Prescription

We keep Calpol (fever relief) at the nursery and obtain parental consent to administer these at registration. Parents are free to withhold their consent. Children who have been given pain relief such as paracetamol/ibuprofen (calpol) before attending nursery will not be permitted in that day.