Policies

We at Tiddlers Pre-school believe that children settle best when they have a key person to relate to, who knows them and their parents well, and who can meet their individual needs. Research shows that a key person approach benefits the child, the parent, the staff and the setting by providing secure relationships in which children thrive, parents have confidence, staff are committed and the pre-school is a happy and dedicated place to attend or work in.

We want children to feel safe, stimulated and happy at Tiddlers and to feel comfortable and secure with the staff. We aim to make the setting a welcoming place where the children settle quickly and easily because consideration has been given to the individual needs and circumstances of the children and their families.

The key person role is set out in the Safeguarding and Welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. We assign a key person for each child. The procedures set out a model for developing a key person approach that promotes effective and positive relationships for children who are in settings.

Procedures

We allocate a key person when the child starts at Tiddlers. The key person is responsible for the induction of the family and for the settling in of the child into the setting. The key person is responsible for developmental records and for sharing information on a regular basis with the childs parents using Tapestry online Learning journal and parents consultations.

Settling-in

Before a child starts at Tiddlers we have a settling in process. We offer shorter sessions where the parents can stay with their child to make them feel more comfortable. A key person will be assigned at this point to welcome both the child and parent into the setting and go through the ‘All about me’ forms with the parents. The key person works with the parents who jointly decide on the best way to help their child settle into Tiddlers.

At Tiddlers Pre-school we use an online system called Tapestry to record and store all observations and assessments relating to each child. This is a safe and secure system and one that enables parents and carers to access their child’s learning journey at any time. They can share it with their child, family and friends at home and also post any comments and photographs of their own, helping to create a fully holistic view of the child and strengthen the parent partnership.

Safety and security

Staff use tablets to take the photographs for observations which are to be uploaded to the journals. Each staff member has a secure login which is password and pin protected. The tablets are kept in a secure cupboard at pre-school and may only be taken home by staff members for specific reasons and with the express consent of management.  Staff will be allocated time at work to update journals and assess their key children’s next steps. Staff should have minimal need to work on journals at home but if they wish to do so they may access the Tapestry site using their own device. Staff are not permitted to download any photographs of the children onto their own devices.  If staff do work on Tapestry at home they should be aware of any other people around them and make sure they are not overlooked.  They must logout as soon as they have stopped working. If any member of staff suspects that their login details have been compromised in any way, they must inform the pre-school managers and new login details will be created. The Tapestry on-line Learning Journey system is hosted on secure dedicated servers based in the UK.   All data held on our Tapestry account is owned by Tiddlers; we are registered controllers of data with the Information Commissioner’s Office and are bound by the Data Protection Act. Photographs stored on the tablets are deleted on a regular basis by a member of staff.

Parents

Parents logging in to the system can only access their own child’s Learning Journey. Parents may input new observations and photo’s, and add comments to existing observations.  They do not have the necessary permission to edit existing content.  Parents are asked to sign a consent form giving permission for their child’s image to appear in other children’s Learning Journeys, and to protect images of other children that may appear in any photos contained in their child’s Learning Journey.  If parents withhold this consent their child is only ever photographed alone and no shared observations are made including that child.

When children leave

When children move to another setting we will transfer the Tapestry account to the new setting, if they also use Tapestry.  If they do not, we will email a PDF to the setting.

When a child leaves the setting to start school the parents can download a PDF copy of their child’s Learning Journey so they have a lasting record of their child’s time at pre-school.  The child’s information, and their Learning Journey will be permanently deleted from our Tapestry account so no data on that child will remain with us once they have left.

Tiddlers Pre-school will work with children, parents and the community to ensure the rights and safety of children and to give them the very best start in life.

We ensure all staff are trained to understand our safeguarding policies and procedures and have completed the relevant training.

The named DSL and Deputy DSL are fully trained and have passed the required training to be able to complete their job role competently and efficiently.

We abide by Ofsted requirement in respect of references and Disclosure and barring service checks for staff and volunteers, to ensure that no disqualified person or unsuitable person works at the setting or has access to the children. All staff are signed onto the update service which allows us to check their eligibility regularly.

We record information about staff qualifications, and the identity checks and vetting processes that have been completed including:

• The Disclosure and Barring service reference number
• The date the disclosure was obtained
• Details of who obtained it

All staff are paediatric first aid trained.

Daily risk assessments are carried out to ensure that all doors are locked, fire exits are accessible, and the building is safe for use.

Children entering and leaving the premises

All children attending Tiddlers Pre-school will enter and leave the premises using the front door only. This is to ensure the safety of all the children and staff. The door is locked from the inside with only members of staff able to unlock/lock it.

We operate a password system, for if somebody new is picking up a child from us. This password will have to be given to us in the morning, on that day, and relayed to us by the person collecting at the end of the day. This is to ensure the safety of the children and so that we do not have to call the parent for permission. No child will be permitted to leave with anybody unrecognisable to us without a correct password being exchanged.

Full safeguarding policy available to view at the setting upon request.