Regulations
Your child is being cared for and educated during his / her most formative years and in order to maintain the high standards of the nursery it is important that parents read the following regulations.
If you wish to enrol your child, you will be expected to confirm that you have read and accept the regulations by signing the Nursery Contract and fully completing the Registration Form.
Age of admittance to Siblings Nursery
Siblings Nursery cares for children from birth to 5 years old. There are limited spaces available for holiday care for children aged over 5 years. We usually limit these places to children who have previously attended Siblings Nursery or have brothers or sisters who attend the nursery.
Hours of Opening
Full Time: The nursery opens at 7am.
(Children can be dropped off from 7am. The latest they may be picked up is 6:00pm).
Part Time – am: Children can be dropped off from 7:00am. The latest they may be picked up is 12:00pm.
Part Time – pm: Children can be dropped off from 1.00pm. The latest they may be picked up is 6.00pm.
Parents are requested to adhere to these times strictly. There are limited places available for alternative times and sessions. This is at the discretion of the Nursery Manager.
Arrangements of children to be collected.
It is the responsibility of the parents / guardian to inform the nursery who will be collecting the child / children that day if not themselves. We have strict collection procedures in place. No child will be allowed to go with someone we do not know.
Parents failing to collect children from nursery.
If a child has not been collected by the end of the session / day, the nursery will make all efforts to contact the parents / guardians. In failing to do this the nursery will then contact the named emergency contact as given.
If all efforts to make the contact fail and the parents / guardian have not made contact with the nursery within half an hour of closing time, then the nursery must contact the necessary authorities within the Sunderland area who will take responsibility for the child. Please ensure you keep us up to date with any changes to your contact details.
Safeguarding
We are committed to keeping children safe at Siblings Nursery and have a duty of care to ensure the children’s welfare is paramount. We have a full, comprehensive range of policies and procedures to safeguard the children in our care. Some include; safer recruitment and selection of staff, administration of medication, storage of medication, accidents and first aid, risk assessments, hygiene and food nutrition. We follow the Local Authority’s Safeguarding Board’s guidance and all staff attend Child Protection training specific to their role within the nursery.
The designated Safeguarding person for Siblings Nursery is Joanne Anderson, Nursery Manager.
Sickness / Absences from nursery
Childrens Sickness: Any child suffering from a doubtful rash, sore throat, discharge from eyes, ears, nose should be kept at home until a Doctor has certified that the child’s symptoms have disappeared.
The nursery’s policy is that any children suffering from sickness and diarrhoea must be kept off nursery. Children may return to nursery once they have been 48 hours symptom free. Should the children become sick at the nursery, every effort will be made to contact the parents / guardian. It may be necessary to separate the child with a member of staff until the child is collected. This is to prevent the spread of infection.
Please ensure that you indicate where you can be contacted during the nursery hours. The Nursery Manager reserves the right to take a child to hospital in an emergency. Medicines are not administrated at the nursery unless the child’s guardian is prepared to provide clear written instructions for dosage, etc, and only prescribed medication will be administered, with the exception of teething gels.
Childrens Absences: It is important that the nursery is notified if your child is to be absent. This can be done by calling into the nursery or telephoning 0191 516 6455.
There is no reduction in fees for children who are unable to attend due to illness or sickness.
Family holidays away from Nursery
The nursery is open throughout the year for 52 weeks except for statutory (bank) holidays. Dates are posted on the parent’s information board. A calendar of events are issued to each family at the beginning of each year.
Nursery fees are calculated including 2 weeks holidays at 100% discount. The fees are calculated by the weekly fee x 50 weeks per year divided by 12 months.
For example: 2 sessions per week @ £20 per session = £40 per week x 50 weeks = £2000 per year divided by 12 months = £167 per calendar month.
Children who are away from nursery for longer periods of time are not entitled to any more reductions in fees.
Nursery fees
For details see our Fees Page for our Nursery fee structure. Childcare fees must be paid on the first day of every month, 1 month in advance.
Childcare Vouchers are accepted as a form of payment towards your childcare costs (this saves money on your National Insurance and Tax) – see your Employer for details – ask about ‘childcare vouchers’ or ‘salary sacrifice’. If both parents are working, you can sacrafice up to £243 per month each.
Some parents can apply for Child Tax Credits – up to 70% of childcare costs can be paid if you qualify.
The preferred method of payment is be Standing Order or by Bank Transfers. Payment can be accepted by debit/credit card, cash and cheque. All cheques returned to the Nursery unpaid will have an additional £30.00 charge added to the fees to cover bank administration charges. Debit and credit card payments can also be made over the phone at the nursery.
Late payments
Payments are due at the beginning of every month. Any fees that are outstanding after 5 working days from the first day of the month will be subject to a £10.00 late fee penalty. If fees continue to be outstanding for a further 5 working days, the child’s placement will be stopped at the nursery until the balance is cleared. Any outstanding payments that are not cleared within 21 days (from the beginning of the month) will be passed onto our external debt recovery agency to retrieve.
Child Tax Credits
For all we are happy to receive payments from parents who are in receipt of tax credits, we cannot allow children to start the nursery if the parent cannot pay the fees whilst they are waiting for the Child Tax Credits to be sorted out. We can arrange a payment plan to allow parents to pay weekly until the Child Tax Credits are set up, however this is at the discretion of the Nursery Manager.
Please Note: The Government pay Child Tax Credits to the parents and NOT directly to the nursery. It is the parents responsibility to pay the nursery fees when they are due.
Leaving Siblings Nursery
If a child is to leave Siblings Nursery for whatever reason, a full month’s notice is due. The full months payment can be made and the child still attend the nursery or you can pay in leiu of notice. The notice for you child to leave the nursery must be given in writing stating the last day the child will attend the nursery. Please ensure you follow this procedure as failing to do so will result in you being charged a month’s fee to terminate the contract.
Childrens clothing and personal property
All childrens clothing etc must be marked clearly with your child’s name, this is very important.
Coats etc should be hung on the hooks provided and any spare clothing placed in the childs own bag. Children who have dummies, each have their own sealed pot with their name on to reduce the spread of any infection. Children may bring their own cups, sports bottles etc providing that they are clearly labelled with their name or can use the ones provided by the nursery.
Please do not dress children in good, expensive clothing. Children come to nursery to have fun and learn, therefore they will be experiencing lots of different activities, some messy. We use paints that are suitable for young children and bought from reputable companies but some do stain. We also strongly encourage the wearing of aprons but accidents do happen.
We do like children to bring in a pair of wellies and a suitable coat for colder weather. In the summer we like children to have layers of clothing and a sun hat. Parents can opt to bring in their own suntan lotion or can donate £1 each year and the nursery will ensure children have Factor 50 (usually Ambre Solaire) applied regularly throughout the day.
Articles left at the nursery are at the owners risk.
Childrens valuables when visiting our Nursery
Children are allowed to bring their own comforters in from home but we do discourage toys from home and accept no responsibility for damaged or lost items. Therefore, items of any value should not be brought to nursery.
Children are not to bring in money, sweets, crisps or chewing gum. The nursery supplies refreshments for your child throughout the day. The only exception to this rule is if a child is to have packed lunches. These are monitored by the Nursery Staff and Cook and are expected to be nutritous and healthy. The nursery cook can offer suggestions, if this is necessary.
Parking outside Siblings Nursery
Ample and safe parking is available outside the Nursery. Please exercise great care using the drop off zone and the car park. People using the car park do so entirely at their own risk. The nursery accepts no responsibility for injury, damage or loss to persons, vehicles or property. Please observe the speed limit whilst using the car park. Under no circumstances should anyone do a U-turn outside the nursery – please follow the road round. This is monitored by the security team.
Unsettled Children
We are concerned for the happiness of your child and offer the highest possible standards in childcare. The Nursery staff are trained to settle children into nursery life. However, even with the most experienced childcare professionals, rarely do some children not settle. Therefore, if after a reasonable period of time it is clear that your child is not settled, the Manager may advise that the child be removed from the nursery. They may be re-admitted at a later date. The Manager also reserves the right to remove a child from the nursery for any breach of the regulations and childcare rules.
Behaviour Management at Siblings Nursery
The nursery has well trained, experienced and qualified staff that understand the needs, problems and frustrations of children that may lead to misbehaviour when in attendance at Siblings Nursery.
The nursery operates a positive discipline policy in which children are rewarded for good behaviour. A variety of strategies are used, from praise to stickers and hand stamps to certificates.
Children are expected to operate within a framework of discipline which takes into account mutual respect, courtesy and consideration for others individuals and groups, good manners and the gradual achievement of self-discipline and control.
However there may be the odd occasion when ordinary persuasion is not sufficient to deal with a problem and in this instance the following policy is adopted.
1. The child or children will be diverted to another activity away from the situation, or,
2. Temporary removal of the child or children to a more solitary activity may be necessary
On rare occasions there may be a need to put in more comprehensive behaviour management strategies. These could include:
1. The child been monitored closely by a member of staff
2. The keyperson talking with the child to ascertain reasons for unacceptable behaviour (age appropriate)
3. Time Out (usually somewhere quiet) with an adult
On these occasions parents will be informed usually by the keyperson or a member of the staff team and if required the Nursery Manager or other senior member of staff will be willing and available to discuss solutions to any problems. If these measures are unsuccessful it may be necessary to hold further discussion with the parents. Usually by working together a common ground is found to work from.
In the event of unacceptable behaviour persisting, it may be wise to seek advice from external specialists. There are many professionals available for us to work alongside e.g. Speech and Language Therspists, Behavioural Team, Educational Phsychologists etc. The nursery will not contact external professionals without prior consent from the parents.
Day care complaints
Although the nursery prides itself on the high quality of childcare provided and its close relationship between staff and parents, the nursery understands that the need may arise where a parent may feel it is necessary to lodge a complaint.
The complaints and grievances procedure for our nursery are as follows.
1. An informal private discussion with a member of the nursery staff; usually the keyperson.
2. Should this prove unsatisfactory then an informal meeting with the Manager of Siblings Nursery; Joanne Anderson and any other parties involved will take place to resolve the problem.
3. To complete and return complaints form and return it to the Manager.
4. In the unlikely event that a complaint or grievance cannot be resolved informally then consultation may be sought with Ofsted. Address: Piccadilly Gate, Store Street. Manchester. M1 2WD. Telephone: 0300 123 1231