Key Policies - Abberley Preschool

Please see our Key Policies below. Please contact us for full details of our Policies and Procedures.

Safeguarding children and child protection

Policy statement

At Abberley Preschool we 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. Our safeguarding policy is based on three key commitments. Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility and a child’s needs must come first.

Procedures

We carry out the following procedures to ensure we meet the three key commitments.

Key Commitment 1

At Preschool we are committed to building a ‘culture of safety’ in which children are protected from all forms of abuse and harm.

Staff and volunteers

All staff and volunteers are fully trained in safeguarding. Within the setting there is a Designated Safeguarding Lead practitioner (DSL) and also a Deputy DSL. Either or both of these practitioners will always be on the premises during working preschool hours.

We ensure all staff and parents are made aware of our safeguarding policies and procedures.

We provide adequate and appropriate staffing resources to meet the needs of children. Staff have attended Safeguarding training courses.

Applicants for posts within the setting need to carry out ‘enhanced disclosure’ checks with the Criminal Records Bureau before posts can be confirmed. Where applications are rejected because of information that has been disclosed, applicants have the right to know and to challenge incorrect information. Any volunteers at the setting do not work unsupervised. Should a member of staff be awaiting their DBS, they must not be left alone with a child at any point.

We take security steps to ensure that we have control over who comes into the setting so that no unauthorised person has unsupervised access to the children. We have procedures for recording the details of visitors to the setting through our signing in book.

We take steps to ensure children are not photographed or filmed on video for any other purpose than to record their development or their participation in events organised by us. Parents sign consent forms upon joining the setting, to agree to where their children’s images are shown.

Preventing Radicalisation

Here at Abberley Preschool, the committee and staff are committed to promoting the fundamental British values of:

Democracy
The rule of law
Individual liberty
Individual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.

Key commitment 2

Preschool is committed to responding promptly and appropriately to all incidents or concerns of abuse that may occur and to work with statutory agencies.

Responding to suspicions of abuse

We acknowledge that abuse of children can take different forms – physical, emotional, sexual, neglect and child on child abuse. When children are suffering, this may be demonstrated through the things they say (direct or indirect disclosure) or through changes in their appearance, their behaviour, or their play.

We take into account factors affecting parental capacity, such as social exclusion, domestic violence, parent’s drug or alcohol abuse, mental or physical illness or parent’s learning disability.

We are aware of other factors that affect children’s vulnerability such as abuse of disabled children, fabricated or induced illness, child abuse linked to beliefs in spirit possession, sexual exploitation of children such as through internet abuse and Female Genital Mutilation that may affect or may have affected children and young people using our provision.

Where we believe a child in our care or known to us may be affected by any of these factors we follow the procedure for reporting child protection concerns.

Suspicions of abuse and disclosures.

Where such evidence is apparent, the concerned member of staff will fill out a Safety and Welfare form for the child. This will be dated, and details of the concern will be written down. This form will then be passed onto the Designated Safeguarding Lead where the details will be discussed.

Depending on the suspicion/disclosure, there are different routes to take.

Practitioner will need check the ‘Levels of Need Guidance’. There are four levels.

LEVEL 1 – Universal support.

This is where the family are coping with life and need no extra support at the moment. The child is at preschool.

LEVEL 2 – Targeted support to meet additional needs.

At this level, practitioners maybe noticing different behaviours, maybe some signs that the child/family need some extra support. Practitioners would use a Safety and welfare form to write down, as much as needed, concerns and conversations with the child. These would be monitored by the DSL and the member of staff working with the child. The parent would be shown all records and asked questions to help practitioners gather a clearer picture of the child’s life. Practitioners may use a early help assessment form to help support the family within the setting. Progress will be recorded. If the situation does not become resolved, then the child/family will move up to Level 3.

LEVEL 3 – Complex needs, family needs further help.

This is where practitioners would phone the Family Front Door to discuss issues and then fill out a Cause for Concern form on the professional portal. At level 3 the safeguarding practitioners would have gathered enough information for them to be able to make the referral. Practitioners will liaise with other services, such as the community social worker, and any other outside agencies that need to be involved.

LEVEL 4 – Danger and needs immediate protection.

If we believe that the child is in immediate risk of danger, the Police will be called on 999 straight away. After this, the practitioners will call the Family Front Door to notify them. At this point parents will not be notified by the settling, the police and social care will take over. If the parents come to collect the child before the police and social services arrive, the parents will not be able to enter the setting.

Allegations against a member of staff

Here at Abberley Preschool we will take any safeguarding allegations very seriously, whether this comes from another member of staff, a parent or a child. He/she can feel secure in the knowledge that by speaking out any concerns, there will be no recriminations against them and they will remain anonymous.

If you have any worries or concerns about a member of staff, then you will need to go to the manager. If the allegation is against the Manager, then the Head of the Committee will need to be contacted.

The manager will then write down the details of the alleged incident. If the manager, and head of committee feels it necessary, then the member of staff will be suspended (on full pay) for the duration of the investigation. We will then refer this to the LADO to investigate.

We will also need to report the alleged incident to Ofsted and what measures we have taken.

Where the situation remains unresolved then the person raising the concern can contact the Ofsted Whistle Blowing Hotline (03001233155) for advice.

Disciplinary action

Where a member of staff or volunteer has been dismissed due to engaging in activities that caused concern for the safeguarding of children or vulnerable adults, we will notify the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) of relevant information so that individuals who pose a threat to children (and vulnerable groups), can be identified and barred from working with these groups.

Key commitment 3

Preschool is committed to promoting awareness of child abuse issues throughout its training and learning programmes for adults.

Training

We seek out training opportunities for all adults involved in the setting to ensure that they are able to recognise the signs and signals of possible physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse and neglect and that they are aware of the local authority guidelines for making referrals. We ensure that all staff know the procedures for reporting and recording their concerns in the setting. All staff undertake regular safeguarding training and stay up to date by reviewing ongoing updates to our Safeguarding Policy and the Keeping Children Safe in Education guidance.

Planning

The layout of the rooms allows for constant supervision. No child is left alone with staff or volunteers in a one-to-one situation without being visible to others. Where children need to spend time away from the rest of the group the door is left ajar.

Confidentiality

All suspicions and investigations are kept confidential and shared only with those who need to know. Any information is shared under the guidance of the Local Safeguarding Children Board.

Support to families

We believe in building trusting and supportive relationships with families, staff and volunteers in the group. We make clear to parents our role and responsibilities in relation to child protection, such as for the reporting of concerns, providing information, monitoring of the child, and liaising at all times with the local children’s social care team. We will continue to welcome the child and the family whilst investigations are being made in relation to any alleged abuse. At our setting the care and safety of the child is paramount we do all in our power to support and work with the child’s family.

Policy for Safely Handling Children with Complex and Challenging Needs in Early Years

This policy sets out how our preschool supports the safety, care, and learning of young children (ages 0–5) who may have complex and challenging needs. We aim to provide a nurturing, inclusive environment where every child can thrive.

This policy applies to all preschool staff, volunteers, and external professionals working with children in our early years setting.

Complex Needs: Children who may need extra help due to physical disabilities, medical conditions, sensory impairments, communication difficulties, or developmental delays. – Challenging Behaviour: Behaviour that is difficult to manage and may include hitting, biting, kicking, running away, or self-harming. Often, this behaviour is a way for young children to express feelings they cannot yet put into words.

Key Principles – Every child is unique: We treat all children with dignity, compassion, and respect. – Understanding behaviour: We view behaviour as a form of communication and aim to understand the cause. – Safe, calm environments: We create structured routines and predictable settings to help children feel safe. – Positive support: We focus on what children can do and encourage good choices through praise and guidance.

Responsibilities – Practitioners and key workers are responsible for providing daily care and early intervention strategies. – SENCO (Special Educational Needs Coordinator) helps develop personalised plans and coordinates with other professionals. – Manager or Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) ensures policies are followed and concerns are addressed quickly.

Supporting Children Safely – Individual Support Plans (ISPs): Created for children who need additional help. Plans include routines, triggers, calming strategies, and communication preferences. – Environment adaptations: Use of quiet areas, sensory tools, and visual aids to help reduce distress and overstimulation. – Positive handling only when necessary: Physical contact (e.g., guiding a child away from danger) is only used when a child is at immediate risk to themselves or others. All interventions must be gentle, appropriate for their age, and follow training. – Staff training: All staff are trained in early intervention, de-escalation, and behaviour support suitable for early years.

Working with Families – Parents/carers are key partners. We involve them in care plans, listen to their insights, and keep them informed of progress and incidents. – We respect families’ backgrounds, languages, and values.

Incident Reporting – All incidents involving challenging behaviour or physical support are recorded in an Incident Log and shared with parents. – Reports include: what happened, what support was given, and any follow-up actions. – Persistent or serious incidents are reviewed with the SENCO and management.

Safeguarding – All concerns about a child’s safety or well-being are reported immediately to the Designated Safeguarding Lead. – Safeguarding always comes first — this includes emotional, physical, and developmental safety.

Staff Training All staff receive ongoing training in: – Early childhood development – Supporting additional needs – Positive behaviour guidance – Safeguarding and child protection

This policy is reviewed annually or sooner if there are changes in legislation, guidance, or following a significant incident.

Maintaining children’s safety and security on premises

Policy statement

At Abberley Preschool we maintain the highest possible security of our premises to ensure that each child is safely cared for during their time with us.

Procedures

Children’s personal safety

We ensure all employed staff have been checked for criminal records by an enhanced disclosure from the Criminal Records Bureau and that they are on the DBS update system. The DBS’s are checked online every half term.

All children are supervised by adults at all times. Whenever children are on the premises at least two adults are present.

Risk assessments are carried out to ensure children are not made vulnerable within any part of our premises, nor by any activity.

Parents/carers of prospective newcomers may be freely admitted to the sessions but details ie names and times will be recorded.

All other visitors must sign in, in the signing in book. Proof of identity must be provided before admittance. The manager or supervisor has the right to refuse access to anyone they consider unacceptable or suspicious.

No visitors are ever left unaccompanied with the children.

Security.

The personal possessions of staff and volunteers are securely stored during sessions.

The current method of entry/exit from the Village Hall when the Pre School session is in operation is through the side entrance on the right-hand side for drop off and collection is through the main doors. The following Procedures must be understood and implemented by all staff and parents in order to ensure the safety of the children and adults.

The door must be kept locked at all times when the Preschool is operating, with the key removed from the lock but still being easily accessible to adults. This will ensure that children cannot leave the building and also unauthorised visitors cannot gain entry to the building.

The only exception to this rule will be at drop-off and collection times. In these circumstances, the door must be manned by a member of staff. This will usually be by the Manager when she/he is in attendance at the setting. Where the Manager is not available, it is the responsibility of the Supervisor in charge of the session to ensure that the door is adequately manned. A member of staff must be in attendance until the last parent leaves the building whereupon the door will be locked by this staff member. Parents are not permitted to unlock the door.

On entering the building, staff members sign the children in via Famly. If the usual parent is not collecting, details of who will be collecting their child must be given to the person manning the door. If this person is unfamiliar to staff, a personal password will be given to the parent and a note made in the register with the child’s name and the password. On collecting the child, this person will be asked the password by the member of staff handing over. The member of staff who is handing over must check with members of staff and see if any passwords are needed. If in doubt of the identity of the person collecting the child, the member of staff will not let the child leave until parents have been contacted to confirm their identity.

The member of staff manning the door will mark children and staff in the register. The register is taken formally with the children by the supervisor at 9.30 and at 12.00., and numbers of children and staff for each session entered at the bottom of the register. Children arriving after 9.15, or leaving mid-session, must be signed in or out by the parent, and the member of staff admitting them or handing them over must note the time with the word ‘in’ or ‘out’ in the register.

Where it is necessary for a member of staff to temporarily leave the building eg. to deposit soiled nappies in the bin, another member of staff must be notified of this, and it is then his/her responsibility to ensure that the door is manned or locked, depending upon the situation. Under no circumstances must a staff member leave the building with the door being left unlocked without advising another member of staff of their intended actions. Once the original staff member returns to the building the door will be re-locked and the key put in an accessible place out of the lock.

If a member of staff needs to leave the building for a longer time (e.g. to make a private phone call), they must ask the supervisor (to ensure ratios are covered and children are adequately supervised). It is their responsibility to make sure the door is locked after them.

Lock down policy

Policy statement

The children and staff safety at Abberley Preschool will always be top priority. In the event of a threat, may it be an unwelcome visitor or the unlikely event of a terrorist attack, we have a lock down procedure to ensure the safety of everyone in preschool.

Procedure

In the event of a threat to our preschool the staff will do the following:

The supervisor will calmly gather all the children, notifying the staff of the risk, and the children will be counted.
The manager will ensure that all doors and windows are locked and curtains are closed. Making sure she has picked up the register and emergency contact list.
The supervisor will lead all the children, with the staffs help, to our designated safe place (currently little room off the stage) When safe, the staff will do circle time to keep the children calm.
The manager will call the Police. The manager will then follow the instructions set by the Police.

Making a complaint

Policy statement

Abberley Preschool believes that children and parents are entitled to expect courtesy and prompt, careful attention to their needs and wishes. We welcome suggestions on how to improve our setting and will give prompt and serious attention to any concerns you may have about the running of the Preschool. We anticipate that most concerns will be resolved quickly by an informal approach to the appropriate member of staff. If this does not achieve the desired result, we have a set of Procedures for dealing with concerns. We aim to bring all concerns about the running of our setting to a satisfactory conclusion for all of the parties involved.

Procedures

All settings are required to keep a ‘summary log’ of all complaints that reach stage two or beyond. This is to be made available to parents/carers as well as to Ofsted inspectors.

Making a complaint

Stage 1

Any parent/carer who has a concern about any aspect of the Preschool talks over, first of all, his/her concerns with the manager and member of staff concerned.
Most complaints should be resolved amicably and informally at this stage.

Stage 2

If this does not have a satisfactory outcome, or if the problem recurs, the parent/carer moves to this stage of the procedure by contacting the manager and chairperson of the committee. In the first instance we anticipate this should be verbally . This complaint should then be followed up in writing to the chair of the management committee.
We store written complaints from parents/carers in the child’s personal file. However, if the complaint involves a detailed investigation, the manager may wish to store all information relating to the investigation in a separate file designated for this complaint.
When the investigation into the complaint is completed, the manager or chairperson, as appropriate, meets with the parent/carer to discuss the outcome.
Parents/carers must be informed of the outcome of the investigation within 28 days of making the complaint.
When the complaint is resolved at this stage, the summative points are logged in the Complaints Summary Record.

Stage 3

If the parent/carer is not satisfied with the outcome of the investigation, he or she requests a meeting with the manager and the chair of the management committee. The parent/carer should have a friend or partner present if required and the manager should have the support of the chairperson of the management committee.
An agreed written record of the discussion is made as well as any decision or action to take as a result. All of the parties present at the meeting sign the record and receive a copy of it.
This signed record signifies that the procedure has concluded. When the complaint is resolved at this stage, the summative points are logged in the Complaints Summary Record.

Stage 4

If at the stage three meeting the parent/carer and Preschool cannot reach agreement, an external mediator is invited to help to settle the complaint. This person should be acceptable to both parties, listen to both sides and offer advice. A mediator has no legal powers but can help to define the problem, review the action so far and suggest further ways in which it might be resolved.
The mediator keeps all discussions confidential. He/she can hold separate meetings with the setting personnel (manager and chair of the management committee) and the parent/carer, if this is decided to be helpful. The mediator keeps an agreed written record of any meetings that are held and of any advice he/she gives.

Stage 5

When the mediator has concluded his/her investigations, a final meeting between the parent/carer, the manager and the chair of the management committee is held. The purpose of this meeting is to reach a decision on the action to be taken to deal with the complaint. The mediator’s advice is used to reach this conclusion. The mediator is present at the meeting if all parties think this will help a decision to be reached.
A record of this meeting, including the decision on the action to be taken, is made. Everyone present at the meeting signs the record and receives a copy of it. This signed record signifies that the procedure has concluded.

It is hoped that the involvement of the mediator will bring about the final stage of the complaints procedure.

However there may be circumstances when it is necessary to involve the registering body ie Ofsted. This would be the case if a child appeared to be at risk.

Parents may approach Ofsted directly at any stage of this complaints procedure. In addition, where there seems to be a possible breach of the setting’s registration requirements, it is essential to involve Ofsted as the registering and inspection body with a duty to ensure the Welfare Requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage are adhered to.
The number to call Ofsted with regard to a complaint is:

Ofsted Complaints Helpline 0300 123 1231

Abberley Preschool Ofsted URN is 205264. These details are displayed on the Preschool Notice Board contained in the foyer.
If a child appears to be at risk, we follow the procedures of the Local Safeguarding Children Board in our local authority.
In these cases, both the parent/carer and setting are informed and the manager works with Ofsted or the Local Safeguarding Children Board to ensure a proper investigation of the complaint, followed by appropriate action.

Should a complaint be made against a child within the Preschool then it is the responsibility of the manager to discuss this in confidence with the child’s parent/carer. It is hoped that most problems can be dealt with in an informal and friendly manner and if appropriate an action plan agreed between the parent/carer and staff to resolve the matter.

If a complaint is made against a parent/carer the manager should contact the chair of the Committee and discuss the complaint in confidence with them. The chairperson then decides whether to take the complaint to the full committee, to decide if it is necessary to write to the parent/carer concerned.

Records

A record of complaints against our setting and/or the child(ren) and/or the adult(s) working in our setting and/or the parent/carer is kept. This will include the date the complaint was received, the circumstances of the complaint and how the complaint was managed.
The outcome of all complaints is recorded in the Summary Complaints Record which is available for parents and Ofsted inspectors on request.