What will happen if a member of staff or another child shows symptoms of Covid-19?
We will follow the Government guidance relating to Covid-19 at all times, information shared will always be from trusted sources such as the NHS, our Local Authority and Government.
We have also put in place an emergency action plan that outlines the procedures that staff will follow for any suspected cases of Covid-19 in the setting – you will have seen these procedures in your parent COV-19 policy and it has now been collated into an action plan.
This action plan covers communication protocols, what staff will do whilst waiting for children to be collected, what staff need to do to keep themselves and other children safe, cleaning protocols, and disposal of PPE, clothing and other things that might be infected with the virus. The basic process is summarised below.
Should a person (staff or child) develop symptoms (new persistent dry cough, high temperature and/or loss of smell and taste) the person in charge that day must be notified immediately, and the person should remove themselves from the setting – if it is a child, their parents will be contacted to collect immediately as per our COVID 19 policy.
Anybody with symptoms will be advised to follow the government guidance for households with possible coronavirus infection, and get tested as soon as possible.
If a test has been carried out and it returns negative, the symptoms will be managed like any other illness absence – parents should liaise with the nursery about when it is safe to return.
If a test returns positive, the nursery must be informed immediately and the person who has tested positive must adhere to the self-isolation rules.
If the child or staff member tests positive, we would then contact Public Health England and follow their guidance regarding closure of the nursery. If advised to close we would then follow the guidance and give families clear instructions for self-isolation.
In the event of staff absence due to coronavirus symptoms or a positive test result in this instance we would have to look at reducing children’s days and/or times due to not being able to use our usual supply staff at the moment and so that our high standards can be maintained. In this instance working parents would be prioritised.
If your child is the one who has tested positive then they must self isolate for 14 days along with the rest of the household
However, staff and children identified as close contacts may be sent home to self isolate for up to 14 days, in the event of this happening other members of these peoples households will not need to self isolate unless the person/s sent home then develop symptoms.
If your child has to isolate due to having covid-19 symptoms, or any other reason for self-isolation (such as nursery closure following advice from PHE or travel abroad), fees are payable in line with our normal terms and conditions.