Safety & Security

The Children’s Safety

The safety and security of the children in our care is our primary concern.

Safeguarding

All staff must follow our Safeguarding Policy where there are concerns about a child. Safe recruitment of staff is our primary focus. The staff undergo a stringent vetting process which includes Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks at an enhanced level. Staff then attend regular training to ensure they are up to date with the relevant policies and procedures.

First Aid

Of course, prevention is always better than cure and we go to great lengths to keep our children safe at all times. We carry out daily risk assessments on each area of the setting, before the children arrive. However, children will naturally have knocks and bumps from time to time. The good news is that we always have a first aider on duty within the nursery at all times. All of our teaching staff receive training in Advanced Paediatric First Aid (Level 3 Ofqual regulated), so that urgent intervention is immediately on hand in the unlikely event of it being required. Any accidents that happen on site will be recorded online and asked for a digital signature.

Cleaning and Food Safety

The registered owners of the building (the Scouts) employ the services of an in-house cleaner who operates outside of our normal working hours so that the nursery is clean at the beginning of the day. We also have members of the team who throughout the day help to ensure cleanliness and hygiene levels are kept up. As a Montessori principle, the children and teachers are encouraged to tidy and clean up at regular intervals as a team with the teacher acting as the role model. We are proud that the Food Standards Agency has consistently awarded Horsham Montessori the maximum 5 Star rating for food hygiene following inspections. [view here]

Access to the Nursery

In January 2020 we had new fences and security gates fitted around the perimeter of the building. The entrance gate is now permanently locked with a keypad for access. The gate is fitted with a bell to alert us of any visitors. The gate is unlocked and opened at arrival and drop-off times manned by a teacher welcoming the children and parents/carers.

Our front door is locked upon arrival of the first child and all other doors and exits are locked and/or alarmed.

We ask any visitors on site to ensure they always close doors/gates and never allow your child to open them. Each child must be signed in and out of the setting with a pin code. The daily register is our checklist in the event of any emergency. A child will only be permitted to leave with their parent/carer or with a previously authorised person. We ensure all visitors are signed in and out and are accompanied by a member of the team at all times.

*Due to the current pandemic we will not be having any visitors on-site at the same time as the children.*

CCTV

Like many nurseries, we have CCTV cameras on the outside of the building. However, unlike other nurseries, we have decided against having cameras inside rooms in the setting and/or providing the facility for parents to view the cameras over the internet. We personally feel that the security concerns of opening the cameras up in this way far outweigh the benefits. The cameras have very limited access and are only ever used to check security.