I am required to consider the Health and Safety of all the children in my care and therefore I must insist that parents do not bring their children when sick or infectious.

If your child shows any sign of illness or is unable to participate in the normal routine then you will be contacted to arrange a speedy collection of your child. If your place of work is some distance from the childminder it may be prudent to arrange a back-up plan for somebody who would be able to collect the child should this occur. If I feel your child needs urgent medical attention/treatment, I will of course seek this on your behalf, you must give me written permission to do this. It is of vital importance that you keep contact telephone numbers up to date so that I can contact you.

Sick children expose other children, as well as my family and myself, to the spread of their illness and require additional care and attention that I am unable to give. Moreover, sick children want care from their parents in the comfort of their own homes. However high the quality of childcare you receive, your child is unlikely to recover as quickly as in their own home with their family.

If other children become ill due to exposure to your sick child, either because he/she was returned to day care before full recovery or because he/she was not picked up promptly upon notice of becoming ill, other parents will be unnecessarily inconvenienced. If my family or I become ill due to exposure to a sick day care child, all of the day care children may need to arrange alternate care, and it is possible that I may lose a portion of my income. Because this is disruptive to other children and their families, as well as my own, your co-operation on this issue is extremely important.

Please also consider that while one child may recover quickly from an illness, the same illness can affect another child more severely. There also could be a very serious threat to other family members or to visitors, for example to a pregnant mother or to a person receiving chemotherapy treatment.

If you are in any doubt as to whether I can care for your child please telephone me beforehand explaining their symptoms and I will let you know whether I am prepared to admit your child on that particular day, having considered the other children I will be minding that day and what impact this may have on school drop offs/pick ups, outings etc. Please don’t turn up with a potentially infectious child and expect me to make a snap decision on the doorstep. I STRESS this again — if you are not sure whether or not it is okay to bring your child, please call ahead to ask me. I may require a doctor’s decision as to whether or not the child is contagious. I appreciate your co-operation in this matter.

Allergy related symptoms and non-communicable illnesses do not require exclusion.

Overleaf is a list of recommended exclusion periods for specific symptoms/conditions. This is the minimum length of time your child must not attend the childcare setting. However, these exclusion periods are the time the child is considered infectious ie, a risk to others. The list does not specify how long it will take the child to recover and cannot be used as an indication of when the child will be well enough to attend the childcare setting. Therefore parents should not bring their child to the childcare setting at the end of the exclusion period/if there is no exclusion period unless their child is sufficiently recovered from the symptoms/conditions and fully able to participate in our daily routine.

Please note that the following guidance for exclusion periods is not a guide to diagnosis. This should only be undertaken by an appropriately qualified health professional. You are advised to seek guidance from your child’s GP, Health Visitor, School Nurse or Consultant in Communicable Disease Control (CCDC) or NHS Direct.

Guidance on Infection Control in Childcare Settings
In addition to the reasons above, please keep your child at home while any of the following apply:

Breathing trouble, sore throat, swollen glands, loss of voice, hacking or continuous coughing, stomach upset.
If your child is unable to participate in our normal daily routine, including playing outside and accompanying other children when I drop off/collect from school then your child MUST stay at home.
If your child is irritable, continuously crying or requires more attention than I can provide without impeding the health, safety or well being of the other children in my care then your child MUST stay at home.
If your child is not well enough to attend school or preschool then your child MUST NOT attend the child-care setting either.