Policies

Complaints and Compliments Policy

At Little Green Nursery we believe that parents are entitled to expect courtesy and prompt, careful attention to their individual needs and wishes. We always hope that parents are happy with the service provided and we encourage parents to voice their appreciation to the staff concerned.

We record all compliments and share these with staff.

We welcome any suggestions from parents on how we can improve our services, and will give prompt and serious attention to any concerns that parents may have. Any concerns will be dealt with professionally and promptly to ensure that any issues arising from them are handled effectively and to ensure the welfare of all children, enable ongoing cooperative partnership with parents and to continually improve the quality of the nursery.

We have a formal procedure for dealing with complaints where we are not able to resolve a concern. Where any concern or complaint relates to child protection, we follow our Safeguarding Children Policy.

Internal complaints procedure

Stage 1

If any parent should have cause for concern or any queries regarding the care or early learning provided by the nursery, they should in the first instance take it up with the child’s key person or a senior member.

Stage 2

If the issue remains unresolved or parents feel they have received an unsatisfactory outcome, then they must present their concerns in writing as a formal complaint to the nursery owner/manager. The owner/manager will then investigate the complaint and report back to the parent within 5 working days The manager will document the complaint fully and the actions taken in relation to it in the Complaints Logbook.

(Most complaints are usually resolved informally at stage 1 or 2.)

Stage 3

If the matter is still not resolved, the nursery will hold a formal meeting between the owner/manager, parent and a senior staff member to ensure that it is dealt with comprehensively. The nursery will make a record of the meeting and document any actions. All parties present at the meeting will review the accuracy of the record, and be asked to sign to agree it and receive a copy. This will signify the conclusion of the procedure.

Stage 4

If the matter cannot be resolved to their satisfaction, then parents have the right to raise the matter with Ofsted. Parents are made aware that they can contact Ofsted at any time they have a concern, including at all stages of the complaints procedure, and are given information on how to contact Ofsted. Ofsted is the registering authority for nurseries in England and investigates all complaints that suggest a provider may not be meeting the requirements of the nursery’s registration. It risk assesses all complaints made and may visit the nursery to carry out a full inspection where it believes requirements are not met.

A record of complaints will be kept in the nursery. The record will include the name of the complainant, the nature of the complaint, date and time complaint received, action(s) taken, result of any investigations and any information given to the complainant including a dated response. Records will be kept for 7 years.

Parents will be able to access this record if they wish; however, all personal details relating to any complaint will be stored confidentially and will be only accessible by the parties involved. Ofsted inspectors will have access to this record at any time during visits to ensure actions have been met appropriately.

Contact details for Ofsted:

Email: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk

Telephone: 0300 123 4666

By post:

Ofsted
Piccadilly Gate
Store Street
Manchester
M1 2WD

Parents will also be informed if the nursery becomes aware that they are going to be inspected and after inspection the nursery will provide a copy of the report to parents and/or carers of children attending on a regular basis.

Health and Safety – General Policy

At Little Green Nursery we provide and maintain safe and healthy working conditions, equipment and systems of work for all our employees and a safe early learning environment in which children learn and are cared for. To develop and promote a strong health and safety culture within the nursery for the benefit of all staff, children and parents, we provide information, training and supervision. We also accept our responsibility for the health and safety of other people who may be affected by our activities.

The allocation of duties for safety matters and the particular arrangements which we will make to implement our health and safety procedures are set out within this policy and we make sufficient resources available to provide a safe environment.

2. Legal framework

We follow all relevant legislation and associated guidance relating to health and safety within the nursery including:

The requirements of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) September 2024
The regulations of the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 and any other relevant legislation such as Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulation (COSHH)
Any guidance provided by Public Health England, the local health protection unit, the local authority environmental health department, fire authority or the Health and Safety Executive.

3.Aims and objectives

The aim of this policy statement is to ensure that all reasonably practical steps are taken to ensure the health, safety and welfare of all persons using the premises.

To achieve this we will actively work towards the following objectives:

Establish and maintain a safe and healthy environment throughout the nursery including outdoor spaces
Establish and maintain safe working practices amongst staff and children
Make arrangements for ensuring safety and the minimising of risks to health in connection with the use, handling, storage and transport of hazardous articles and substances
Ensure the provision of sufficient information, instruction and supervision to enable all people working in or using the nursery to avoid hazards and contribute positively to their own health and safety and to ensure that staff have access to regular health and safety trainin
Maintain a healthy and safe nursery with safe entry and exit routes
Formulate effective procedures for use in case of fire and other emergencies and for evacuating the nursery premises. Practice this procedure on a regular basis to enable the safe and speedy evacuation of the nursery
Maintain a safe working environment for pregnant workers or for workers who have recently given birth, including undertaking appropriate risk assessments
Maintain a safe environment for those with special educational needs and disabilities and ensure all areas of the nursery are accessible (wherever practicable)
Provide a safe environment for students or trainees to learn in
Encourage all staff, visitors and parents to report any unsafe working practices or areas to ensure immediate response by the management.

We believe the risks in the nursery environment are low and we will maintain the maximum protection for children, staff and parents. The nursery will:

Ensure all entrances and exits from the building, including fire exits are clearly identifiable, free from obstruction and easily opened from the inside
Regularly check the premises room by room for structural defects, worn fixtures and fittings or electrical equipment and take the necessary remedial action
Ensure that all staff, visitors, parents and children are aware of the fire procedures and regular fire drills are carried out
Have the appropriate fire detection and control equipment which is checked regularly to make sure it is in working order
Ensure that all members of staff are aware of the procedure to follow in case of accidents for staff, visitors and children
Ensure that all members of staff take all reasonable action to control the spread of infectious diseases and wear protective gloves and clothing where appropriate
Ensure there are suitable hygienic changing facilities (see Infection Control Policy)
Prohibit smoking on the nursery premises
Prohibit any contractor from working on the premises without prior discussion with the officer in charge
Encourage children to manage risks safely and prohibit running inside the premises unless in designated areas
Risk assess all electrical sockets and take appropriate measures to reduce risks where necessary and ensure no trailing wires are left around the nursery
Ensure all cleaning materials are placed out of the reach of children and kept in their original containers
Wear protective clothing when cooking or serving food
Prohibit certain foods that may relate to children’s allergies, e.g. nuts are not allowed in the nursery
We follow the EU Food Information for Food Consumers Regulations (EU FIC). These rules are enforced in the UK by the Food Information Regulations 2014 (FIR). We identify the 14 allergens listed by EU Law that we use as ingredients in any of the dishes we provide to children and ensure that all parents are informed
Follow the Allergies and Allergic Reactions Policy for children who have allergies
Ensure risk assessments are undertaken on the storage and preparation of food produce within the nursery
Familiarise all staff and visitors with the position of the first aid boxes and ensure all know who the appointed first aiders are
Provide appropriately stocked first aid boxes and check their contents regularly
Ensure children are always supervised
Take all reasonable steps to prevent unauthorised persons entering the premises and have an agreed procedure for checking the identity of visitors
Ensure no student or volunteer is left unsupervised at any time
Ensure staff paediatric first aid certificates are on display (or made available to parents).

3. Responsibilities

The designated Health and Safety Officer in the nursery is Amy McManus.

The employer has overall and final responsibility for this policy being carried out at: Little Green Nursery, 12 Grant Road, SW11 2FR.

Patrice Doyles will be responsible in her absence.

All employees have the responsibility to cooperate with senior staff and the manager to achieve a healthy and safe nursery and to take reasonable care of themselves and others.

Neglect of health and safety regulations/duties will be regarded as a disciplinary matter (see separate policy on disciplinary procedures).

Whenever a member of staff notices a health or safety problem which they are not able to rectify, they must immediately report it to the appropriate person named above. Parents and visitors are requested to report any concerns they may have to Amy McManus.

Daily contact, staff meetings and health and safety meetings provide consultation between management and employees. This will include health and safety matters.

4. Health and safety training

Person responsible for monitoring staff training is Amy McManus.

Health and safety is covered in all induction training for new staff.

Training table:

5. Health and safety arrangement

All staff are responsible for general health and safety in the nursery
Risk assessments will be conducted on all areas of the nursery, including rooms, activities, outdoor areas, resources, cleaning equipment, legionella and lone working
These are reviewed at regular intervals and when arrangements change
All outings away from the nursery (however short) will include a prior risk assessment – more details are included in our Outings Policy
All equipment, rooms and outdoor areas will be checked thoroughly by staff before children access them or the area. These checks will be recorded and initialled by the staff responsible. Unsafe areas will be made safe/removed from the area by this member of staff to promote the safety of children. If this cannot be achieved the manager will be notified immediately
We provide appropriate facilities for all children, staff, parents and visitors to receive a warm welcome and provide for their basic care needs, e.g. easy to access toilet area and fresh drinking water
We adhere to the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulation (COSHH) to ensure all children, staff, parents and visitors are safe in relation to any chemicals we may use on the premises
We identify and assess any water sources at risk of legionella[1], and manage these risks including avoiding stagnant water
All staff and students will receive appropriate training in all areas of health and safety which will include risk assessments, manual handling and fire safety. We may also use benefit risk assessments for particular activities and resources for children
We have a clear Accident and First Aid Policy to follow in the case of any person in the nursery suffering injury from an accident or incident
We have a clear Fire Safety Policy and Procedure which supports the prevention of fire and the safe evacuation of all persons in the nursery. This is to be shared with all staff, students, parents and visitors to the nursery
We review accident and incident records to identify any patterns/hazardous areas
All health and safety matters are reviewed informally on an ongoing basis and formally every six months or when something changes. Staff and parents will receive these updates, as with all policy changes, as and when they happen
We welcome feedback from staff and parents. They can contribute to any policy through informal discussions, the suggestion scheme and/or during regular meetings held at nursery.

6.Qualified First Aiders – full 12 hour Paediatric First Aid

Amy McManus 03.25
Patrice Doyles Expires 30.08.2026
Karolina Djemal Expires 29.09.2026
Olga Evripidou Expires 30.08.2026
Annette Miller Expires 16.03.25

Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)

This policy has been created with regard to:

The SEND Code Of Practice 2015
Children and Families Act 2014 (Part 3)
Equality Act 2010
Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023
Statutory Framework for the EYFS Jan 2024

Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) code of practice.