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This Infection Control and Management Policy applies to all staff, volunteers and children.
This policy is in place to prevent cross infection and to help minimise the risk of transmission of infection to other children and staff.
This policy is to be followed at all times, this is to promote good practice within a child centred establishment.
Feel free to download a copy of the policy for your reference
If a child becomes ill at Club, his/her condition is brought to the attention the Manager.
A decision is then taken based upon the symptoms as to whether parents / carers are immediately informed or whether continued monitoring of the child should occur.
Should a child’s condition deteriorate a parent/carer will be contacted by the Manager and an action plan will be agreed.
This could include administering of medicines, or collection of the child in more serious cases or if more acute symptoms are present (e.g. vomiting or diarrhoea).
If the Manager makes the decision to exclude a child then the parent/carer will be contacted and asked to collect their child immediately.
The parent/carer will then be advised as to when their child can return, this is to prevent cross infection and minimize the risk of transmission of infection to other children and staff.
This Infection Control and Management Policy applies to all children and staff.
What it’s called |
What it’s like |
Period to be kept away from Club |
Getting treatment |
| Sickness bug / Diarrhoea | Stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea | 48 hours after last episode (this is important to adhere to.) see GP if symptoms persist after 48 hours. | Pharmacy |
| Flu | Fever, cough, sneezing, runny nose, headache, body aches and pain, exhaustion, sore throat | Until recovered. Ensure good hand hygiene. | Pharmacy |
| Common Cold | Runny nose, sneezing, sore throat. | None. Ensure good hand hygiene. | Pharmacy |
| Whooping Cough | Violent coughing over and over until child inhales with “whooping” sound to get air into lungs | 5 days after antibiotic treatment commencing or 21 days after onset of illness if no antibiotic treatment | G.P. |
| Chicken Pox | Rash begins as small, red, flat spots that develop into itchy fluid-filled blisters. | 5 days after on-set of the rash. Please notify club so we can notify any pregnant mothers. | Pharmacy |
| Cold Sores | Small fluid-filled sores that develop on the lips and around the mouth. Cold sores often start with a tingling, itching or burning sensation around the mouth. | None. Treatment is recommended. | Pharmacy. See your GP if you are unsure if it’s a cold sore or if it’s severe and spreading further than just the lip. Or if a cold sore hasn’t healed after 7-10 days. |
| German Measles | Fever, tiredness. Raised, red, rash that’s starts on the face and spreads downwards. Please notify club so we can notify any pregnant mothers. | 6 days from on-set of rash | G.P. |
| Hand, foot & mouth | Fever, sore throat, headache, small painful blisters inside the mouth on tongue and gums (may appear on hands and feet) | Only need to stay off if feeling too ill for club. Depending on the number of cases, exclusion may be considered. | G.P. |
| Impetigo | Clusters of red bumps or blisters surrounded by area of redness. | Until lesions are crusted or 48 hours after commencing antibiotic treatment | G.P. |
| Measles | Fever, cough, runny nose and watery inflamed eyes. Small red spots with white or bluish white centres in the mouth, red, blotchy rash. | 4 days from on-set of rash. Please notify club so we can notify any pregnant mothers. | G.P. |
| Ringworm | Red ring shaped rash, may be itchy rash may be dry and scaly or wet and crusty. | Until treatment commenced. Treatment is highly recommended. | G.P. |
| Scabies | Intense itching, pimple – like rash. Itching and rash may be all over the body but commonly between the fingers, wrists, elbows and arms. | Children can return after first treatment. Most treatments are 2 treatments a week apart. | G.P. |
| Scarlet Fever | Flu-like symptoms, high temperature, swollen neck glands. Rash appears a few days later. A pink-red rash that feels like sandpaper and looks like sunburn, starts on chest and tummy. A white coating appears on tongue, it peels and is red and swollen. | 24 hours after commencing appropriate antibiotics. 2 weeks after symptoms start, if you don’t take antibiotics. | G.P. |
| Slapped Cheek / Fifth Disease / Parvovirus B19 | Fever and nasal discharge, bright red rash on cheeks. | None. As children are no longer contagious when rash appears. Please notify club so we can notify any pregnant mothers. | Pharmacy |
| Shingles | Pain, itching, or tingling along the affected nerve pathway. Blister – type rash. | Only exclude if rash is weeping and cannot be covered | G.P. |
| Warts | Firm and rough, appear on palms, knuckles, knees and fingers. Some warts are round, flat and can be yellow (plane warts). You can have many of them. Clusters warts, spread over an area of skin (mosaic warts) are common on hands and feet. | None. | Warts don’t cause harm but some people may find them itchy, painful or embarrassing. You can treat warts if they bother you, keep coming back or are painful. |
| Varrucas | Appear on feet, they have tiny black dots under the hard skin. | None. Treatments is advised. Children will need to keep socks and shoes on at all times. | Pharmacy. |
| Conjunctivitis | Teary, red, itchy, painful eye(s). | None if getting treatment. Try not to touch eye to avoid spreading. | Pharmacy |
| Glandular Fever | High temperature, sore throat; usually more painful than any before and swollen glands. | Only need to stay off if feeling too ill for club. | G.P. |
| Head Lice | Itchy scalp (may be worse at night). | None. But treatment is advised to stop spread within Club. | Pharmacy |
| Mumps | High Temperature, pain and swelling on the side of the face (in front of the ear) and under the chin. Discomfort when chewing. | 5 days from on-set of swollen glands. | Pharmacy |
| Threadworms | Intense itchiness around anus. | None. Treatment is advised to stop spread within Club. Ensure good hand hygiene. | Pharmacy |
| Tonsillitis | Intense sore throat. | Only need to stay off if feeling too ill for club. See GP if temperature lasts more than 48 hours or cannot swallow. | Pharmacy |
There is a list of notifiable diseases which we have a legal obligation to report to Childcare & Early Year’s Service and Environmental Health should a child within our care become infected.
In these cases we work closely with the parents/carers, to ensure we follow any additional advice that may be given.
We are happy to administer the giving of antibiotics if your child has been prescribed them and a medication form has been completed and signed.
You can help support infection control by following the guidance in this policy and encouraging good personal hygiene:
This information is taken from The States of Jersey working document
‘Prevention and Control of Infection Guidelines for Early Years and School Settings – April 2016’
March 2020/updated June 2020/updated October 2020
Information and Guidance taken from gov.uk, guidance for educational settings and gov.je/coronavirus.
A coronavirus is a type of virus. As a group, coronaviruses are common across the world. COVID-19 is a new strain of coronavirus first identified in Wuhan City, China in January 2020.
The incubation period of COVID-19 is between 2 and 14 days. This means that if a person remains well 14 days after contact with someone with confirmed coronavirus, it is unlikely that they have been infected.
The three main symptoms of coronavirus are:
This means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back (if unsure ask a household member to check). You may also feel hot or cold and shivery. If you have a thermometer you can check and monitor your temperature. A temperature of 37.8 degrees indicates that you have a fever (a normal body temperature is 37 degrees)
This means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours (if you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual)
This means you’ve noticed you cannot smell or taste anything, or things smell or taste different to normal
Most people with coronavirus have at least 1 of these main symptoms.
If you or someone you live with is showing at least 1 of the above three main symptoms of the coronavirus, you and the rest of your household should go into isolation and call the helpline on +44 (0) 1534 445566. This means you should stay at home. Don’t go out to work, to school or college, shopping, visit public places or use public transport.
The 3 main symptoms may be accompanied by:
If you do not have any of the 3 main symptoms but have one of the accompanying symptoms and are uncertain or have any concerns that you may have COVID contact the helpline on +44 (0) 1534 445566. Anyone with gastrointestinal symptoms should stay at home until the symptoms have cleared irrespective of the cause.
It is important that all of us are vigilant for the symptoms of COVID-19. If you develop any of the 3 main symptoms above, then you and your household should isolate and call the coronavirus helpline on +44 (0) 1534 445566 as soon as possible to get advice and arrange a test.
If you don’t have any of the 3 main symptoms of COVID-19 but have other cold-like symptoms, such as a runny nose, you do not need to be tested or self-isolate. You can go to work or school or club if you’re fit to do so.
If you are experiencing any of the accompanying symptoms listed above, regardless of having a new continuous cough and / or fever, and are concerned that you may have coronavirus you should call the helpline on +44 (0) 1534 445566.
Generally, these infections can cause more severe symptoms in people with weakened immune systems, older people, and those with long-term conditions like diabetes, cancer and chronic lung disease. There is no evidence that children are more affected than other age groups – few cases have been reported in children.
Asymptomatic (a carrier who shows no symptoms) transmission of COVID-19 may be possible. It should assumed that even if you are not showing any symptoms of the virus, that you may be carrying and transmitting it to others. This is more likely if you are at risk from travel or contact with a person positive for COVID-19.
From what we know about other coronaviruses, spread of COVID-19 is most likely to happen when there is close contact (within 2 metres) with an infected person. It is likely that the risk increases the longer someone has close contact with an infected person.
Droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes (termed respiratory secretions) containing the virus are most likely to be the most important means of transmission.
There are 2 routes by which people could become infected:
There is currently no vaccine to prevent COVID-19. The best way to prevent infection is to avoid being exposed to the virus
There are general principles anyone can follow to help prevent the spread of respiratory viruses, including:
If you are worried about your symptoms or those of a child or colleague, please call 01534 445566. Do not go directly to your GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital.
If a child or member of staff has symptoms, or someone in their household has symptoms, they should not be in the Club and must isolate.
Please go to the government of Jersey website; www.gov.je/coronavirus for up to date information.
If a member of staff or child becomes unwell whilst in our care and believe they have been exposed to COVID-19 in the case of a child, we will contact the parents/carers immediately for the child to be picked up and for the parents to ring the Helpline. A staff member will be advised to go straight home and call the Helpline.
For further information please see our ‘Procedures if a child or member of staff develops symptoms of COVID-19 whilst in the Club’.
We will ensure all staff in the Club are aware of and adhere to all public health guidance applicable at this time.
We have introduced more stringent measures with regard to our existing internal cleaning and equipment audit procedures.
We will be working with CEYS, Childcare Early Years Service, on any developments and with regard to contingency planning in the event of an outbreak.
(Reviewed and updated March 2020/June 2020/ October 2020).