Curious Kittens Nursery / Kid’s Club
Policy for Infants
At Curious Kittens Nursery we care for children under the age of two - our practice has
particular precautions and processes to ensure the safety and well-being of all our children in
this age group.
We ensure their health, safety and well-being through the following:
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Children under the age of two have a separate room. This room has an additional
sectioned off area for occasional special activities as age appropriate.
We ensure that younger children have opportunities to have contact with older children
whilst at nursery.
Care will be taken to ensure that babies and toddlers do not have access to activities
containing small pieces, which could be swallowed or otherwise injure the child
All equipment will be checked daily before the children access the area. This will include
checking the stability of the cots and chairs, and pushchairs and prams are intact and
working before use.
Our infant rooms have special evacuation cots for rapid egress of infants in the case of
any emergency.
All doors are fitted with viewing panels and door finger-guards as necessary, to ensure
the safety of children
Cupboards and sockets have safety protection devices.
Outdoor shoes are removed or covered when entering the area - parents and visitors are
asked respectfully to adhere to this procedure
Babies and toddlers have their nappies changed according to their individual needs and
requirements by their key person wherever possible. Information is shared between
parents and infant practitioners about nappy changing and toilet training in a way that
suits the parents.
Changing areas are adjacent to rooms in a way that affords infants privacy, whilst being
open enough to support security around safe-guarding.
Nappy changing routines are seen as an opportunity for communication between
practitioners and infants.
Potties are washed and disinfected after every use. Changing mats are wiped with antibacterial cleanser before and after each nappy change
Each baby has his/her own bedding which is washed at least weekly or when necessary
Cot mattresses meet safety standards
Children under two years will not be given pillows, cot bumpers or any soft furnishings in
order to prevent risk of suffocation
Children are never left to sleep in pushchairs as their backs are not fully supported in this
equipment whilst sleeping
August 2014
Curious Kittens Nursery / Kid’s Club
 We follow all cot death guidelines and advise parents of this information. Babies will
always be laid to sleep on their back, with their feet touching the foot of the cot. We avoid
any hanging mobiles over cots.
 Sheets or thin blankets will come no higher than the baby's shoulders, to prevent them
wriggling under the covers. We make sure the covers are securely tucked in so they
cannot slip over the baby's head
 Cots are checked before use to ensure no items are within reach i.e. hanging over or
beside the cot (e.g. fly nets, cables)
 Low dining chairs are fitted with restraints and used at all times. Children are never be
left unattended in chairs. We do not use high chairs, as low chairs are both safer and
more conducive to communicative meal-times.
 Babies are always bottle fed by a practitioner, and never left to ‘roam’ or left to sleep with
a bottle.
 Sleeping children are continuously supervised at all times.
 Checks on sleeping babies are completed every 10 minutes by proforma. These are
documented with the time and staff initials on the sleep check form
 Staff are asked to avoid changing nappies whilst pregnant until a risk assessment has
been discussed and conducted. Students will only ever change nappies with the support
and close supervision of a qualified member of staff.
 Milk and meals prepared for babies are done so in a separate area within the kitchen
which is specifically designated for this preparation
 ***Bottles of formula milk will only be made up as and when the child needs them. These
are cooled to body temperature (37C) and tested with a sterilised thermometer to
ensure they are an appropriate temperature for the child to drink safely
 Following the Department of Health guidelines we only use recently boiled water to make
formula bottles (left for no longer than 30 minutes to cool). We do not use cooled boiled
water or reheat bottles.
 Bottles and teats will be thoroughly cleaned with hot soapy water and sterilised after use
(not washed in the dishwasher)
 Bottles are disposed of after two hours
 A designated area is available for mothers who wish to breastfeed their babies or
express milk – we are always happy to support this.
 Labelled mother’s breast milk if supplied is stored in the fridge
 If dummies are used they are cleaned and sterilised. This also applies to dummies which
have been dropped. We support parents in not using dummies.
 Any dummies are stored in separate labelled containers to ensure no crosscontamination occurs
 Sterilisers are washed out and cleaned daily
 Children ordinarily transfer to the toddler room at 2 years of age, and when it is felt to be
age/stage appropriate for them, following our transition and settling procedures.
August 2014