- Has your child just commenced their learning journey at Inspired?
- Has your child transitioned to their new educational environment at Inspired?
- Have your family caught the gastro bug that is currently in our community?
As a first time parent, it is both alarming and upsetting when our children become unwell from childcare, I can promise you, we have all been there! From gastro, temperature, hand foot and mouth, tonsillitis and even COVID. The first year of early learning is a rollercoaster. so strap yourself in and be ready to experience the highs, lows and sickness through it all.
Children come into contact with many other children and adults in the early childhood environment increasing their exposure to others who may be sick or carrying infectious illnesses.
We acknowledge the difficulty of keeping children at home or away from childcare when they are sick and the pressures this causes for parents, however Inspired Early Learning aims to minimise the transmission of infectious diseases by adhering to regulations and policies protecting the health of all children, educators, families and visitors.
Knowing when to keep your child at home
To protect the health of children and educators within our service, it is important that children and educators who are unwell are kept away from their peers and educators at Inspired for the recommended period.
At Inspired we are unable to accept a child into care if they:
- Have a contagious illness or infectious disease
- Have a temperature above 38°C when assessed prior to entry to the service
- Are unwell and unable to participate in normal activities
- Have had a temperature in the last 24 hours- as reported by a family (or if the illness is present at Inspired)
- Have had diarrhoea or vomiting in the last 48 hours as reported by a family (or if the illness is present at Inspired)
- Have started a course of antibiotics in the last 24 hours
- Have been given medication prior to arriving at the Service (for example: Panadol or Nurofen)
Minimising the spread of illness
To help minimise the spread of illness and infectious diseases Inspired Early Learning implements rigorous hygiene and infection control procedures and cleaning routines including:
- Effective hand washing hygiene
- Cough and sneeze etiquette
- Appropriate use of gloves
- Exclusion of children, educators or staff when they are unwell or displaying symptoms of an infectious disease or virus
- Effective cleaning of the environment, toys and resources (including bedding) daily as er our cleaning register
- Nightly cleaning of our Centre by contracted cleaners
If you are unsure or if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at the centre, speak to our educating team or review the staying healthy in childcare recommendations.
We thank you for your ongoing support.
