Safeguarding_the_Welfare_of_Children_and_Young_People

Safeguard the welfare of children and young people. Outcome 2. Identify signs and symptoms of childhood illness 2.1. General signs and symptoms General signs and symptoms means any signs or symptoms which could show that a child is ill. High temperature A high temperature is when a child’s temperature is over 36C which is the normal temperature for a child. Off colour Off colour means looking very pale or like a greenish colour. Sleepy/quite This is when a child may go to sleep and this is out of their routine and not normal for them also if a child is being quiet and this is not their usual personality of being quite. Sickness/diarrhoea This means when a child is being sick and their faeces is watery. Clingy This means when a child always wants to sit and have cuddles or just to stay sat with you and they don’t want you to leave them and become very clingy. Lack of appetite A lack of appetite is when a child may not eat all their food or not eat any of their food at all also this could mean they could not eat anything all day. Tonsillitis Tonsillitis is an infection which is caused by either a virus or bacteria, although most cases are viral. Tonsillitis can spread from person to person through sharing the same utensils or toothbrush, the main symptoms of tonsillitis is a sore throat other symptoms could be a fever, coughing and headaches. The tonsils are two small glands found at the back of the throat behind the tongue. The time picking up the infection and the symptoms starting to appear is usually between two to four days. Chicken pox Chickenpox causes an itchy rash that blisters and then crusts over, this may start out often in bunches of spots on the chest and face and from there it will spread over the entire body. Chickenpox is a mild but highly infectious condition caused by a virus called the varicella-zoster virus (varicella is the medical name for chickenpox). Chickenpox can be spread from person to person by coughing or sneezing. When he or she coughs, sneezes, laughs, and even talks, tiny drops come out of the mouth and nose. These drops are full of the chickenpox virus. It's easy for others to breathe in these drops or get them on their hands. Before you know it, the chickenpox virus has infected someone new. Common cold The symptoms of a cold are a sore or irritated throat, sneezing, having a runny nose and this becomes thicker and darker over the course of the infection. This also can include nasal pain and irritation, have a general sense of feeling unwell and coughing this symptom occurs in one out of every three cases. Ear infection The symptoms for an ear infection are a fever, having difficulty sleeping, earache, ear pain and loss of hearing. The middle ear is a small pocket of air behind the eardrum. You have a middle ear infection when germs get into the middle ear and the area fills up with fluid (or pus), which contains germ-fighting cells. When the pus builds up, your ear starts to feel like a balloon that is ready to pop, which can really hurt. Describe actions to take when children or young people are ill or injured 2.2 In my setting the policy for children that are ill is if a child becomes unwell at the setting, every effort will be made to contact the parents/careers. It is essential therefore that the setting has up to date information in order to be able to contact the parents/ careers during the setting hours. Rascal pre-school reserves the right to take the child to a general practitioner or hospital in an emergency, and in the event of parents/careers not being available. Parents / careers will be required to give a signed consent for this procedure on registering their child at the setting. You can support a child who is unwell by sitting quietly with them perhaps reading a story until their parents arrive to get them. In my setting I must follow my settings policies on the management of sick children. Identify circumstances when children and young people might require urgent medical attention 2.3. This would be major incidents such as;- Falls causing broken bones- is when someone has broken one of the bones in their body. Heavy bleeding- is when someone has either cut themselves or has any injury which involves them suffering from heavy bleeding which is a loss of a lot of blood instead of just a little. Breathing problems including asthma attacks- is when someone is finding taking in oxygen uncomfortable or hard to do and having shortness of breath. Describe the actions to take in response to emergency situations:- Fire In my setting in a case of a fire evacuation we would raise the alarm if there was a fire and leave the building by the nearest exit. The signal for a fire at Rascals is a repeated whistle blast. The alarm for the main village hall is a bell. On hearing either alarm, the fire marshal will organize evacuation of the building to the assembly point which is the back garden or if that exit is blocked, roadside on King Street. Leave immediately and do not stop to collect any personal belongings. Registration will be taken and emergency services summoned. Regular head counts of children will be taken. No-one should re-enter the building unless the fire brigade or the fire marshal says you can. Security incidents In my setting to ensure the safety and security our arrivals and departures policy states that parents may collect their child at any time during the session, a member of staff will immediately record a child’s arrival at the setting. Children will only be released to their parent/career or the person on the permission form unless the setting has been informed of changes beforehand and a password is given. Children must be signed out by the person collecting the child. Missing child policy In my setting the missing child policy and procedure is that Rascals pre-school takes the safety of children very seriously and will take every precaution necessary to ensure that the children in their care do not leave a session unaccompanied. The chances of finding a missing child safe are greatest if the child’s absence is soon discovered. Staff will undertake periodic head counts using the key person system in addition to the registration procedures. If in the event of a member of staff not being able to account for a child’s whereabouts the following action will be taken. Procedures for if a child leaves the setting unaccompanied. Search systematically- Rascals pre-school is responsible for the missing child and also for the children in the pre-school. We will gather the remaining children into one large group with one/two adults, leaving the remaining adults to search. Ask the children, without alarming them, if they have seen the child that is missing. Ensure all adults are aware of the situation. Establish who last saw the missing child, where and when. Check all rooms in the building, check the immediate outside area. Seek the cooperation of other users of the building. Parents- Rascal preschool will call the child’s parents to warn them that the child may be attempting to get home. If they are unavailable the setting should use the emergency contact number, ensure that if the child lives within walking distance of the setting one adult will make the journey on foot in order to catch up with or intercept the child if possible. Remember that as soon as parents are informed they will need advice and support. Police- if the above steps do not locate the child the police will be called. Informing other people- Rascals preschool will ensure that we make regular checks to ensure that if an incident of this sort does happen, we have all the necessary phone numbers at hand are correct, up to date and kept together. If the police are called the Lincolnshire Safeguarding Children’s Board and Ofsted are informed. If the owner/manager is not on the premises they will be informed as soon as possible. We will provide the following information to Ofsted/ Lincolnshire Safeguarding Children’s Board: A) what happened. B) What systems are in place for preventing such occurrences. C) What we did, at what time and what order. D) Who we informed and when. We will cooperate fully in any investigation. Recording- We will start to build a record as soon as it’s possible in the incident log. The last definite sighting of the child, any usual behavior of the missing child or other children, how many children were on the premises, how many adults were on the premises and who and what steps have been taken and when, by whom. Dealing with people’s reactions- We accept that the child’s parents will be frightened, distressed and angry. If Rascals preschool shares all policies with parents/careers, the situation will be easier for all because there will be an understanding of working within a framework of mutual trust and understanding. We accept that in such circumstances powerful emotions are involved, people can be unpredictable. Those who may seem quite and calm about the incident at the time can later become angry, threaten legal action or approach the local press. We will be clear about the circumstances surrounding the incident and will respond sympathetically to questions without implications or admission of responsibility. Responses could include: how sorry you are that the incident has happened, that a full investigation is in hand, and that the LSCB/Ofsted have been informed and will also be investigating. Dealing with the media- Distressed parents may contact the local press, or reporters may hear about the incident if the police are involved. It is sensible for one person, usually the owner or manager, to be the one who speaks for Rascals preschool. All adults will be asked to refer all enquires to the agreed spokes people. The spokes person for the setting is Sally Macfarlane. Informing other parents- We recognize that other parents will need to be given brief, accurate information as rapidly as possible. We will ensure that this happens by: calling a short meeting when parents/careers collect children, or talk to parents/careers when they arrive at the next session or send a note home with each child. When child is found- We recognize that during the time a child is missing, however briefly, all involved, parents and others; suffer great fear, guilt and distress. It is not always easy to control all these emotions when the child is found. We will accept that it is important to remember that the child also might have been afraid and distressed and might now be in need of comfort. Remain calm and reassure the child. Ensure the child is not hurt and acknowledge that it may not have been the child’s fault. That the incident provides a good opportunity to talk to the children to ensure that they understand that they must not leave the premises and why. After the incident- We will review our current procedure, we will evaluate processes and make necessary adjustments to ensure future effectiveness.