Safety Policy

1) No child will ever be left unattended.

2) Upon arrival, parents are responsible for accompanying their child to their teacher and will sign the child in with the time of arrival at the front window.

3) A “head count” is constantly being kept to assure that all children are accounted for

4) Upon departure, the child is to be escorted from the center with the parents or authorized adult listed on the release form and signed out on the log in the front window. This adult must notify the teacher before leaving the center.  For safety's sake, children may not run to the car alone.  You must call to authorize another person picking up your child.

5) Telephones are in the classrooms and in the office for emergencies.

6) Fire and tornado drills are held monthly and are logged in the office.

7) Emergency escape routes are posted by each exit and in the office

8) Accident reports will be completed for an injury requiring first-aid

9) If child abuse is suspected, we are required by law to notify Children’s Protective Services at 241-KIDS

10) There is a staff member trained in first-aid, communicable disease management, C.P.R. and child abuse recognition at all times. This includes field trips and on location.

Discipline Policy

Discipline with love, respect and consistency is used at A.B.C.. It promotes self-esteem and self control.  The following techniques are means of discipline used for the purpose of modeling and changing behavior.

1) Setting clear, consistent and age appropriate limits in the classroom.

2) Encouraging children to take responsibility for their own actions through the use of logical consequences.  For example: “When you poured water on the floor, it got wet.  Please use a paper towel and clean it up.”

3) Using a clear, calm, and low voice with the children to represent the appropriate voice level to be used.  This same technique is used to modify language and behavior.

4) Redirecting the child to more appropriate activities.

5) Helping children to resolve conflict through communication. Teaching them how to “use their words”, to express their feelings. This will enable them to resolve conflict on their own.

6) Using “time-out” very sparingly when the child has repeatedly challenged authority or intentionally injured another child.

7) If a child has repeatedly challenged authority, the child may be asked to sit with their head down for rest in “time out” or maybe asked to leave the center for a day.

Physical punishment is never used at our center. Our staff will not shout, humiliate, or subject your child to verbal abuse.  This will not be tolerated in our center at any time from anyone. If your child is consistently displaying inappropriate behavior, despite our efforts, we will communicate our concerns to you and work with you to rectify the situation. In the event that the behavior continues, we may ask you to withdraw your child from the center.  This policy is in place for the protection of all of our children.

Field Trip Safety

1) Each child will have prior written permission from their parents.

2) Each child will wear a T-shirt with name tag with their name, the centers name and telephone number and address on it.

3) A first-aid box will be taken along on each field trip.

4) Emergency transpiration form will be taken for each child.

5) Transportation for trips will be as noted on the permission slips.  It may be either a school bus or walking.

Illness Policy

If any child displays any of the following symptoms, it will then be required that the parent be called and the child be picked up within 1 hour. Once the symptoms or fever have subsided for a period of 24 hours, the child may then return to the center.  We reserve the right to request a written statement from the child’s doctor to insure the child's illness is no longer a threat to others.

1) Fever of 100 degrees or above, under the arm.

2) Diarrhea or vomiting two or more times in the same day.

3) Difficult or rapid breathing.

4) Yellowish skin or eyes.

5) Pink eye.

6) Skin rash that has not been identified in writing by the child’s doctor.

7) Evidence of head lice or any other parasitic infection.

8) Sore throat or difficulty swallowing.

Children who develop these symptoms while in the center will be isolated in the office under the supervision of an adult until the parent arrives to pick the child up.  Parents will receive written notice that their child has been exposed to a communicable disease.  This notice will be posted on the door in the front hall.  As a courtesy to us, we ask that parents inform us as well if their child has contracted a communicable disease.

Should any type of medication need to be administered by our staff, the parent will need to fill out a medication form, bring the medicine in the original container, make sure that it is age and weight appropriate for that child, and that it is not expired.  If medicine is required on a month to month basis, you will then be required to fill out a new form each month.

Emergency Procedure

1) Assessment is made, 911 is called if needed, then the parents are contacted.

2) Only a qualified person will administer first-aid.

3) The other staff members will gather the children and move them to another area for safety and to avoid panic.

4) The student’s file will be pulled from the office and will accompany the staff member and the child to the hospital.