Respectful Intimate Care Policy

Respectful Intimate Care Policy

At Rabbit Patch Day Nursery, we believe that all children need contact with familiar, consistent carers to ensure they can grow and develop socially and emotionally. Children need to feel safe, secure and happy so we expect nursery staff to be responsive to children’s needs, whilst maintaining professionalism. We accept that children need to be cuddled, encouraged, held and offered physical reassurance, and ensure intimate care routines are undertaken with respect.

Intimate care routines may include nappy changing, supporting children with toileting, changing clothes, and giving first aid treatment and specialist medical support, where required. In order to maintain the child’s privacy, we will carry out the majority of these actions on a one-to-one basis and, wherever possible, by the child’s key person. First aid treatment will be carried out by a qualified paediatric first aider.

To promote good practice and to minimise the risk of allegations we have the following guidelines to ensure staff are fully supported and able to perform their duties safely and confidently.

Management

• Promote consistent and caring relationships through the key person system in the nursery and ensure all parents understand how this works
• Ensure all staff undertaking intimate care routines have suitable enhanced DBS checks
• Conduct thorough inductions for all new staff to ensure they are fully aware of all nursery procedures and arrange specialist training where required, i.e. paediatric first aid training, specialist medical support
• Follow up procedures through supervision meetings and appraisals to identify any areas for development or further training
• Ensure all staff have an up-to-date understanding of the Safeguarding children and child protection policy, including how to protect children from harm. This will include identifying signs and symptoms of abuse and how to raise concerns
• Operate a Whistleblowing policy to help staff raise any concerns about their peers or managers and help staff develop confidence in raising worries as they arise in order to safeguard the children in the nursery
• Conduct working practice observations on all aspects of nursery operations to ensure that procedures are working in practice and all children are supported fully by the staff including intimate care routines
• Conduct regular risk assessments on all aspects of the nursery operation, including intimate care, and review the safeguards in place. The nursery assesses all the risks relating to intimate care routines and uses appropriate safeguards to ensure the safety of all involved.

Environment

• Leave the doors open when changing children’s nappies, soiled or wet clothing, or other intimate routines, whilst maintaining their dignity
• Ensure children are afforded privacy during intimate care routines whilst balancing this with the need to safeguard children and staff

Parents

• Work closely with parents on all aspects of the child’s care and education as laid out in the Parents as partners policy. This is essential for intimate care routines which require specialist training or support
• If a child requires specific support the nursery will arrange a meeting with the parent to discover all the relevant information relating to this to enable the staff to care for the child fully and meet their individual needs

Relationships

• Although we recognise it is appropriate to cuddle children, we give cuddles only when sought by children needing comfort to support their emotional development. Staff are advised to do this in view of other children and practitioners, whenever possible. We recognise that there may be occasions where it is appropriate for this to happen away from others, such as when a child is ill. In these circumstances, staff are advised to leave the door open. It is the duty of all staff and the manager to ensure that children are appropriately comforted and to monitor practice
• We discourage inappropriate behaviour such as over tickling, over boisterous play or inappropriate questions such as asking children to say they love a staff member and we advise staff to report any such observed practice
• Staff are respectful of each other and the children and families in the nursery and do not use inappropriate language or behaviour, including during breaks

If a parent or member of staff has concerns or questions about intimate care procedures or individual routines, practice procedures or behaviour they consider as inappropriate, including between staff members, they are urged to see the manager at the earliest opportunity.

Management will challenge inappropriate behaviour in line with the Supervisions policy, Disciplinary procedure or Whistleblowing policy.

If the concern relates to the manager and/or nursery owner then parents should contact Ofsted 0300 123 1231 or the local safeguarding partner (LSP) 033 022 26450.