"changing" Policy

[WelshMiss]

Hi everyone

Has anyone any thoughts on "changing" in a nursery class. Are we allowed to change a child who has soiled? Do you call parents and get them to come in and do it? What if you can't get hold of parents? Any help on guidelines/policies would be very much appreciated!

[Inge]

you cannot refuse a child in nappies or who soils, or discriminate against them by calling in a parent to change them....

 

"This comes under The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA)

Any admission policy that sets a blanket standard of continence, or any other aspect of development, for all children is discriminatory and therefore unlawful under the Act. All such issues have to be dealt with on an individual basis, and settings/schools are expected to make reasonable adjustments to meet the needs of each child.

Asking parents of a child to come and change a child is likely to be a direct contravention of the DDA, and leaving a child in a soiled nappy for any length of time pending the return of the parent is a form of abuse. "

 

This was taken from a sure start document Leicester City LEA guidance for all foundation stage providers

 

 

Find previous discussion here

toileting issues in reception

 

and here

toilet training

(see post 5 for document quoted from above, it gives useful guidelines to follow and clear guidance to writing procedures.)

 

Inge

Edited December 9, 2005 by Inge

[Guest]

Hi everyone

Has anyone any thoughts on "changing" in a nursery class.  Are we allowed to change a child who has soiled?  Do you call parents and get them to come in and do it?  What if you can't get hold of parents?  Any help on guidelines/policies would be very much appreciated!

44406[/snapback]

We change nursery chdn in our school but we have to make sure there is another adult in the room/vicinity, i guess as a kind of witness type thing. I think I would talk to the parents if it became a regular thing tho.

[Guest]

At our school we were recently given an info leaflet called 'Personal Care Policy' by Surestart (Oxfordshire). Which applies to all schools, childcare and play settings

The main points in it are:

 

a) It is against the Disability discrimination act 1995 to exclude or prevent access to any child who is in nappies

 

Parents should not be called to come and change a child - neither should a child have to wait for these needs to be met.

 

c) Soiled nappies should not be given to parents at the end of a session as it is unhygienic and demeaning. Nappies should be put in a sealed bag and put in the main dustbin. (Soiled clothes are obviously different)

 

d) Staff should discreetly inform a colleague when leaving to change a child and on returning

 

e) Ideally a child should not be changed behind a closed door with no vision panel (leave door open slightly)- there is no requirement that two members of staff should be present - indeed this would contravene the child's right to dignity and privacy.

 

f) All settings have a duty of care to their children - attending to personal needs falls into this category, however there is no duty on teachers and school support staff to change nappies or pants, in this case a member of staff would need to volunteer.

 

Hope this helps

Jo

[Guest]

I find paragraph f) contradictory- Teachers can volunteer to "have a duty of care" toward their children

 

What if they choose not to, how then do schools ensure that a), , c), d) and e) are met?

 

Peggy

[Guest]

As some of you know, this is a subject that matters to me.

 

I don't understand how any EY practitioner can opt out of the "duty of care" (or even why they might want to). The more I read about the subject, the more I feel that a child's "development of continence" should not get in the way of other aspects of their EY education.

 

This, in fact, was one of the "contentious issues" that precipitated my resignation from my recent Pre-School Leader post: established workers "objecting" to attending to "continence needs". Phrases like: "I'd be sick" and "It's too personal" were bandied about. I was disgusted (but hid this opinion).

 

I couldn't ever have imagined a child saying "I can't play because I've done a poo"! Until it happened, and then the child endured a 45 minute wait for the parent to come in to change the child! How silly was that? The whole episode could have been out of the way in a matter of a few minutes. No dignity lost, no playing (learning) time lost!

 

Show me a child that will never, ever, have a continence "accident"! Show me any good reason why we should make any more of this than the same child not coping with a cup and spilling their drink on their clothes? To me, it's just the same. The child has had a mishap!

 

PSED is one major aspect of the FSC. It is also very significant (under other labels) in BT3. As we all know, PSED impacts upon all areas of learning.

 

Diane

[hali]

we change children in privacy but within eye and ear shot of another member of staff to cover ourselves.....

[Guest]

I agree with the above posters

 

The child shuld not be made to wait for the parents to change them and it should be dealt with as quickly and as sensitively as possible, the childrens social and emotional needs must be considered too.

 

We are a Day Nursery and so dela with this differently from a nursery class but I think the principals are the same.

 

Leaving a child in a soiled state is not caring for that child.