Health and Safety

Our carefully designed menu is prepared by our in house trained cook.  We have reduced processed foods and our cook cooks a meal from scratch and packs in plenty of whole foods.  All meals and snacks meet New Zealand Ministry of Health guidelines and Food & Beverage Classification System.  Food provided is of sufficient variety, quantity, and quality to meet the nutritional and development needs of each child. All parents are requested that they daily provide their child with a portable drinking bottle for them to use in their classroom. The drink bottles are to go home with the child every day and returned the next day clean and with fresh water.

Foods that pose a high choking risk will not to be served unless prepared in accordance with best practice as set out in Ministry of Health: Reducing food related choking for babies and young children at early learning services 

Allergies, food intolerances and special dietary requirements is a shared responsibility of the child’s family and the centre.   Allergies, food intolerances and special dietary requirements are recorded on the child’s enrolment form and in our software package. If food requirements change parents are required to notify the centre via email.

Occasionally, we have children with severe food allergies.

Please avoid bringing peanut or nuts to the kindergarten. This includes nutella, peanut butter, peanut brownies, peanuts or nuts of any kind.

No chewing gum or lollies are permitted into the kindergarten. 

If you have any queries, please see our Food Policy or talk to your child’s teacher.

Apollo Kindergarten maintains a high level of systems and practices to ensuring that all teachers have the necessary skills and knowledge to deal with injuries and illness.  All classroom have their own First Aid kits and teachers who hold a first aid certificate.

• The kindergarten has an Illness Register (A5 duplicate copy book from ECE Astute) For the recording of ALL illness that occurs to children at the kindergarten. Parent/caregiver collecting child is required to sign and receive a copy of the report
• When a child becomes seriously ill or suffers a serious injury, medical assistance will be obtained.  Parents will be notified as soon as possible of the event.
• If the child is considered contagious they will be isolated from the other children.  The isolation area is the Managers office where they will be fully supervised until they are picked up by their parent or other person authorised.  The following items will be stored and available in the laundry; stretcher bed, bucket, bed linen. These items will be cleaned after every use.
• If a parent is unavailable or unable to collect their children, the emergency contact person listed on the child’s enrolment form may be contacted.

REASONS TO EXCLUDE A CHILD or ADULT FROM APOLLO KINDERGARTEN

•      An illness prevents the child from participating comfortably in the programme activities.
•      The illness results in a greater care needed than Apollo Kindergarten can reasonably provide without compromising the health and safety of the other children.
•      The child has any of the following conditions: fever, persistent crying, difficulty breathing, persistent coughing, persistent runny nose, persistent diarrhoea or vomiting or 
•      other signs of possible illness.
•      No child with vomiting or/and diarrhoea should attend Apollo Kindergarten.  Children must be symptom free for 48 hours.
•      Infectious diseases information and exclusion details is listed at the end of this our policy. Appendix 1: Infectious Diseases: Information and Exclusion List, Ministry of
•      Health and Appendix 2: Infectious Diseases for Criterion HS26, Ministry of Education.
•      For some vaccine preventable diseases, there is a requirement to exclude unimmunised children who have had contact with a case of the disease. This applies to
•      Measles, Diphtheria and Whooping Cough, and would be arranged on the advice of the Medical Officer of Health.
•      Apollo Kindergarten reserves the right to request a medical certificate from a health professional before allowing a child to return from illness.
•      Public Health free health advice line, Healthline 0800 611 611 (www.healthline.govt.nz) will be contacted for further information or if any conditions not listed.
•      Individual health plans will be written in consultation with parents for children who suffer from Asthma, Epilepsy, specific allergies, or other medical conditions.
•      A child prescribed antibiotics for any illness should not return until at least 24 hours after treatment has started or at the centre manager’s discretion.
•      If a family/whānau member (parent/sibling or otherwise) bringing a well child to the centre is unwell and there is a risk of spreading illness within the centre, a plan can be put
•      in place to support drop offs and pickups.

If you are unsure about whether your child can attend, please see our Child Health and Well Being Policy or contact the Manager. 

Administration of Medicine Policy

Teachers receive training on administration of medicines at induction and annually. Management and all certified teachers hold a current first aid certificate. This it is recorded on the Parents Noticeboard.

•      Arnica cream, sunscreen and anthisan cream will be administered with written parental permission upon enrolment.
•      All prescription medicine has to have the child’s own name, dose, be within the use by date and in the original labelled chemist bottle.
•      Parents are required to complete a written record on the Medicine Chart and hand the medicine to a teacher.  At the end of the day parents are requested to sign
•      medicine chart at the end of the day to acknowledge that the medicine has been given.
•      Homeopathic remedies are to be brought into the kindergarten in original packaging which clearly shows a name, dosage and expiry date and the parent to complete a
•      written record on the Medicine Chart.  If the teacher is uncomfortable administering the remedy the Manager will be consulted.  
•      Pamol will only be administered with prior written parental permission.  Prior to administering pamol the parents will be notified and the teachers would have recorded         symptoms and other measures taken to relieve symptoms in the Illness Book.  The parent (when collecting) is required to sign the report.  A copy will be sent home with
•      the child.

Further information can be found in our Administration of Medicine Policy.  

Apollo Kindergarten maintains a high level of systems and practices to ensuring that all teachers have the necessary skills and knowledge to deal with accidents and illness.  All classroom have their own First Aid kits and teachers who hold a first aid certificate.

• The kindergarten has an Incident / Accident Register (A5 duplicate copy book).  For the recording of ALL incidents and accidents that occurs to children at the kindergarten. A head teacher is required to complete a hazard analysis.  Parent/legal guardian of children is to sign and receive a copy of the report.
• Any child that has an incident or accident involving their head the parents will receive a courtesy call.
• The kindergarten has an Illness Register (A5 duplicate copy book from ECE Astute) For the recording of ALL illness that occurs to children at the kindergarten. Parent/caregiver collecting child is required to sign and receive a copy of the report
• When a child becomes seriously ill or suffers a serious injury, medical assistance will be obtained.  Parents will be notified as soon as possible of the event.
• If the child is considered contagious they will be isolated from the other children.  The isolation area is the Managers office where they will be fully supervised until they are picked up by their parent or other person authorised.  The following items will be stored and available in the laundry; stretcher bed, bucket, bed linen. These items will be cleaned after every use.
• If a parent is unavailable or unable to collect their children, the emergency contact person listed on the child’s enrolment form may be contacted.

Further information can be found in our Child Health and Well Being Policy

In the event of an emergency the safety and well-being of all children and adults are paramount.  All staff are aware of the centres emergency procedures and receive training in emergency preparation, response, and recovery contingencies.  Children receive instruction on fire, earthquake and evacuation drills every term.

A full accessible and transportable civil defence kit is on the premises.  If it is safe to remain at Apollo Kindergarten and there is no immediate danger teachers, staff and children will remain on site. 

In case of evacuation, Apollo Kindergarten will re-locate all staff and children to the nearest Civil Defence Post, or practical shelter on the way.  If possible any change in location will be communicated via text message, online, changing the phone message at the centre and a written message at the entrance.  All staff will remain in the premises until all children are collected.

If the kindergarten is unable to provide children with safety, warmth, food and comfort it will be closed.  This can be due to experiencing extreme weather conditions, non-controllable health and safety issues, interruptions to essential services (electricity, water, sewage) or similar.  The decision to close the kindergarten will be made in consultation with MoE and Apollo Kindergarten Management.  Parents will be notified by phone, text and email.  If the kindergarten is closed during operational hours parents will be required to collect their child from the kindergarten.

If there is any threat such as a dangerous person and or armed person, gas leak, chemical spill or explosion all children will be assembled indoors and remain so until the threat is removed. Emergency services (police, fire, government official) can request ‘lock down’ assemble and stay indoors until given the okay to resume usual activities.

Parent will be alerted via text and/or online and the centre will send out regular updates.  Parents please do not phone the centre as phone lines need to be available for emergency services.

Our security consists of automatic sliding entrance doors, cameras in operation 24/7 and a monitored alarm system.  The automatic sliding entrance doors remain locked at all times and can only be accessed via the use of a CODE, or a member of staff allowing you access. The Manager will share the code with you when your child starts at the kindergarten.    

In all circumstances your child will be keep safe.

All licensed early childhood education (ECE) and care centres are required to comply with the regulatory standards and criteria set out in the Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 and Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Services 2008.

All Apollo Kindergarten policies will be reviewed annually or on a cycle indicated on the bottom of each policy or when there is a significant change in the area of the policy topic. 

A copy of all our policies can be found in the Operation Manual at the reception and online, on Storypark.

Should you wish to receive a copy of a policy please speak to your child’s teacher or Manager or email the kindergarten albany@apollokindergarten.co.nz