HEALTH AND WELL-BEING
Medication
Only one dose of any medication may be administered at the School per illness unless medication and dosage are otherwise approved in writing by a licensed health practitioner. Prescription medication must be in a container labeled by a pharmacy or physician with child’s name, dosage, date of the prescription, name of the medicine, administration schedule, any special instructions (“Take with food”), duration of the prescription, and expiration date that states when the medication is no longer useable. It may be administered only according to the health practitioner’s written instructions or the instructions on the label of medication. Parents must administer the first dose of any medication.
Emergency Medical Care
Business, home, and emergency numbers must accompany all registration forms. Forms must also include the name of the child’s doctor, plus consent for the School to act on behalf of parents. Parents also sign permission for the School staff to act if neither parent nor child’s doctor can be reached at the time of an emergency. It is the parents’ responsibility to keep these emergency forms updated. In case of minor injury, first aid is administered by a staff member. In cases of more serious injuries, parents are notified immediately. Parents receive accident reports to sign as confirmation that they were made aware of injuries.
Illness
At the discretion of the Director, a child will be refused entry or sent home when there are visible signs of illness (fever, vomiting, diarrhea, rash or discolored mucus that accompanies other symptoms). Children’s parents will be contacted and asked to remove a child from care within an hour should the School suspect a child is ill. Children sent home may not return until they have been free of illness for at least 24 hours. The Director may request written consent from a child’s doctor confirming your child is free from illness. Children who have missed three consecutive days of school due to illness need a written note from the parent or doctor stating that the child may return to a regular schedule. Children too ill to play outdoors are too ill to come to the School. Please make a backup plan for illness prior to enrolling your child. The administration may alter these general policies for specific illnesses if they deem it appropriate (for example, extending the waiting period to 48 hours before allowing a child to return to School).
Biting
Biting is unfortunately a normal developmental behavior for young children. Children bite for a variety of reasons, including frustration. Children who bite are removed from situations and told in a strong voice, “Biting hurts. We only bite food.” Parents of both children involved are notified and an accident report is written. If biting persists to such a degree that the safety of other children or staff becomes threatened, the child who is biting may be removed from enrollment at the discretion of the Director until this phase of development has passed. After a bite, the bitten child will be comforted, the area washed, and ice applied if necessary.
Suspected Child Abuse
Maryland law requires staff to report suspected child abuse or neglect to the Department of Protective Services. Parents are not required to be notified of such action.
Medical Conditions
Parents of children with an infectious disease, or other serious medical condition, shall notify the Director of the School in writing prior to enrollment, or as soon as the parents learn of any such condition. Infectious diseases can include, but are not limited to, conditions such as encephalitis, e-coli, lyme disease, pertussis or meningitis, as well as chronic illnesses such as hepatitis. Serious medical conditions can include, but are not limited to, asthma, epilepsy, diabetes, or any other such chronic diseases.
For the safety and proper care of the child, parents will need to submit a statement from the child's physician, as well as other health forms, to provide complete and accurate information about the disease or medical issue. Any and all such documents will be kept confidential.
All reports will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis to determine what accommodations, if any, can be made to ensure not only the safety of the child in question and the other children attending the School, but also whether a child can be permitted to enroll or continue at the School.
Confidentiality
Our policy is to make every effort to keep health and well being issues as confidential as possible. For example, if your child is bitten, we do not tell parents the name of the biter. If there is an accident involving two children, the report will indicate the nature of the accident but not the name of the other child. Please respect this and do not ask teachers or directors for information about other children.