Parents/guardians need to inform the centre staff in writing if their child has allergies of any kind, A required form will be provided and a care plan will be formulated in consultation with the Parents. Allergies will be posted in the kitchen for the staff to see and remember. If the child needs to carry an Epipen, we will need an Epipen in the centre at all times. It is the parent’s responsibility to provide the Epipen that is not expired. In case the child has an allergic reaction, the staff will follow the Emergency care plan and call the Emergency services and parents. Parents will be notified immediately of the allergic reaction and the steps taken. Please remember that we are not a nut free zone.

At New Leaf Childcare Centre, we believe that parents and caregivers who take time to offer developmentally appropriate verbal explanations and guidance help children gain confidence and social problem solving skills. Children are treated with courtesy, respect, and patience. Activities within the program are monitored and adjusted accordingly to promote ongoing development. Positive guidance techniques are used to encourage appropriate behaviour. They include:

1. Establishing clean, consistent, and simple limits
2. Stating limits in a positive way
3. Keeping the focus on behaviour, rather than the child
4. Stating what to expect, instead of posing questions
5. Providing real choices
6. Allowing sufficient time for children to respond to expectations
7. Reinforce appropriate behaviour with words and gestures
8. Encourage children to use the teacher as a resource when they cannot resolve issues on their own.

Inevitably, there will be occurrences of inappropriate behaviour. It is at these times that there may be a need for intervention strategies will be used to help ensure that guidance is provided in a supportive & developmentally appropriate manner.

Staff will:

1. Gain attention in a respectful way
2. Remind children of appropriate behaviour
3. Acknowledge feelings before setting limits
4. Redirect or direct appropriately
5. Model problem solving skills
6. Offer appropriate choices
7. Use natural and logical consequences
8. Provide opportunities for children to make amends rather than asking for a superficial apology, encourage genuine opportunities for the children to restore relationships after an incident of hurt or harm
9. Holding will only be used if a child seems to pose threat to itself or the others around it

Any serious concerns will be discussed with the family so that we can work together to encourage appropriate behaviour. If after a discussion with the family, a child’s behaviour still poses risk to itself and children around it, the parents may be asked immediately withdraw the child from the centre and the care can be terminated without any notice.

It is the responsibility of the parents to provide the diapers, wipes, and diaper cream if needed. Each child has his or her clearly labelled bin in the bathroom. The diapers are changed every 2.5-3 hours, if a child has a BM (bowel movement), they are changed immediately. The change table used for changing is sanitized after each use and proper hand washing techniques are followed. During diapering or assisting with toileting, the staff will involve the child by explaining what is being done and encouraging the child to interact or help as much as possible.

The centre staff;

1. Follows Ministry of Health recommendations for diapering and toileting procedures.
2. Records diaper changing and toilet activities on the child’s daily sheet.
3. Encourages independence for dressing and toileting. Assistance and support will be given to the children to develop these new skills.
4. Encourages the development of healthy personal habits by ensuring that children properly wash their hands after using the bathroom.
5. Decides with the family when a child is ready to start to learn how to use the toilet.
6. Are patient, supportive, and understanding during this learning process.
7. Are respectful of the child’s needs.

We are more than happy to assist toilet training as long as the child is ready. The initial start needs to be done at home for at least two weeks with success before it can be effectively started at the centre. Children will be allowed in a normal underwear/training pants once they are fully toilet trained. We advice to use Pull-Ups until your child is fully trained.

We value the health of children in our care and the health of the staff. Without healthy staff, effective care is not possible and having ill children at the centre presents the very real possibility that others can be infected. While we understand that parents need to be at work or in class, we need to enforce this policy to protect all children and staff from unnecessary exposure to communicable diseases. We follow the guidelines developed by Fraser Health and Child Care Licensing Regulations (CCLR). The child needs to stay home or make alternate arrangements for the following conditions;

1. Fever of 38.3 Celsius or higher.
2. Infected / red eyes or skin.
3. Any type of contagious or communicable disease such as Flu, Hand Foot and Mouth Disease, Measles, Chicken Pox, etc.
4. Unexplained diarrhea or loose stools.
5. Vomiting that is not caused by choking.
6. Cold accompanied by fever and runny nose.
7. A croupy cough or congestion to a point that the child’s breathing sounds heavy or laboured.

There is a 24-hour exclusion period for fever, the fever should be subsided for 24 hrs without medication before the child returns to the centre. For diarrhea and vomiting there is an exclusion of 48 hours after the symptoms have subsided without any medication. If your child develops fever or does not seem well (has flu like symptoms, croupy cough or unexplained skin rash) or is not able to participate in the daily program and activities, he/she will be sent home and 24-hour exclusion will apply. If your child has diarrhea or throws up while at the centre, a 48-hour exclusion policy will apply.

In case of conflict between the parent, health nurse, doctor and centre, the centre’s policy will be followed.

Communicable Disease

When a communicable disease has been introduced to the centre, the parents will be notified. The centre will also report these occurrences to the local Fraser Health Authorities when required. Parents are urged to notify the centre when their child is known to have been exposed to a communicable disease outside of the centre. When a child has contacted a communicable disease, the parents are required to provide a statement from the physician stating that the child is able to return and is no longer infectious.

We reserve the right to refuse care due to illness.

Administrations of medications in the daycare are regulated by the child care regulations. This policy protects children, parents and staff. Early childhood educators are not formally qualified to make judgements call’s as when medications are appropriate. Only medications prescribed by a doctor will be administrated.  The parents are required to fill a medication consent form before the staff can administer the medication. We will not administer any over the counter medications like Tylenol, Gravol, etc. under any circumstances.

1. All medications are kept in a locked container in the fridge out of reach of the children
2. Parents must inform staff of any side-effects or reactions that medications may cause in a child e.g. hives, drowsiness, diarrhea
3. Parents must also inform the staff if the child has got immunization and might be unwell or sore at the site of the injection.
4. Authorization for administration of prescription form must be completed by parent or guardian
5. A medical consent plan will be filled out by parent /guardian for each prescription required
6. Medication must be brought to the centre in its original container with instructions from your doctor on how to administrate
7. The label must clearly show the following information

• Childs name
• Name of medication
• Dosage
• Route (oral), nasal, eye
• Physicians name
• Care of medication (shake well, refrigerate)
• Date to end administration of medication

If a child comes in with a baby bottle or cup with medication it will be locked up and returned to the parents at the end of the day and not administered to the child.

Sanitization is the key to stop the spread of germs. At New Leaf Centres it is one of our top priorities to teach children about Hygiene and lead by example.

1. Children’s hand are washed as soon as they arrive in the centre, before and after eating and after Diapering or toileting.
2. The toys are cleaned on a daily basis and thorough cleaning is done on a weekly basis.
3. The bathrooms, equipment and furniture are cleaned and sanitized on a daily basis.
4. Each child will have their own mat, bedding and blanket which will be washed on a weekly basis or sooner if needed.
5. A daily and weekly cleaning chart is posted and maintained.
6. The change table is sanitized after each use and disposable gloves are used while changing diapers.

In case of an emergency, New Leaf Childcare centre has an emergency preparedness kit. This kit contains enough emergency supplies to take care of all the children and the staff in the daycare for at least 72 hours. Our fire drills are practised once a month and our Earthquake drill is practised once a year.

Emergency evacuation procedure:

1. In the event of emergency that requires us to evacuate the centre, we will take our emergency kit and all the children to our emergency meeting place, Central Valley Baptist Church, 33393 Old Yale Road, Abbotsford B.C., V2S 2J6 phone number 604-850-3204.
2. We will use the wagons and strollers to walk the children safely to our meeting place. Our first priority is to get them away from danger as safely and as quickly as possible.
3. We will take our child’s records and Emergency Preparedness kits with us and each child will have an emergency card with the child’s name, care card number, and parents will be contacted for pick-up as soon as possible. We will leave notes on the centre doors as to our location.
4. In emergency the local lines are all jammed up and sometimes may not work but the long distance ones might work so parents can call Navpreet Kaur Toor at 1-250-485-2632 Oosoyos B.C as she will be our out of town contact person. This will help parents contact us through third party if needed.
5. While the children are at care at our emergency meeting place, we have toys in our emergency kit for each child to keep them engaged and feel secure. We will have approved first aid kit with us to administer first aid to a child if required.
6. Our emergency plan will be tested at least once a year.

At New Leaf Childcare, We passionately believe that good nutrition plays a vital role in children’s physical and mental development in early childhood. Research supports the fact that it is directly linked to all aspects of their growth and development. Most children form lifelong eating patterns by the time they reach school age, so it’s a huge responsibility for New Leaf Centres to guide children towards sound food habits which will help them to maintain good health in the long term. our goal is to promote good health, safety and nutrition. Eating nutritious food is an important part of a child’s day. The New Leaf Nutrition program includes a 2 week rotating seasonal menu that meets children’s needs, taking into account nutritional and energy requirements as well as cultural and health needs.  The snack menu is organic whenever possible. The snack program has 2 to 3 food groups per snack time as recommended by the Canadian food guide and incorporates the seasonal fruits and vegetables. The centre provides organic whole milk for the children to drink after lunch or as needed, water is available at all times and is offered before and after snacks. Staff sits down with children and offer a calm, relaxed, happy, social atmosphere in which children eat.  Menus are displayed in the children’s rooms and the notice board in the foyer. To encourage awareness of good eating habits, staff talk to children when at their table, use books, discussions and songs to reinforce the healthy eating message. Independence is encouraged at mealtimes with children self-feeding, using utensils, setting tables and clearing up. Food is not used as a reward or punishment; it is also not used as a comforter for unsettled children. All children are encouraged to taste their food.  Special snacks may be provided if a child has a special dietary requirement. The Centre caters for children with food allergies, intolerances or any special dietary requirements. Any allergies or food intolerances are recorded in the child’s enrolment records, displayed in the kitchen and displayed in that child’s room. Staff are also made aware if any child has a risk to any specified ingredient to which they may be allergic. The parent is to present to the Centre a detailed allergy medical plan/care plan or an emergency action plan including an Epipen®and Anapen (adrenaline auto-injectors). In the event of the child having ingested an allergic food, the emergency action plan is implemented. The Centre provides storage for breast milk, and mothers are welcome to breast-feed. Breast milk is frozen if necessary, or refrigerated if it is to be used that day. Breast milk for feeding is reheated in a jug of hot water, not in the microwave. The Centre will work with parents on the introduction of cows milk and cups for feeding your baby. As an addition to milk drinks, babies are offered cooled, boiled water as necessary, particularly on hot days. The parents will need to provide formulas for babies and the staff then makes up their daily bottles. Bottles are heated in the hot water jug and tested on staff’s inner arm’s skin for correct temperature. The introduction of solids done at home with parents and we follow what is started at home. Parents are encouraged to introduce solids to their child, when there is an increased appetite, the child is able to hold their head up and begin to control their tongue to take food from a spoon. Introduction of solids is encouraged from approximately 6 months, or when the parents feel comfortable. All foods introduced must be first introduced at home. The Centre provides for the children’s morning snack, and evening snack. The lunch needs to be sent from home. All staff have informal training of food handling.  Food is cut appropriately to prevent choking. We encourage parents to cultivate excellent eating habits in children when they are young.  New Leaf centres are not a nut free zone. We do not allow or serve any kind of nuts in the centre but sometimes cross contamination is unavoidable example if a child comes to centre after having a peanut butter sandwich and there are small unnoticeable traces of peanut butter on child’s clothes. The centre reserves the right to refuse care to a child with severe food allergy/allergies.  Staff eat with children and will lead by example by eating nutritious snacks such as fruits and vegetables and a healthy lunch. Hand washing before and after eating is our top priority.

A child will be released only to the parent or his/her legal guardian or whoever is indicated on the registration form’s authorized pick up list. A photo ID can be requested at any time. Parents/guardians need to sign in their child during drop off and write an estimated pick-up time. The parents/ guardians will be required to sign out during pick-up. The staff must be notified in writing of any alternate arrangement for drop-off or pick-up. Picture identification will be required to insure the person is on authorized pick up list. Children will not be released to anyone under the age of 16.

In case of non-custodial parents or court order:

1. The parent must provide a copy of the current custody order, court order and a

Photo of the non-custodial parent

2. If the non-custodial parent shows up and insists that the child be released to them the caregiver will;

• Calmly state the daycares release of children’s policies and procedures.
• Ensure all children and staff are safe.
• Contact custodial parent.
• Call police if parent tries to leave with the child.

The staff will not release the child to a parent /guardian who is authorized to pick-up a child appears incapable of providing safe care (i.e. appears to be impaired by alcohol or drugs) in that case the staff will:

1. Call the other parent
2. If the other parent is not available, call the other authorized pick-up personal including emergency contact numbers
3. If any of the above contacts are not available or do not answer or the staff believe that the child is in need of protection the staff will contact the police and Ministry for Children and Family Development

It is the parents or guardians’ responsibility to pick-up the child on time. Although 5 minutes allowance will be made for emergencies, A parent/guardian who picks-up the child after the schedule closing time will be charged a late fee of 1 dollars for every minute late. Transportation to and from the daycare is the responsibility of each parent or guardian.

1. If children are not picked-up within half-hour of closing time and without any notification: The staff will make all attempts to call contact numbers including emergency contact numbers
2. If the staff are not successful in contacting anyone authorized to pickup, they will call the Ministry for Children and Family Development and the child will be released to the Ministry
3. The staff will not take the child home unless directed by the Ministry.

Because we care about the health and well being of the children in our care, we follow the Director of Licensing standard of practice recommendations on Screen Time:

• Children under 2 should have no screen time
• Children age 2 and over should watch less than 30 minutes per day at child care, and less than 2 hours per day total.

We do not allow any screen time for children under 2 years of age.  For children 2 years and over, less than 30 minutes a day of screen time could be provided for educational purposes or sometimes for music and movement.

Active Play

we follow the Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines that recommend:

– Infants (less than 1 year) are physically active several times daily-particularly through interactive floor-based play.

– Toddlers and preschoolers should accumulate at least 180 minutes of physical activity spread throughout the day and a minimum of 60 minutes at the child care.

We go outside regardless of the weather, unless it is extreme weather conditions. we ask for children to be dressed according to the weather and have a spare set of splashpants and rain jacket or muddybuddy left at the centre. For winter we may request a snow suit for the children. We have outside active play time of 60 minutes in the morning and most days in the afternoon as well.

What is ACTIVE PLAY and why is it important?

Active play is physical activity which includes moderate to vigorous bursts of high energy, raises children’s heart rate and may make them ‘huff and puff’ such as running or jumping. For an infant or toddler, active play may include reaching out for a toy, rolling over, balancing in a sitting position and crawling/walking.  Active play helps to promote healthy growth and development and supports body control and movement. Active play can help build strong bones and muscles, improve balance, coordination and assists with the development of gross motor and fine motor skills. Active play also helps to promote children’s confidence, improves concentration and thinking and learning skills and provides opportunities to develop social skills and make friends.

Once you agree upon all our procedures and policies and decide to enroll your child in our Centre, we will require a half month fee as a deposit paid by cash or by cheque payable to New Leaf Childcare Centre Inc. to secure a spot for your child, This will be returned to you once your child leaves the centre with an appropriate notice or it can form a part of the last month fee. When you decide on leaving the centre or when the child is going to full day kindergarten and you do not require full time care anymore, we will need a full month’s notice starting from the first of the following month. In case of an inappropriate notice, the deposit will not be returned. The parents/guardians are responsible to pay the full monthly fees or parent portion (if you receive subsidy) by the first of every month charged in advance. The fees are charged on enrolment basis and not on attendance so there is no fee reduction or compensation for sick days or missed days. We require the parents/caregivers to provide us with 6 months of post dated cheques. In case the fees are not paid in full within the first 5 business days of the month, the child care can be terminated with a 24 hour notice. A 50 dollars fee is charged for any returned cheque. If the parent/guardian becomes ineligible for subsidy, they will be responsible for paying the full monthly fees within 5 business days. If your subsidy takes more than 4 weeks, you are required to start paying immediately, however once the subsidy pays the centre we will refund you the paid amount less the parent portion.

The centre will be closed for all statutory holidays, and from December 23 to New Year. There is no compensation in fees for days for which centre is closed or if the centre is closed due to extreme weather conditions like snow or power outages. If the centre decides to terminate care, the deposit and monthly balance will be refunded within 5 business days. The year end statement will be made available by Jan 31 of the New Year.

If a reportable incident happens at the Centre, a reportable incident form will be filled by the staff as required by Fraser Health and submitted to the licensing office within 24 hours. The definitions of reportable incidents are listed under Schedule H in Child Care Licensing Regulations. All minor incidents are recorded in the centre communication book if needed