Where do Ofsted say a nursery can refuse entry to child in first 24 hours

[johnnybuoy]

GRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I told our nursery that our son had started a course of antibiotics that morning and they said he couldn't come to nursery as Ofsted now say a child must stay home for the first 24 hours of a course of antibiotics?

Does anybody know where this is documented?

Surely if he is on antibiotics he's ill and shouldn't be at nursery?

He had a slight ear infection and after a couple of doses of antibiotics he is as right as rain. I'm trying to work from home and he wants me to take him to the park! He would only have been in the nursery for half a day.

I don't know if it's an Ofsted rule but if you do a quick google it certainly seems to be standard for nurseries, in fact a lot say 2 days in their exclusion policies.Do you have a copy of yours?

no, they said it was in one of the letters they send out but we didn't see it and it's not on their website.

It seems common for schools to do this but I'm not sure it comes from Ofsted. Dd1's school say 24hrs for antibiotics and 48hrs for V&D.

This is standard for nurseries. I remember asking it when interviewing nurseries and all of them have this policy. It says you must have the anitbiotics for 24 hours before returning to nursery. But in reality it means 2 days off, because the first day is when you go and see the doctors, so you couldn't have had the antibiotics for 24 hours at 8am in the morning!

And switchtvoffdosomelessboring having antibiotics doesn't mean they aren't fine. For example, DD was excluded for having conjuntivitis. She wasn't slightly bothered. Still the same happy smiley baby except when I approach her with the eye drop . If I use a nanny, I'd still go to work because she isn't actually 'poorly'. But I understand conjuntivitis is highly contagious so why they need to stay at home.

Thinking about it I've never been asked by the school when ABs started if I've ever had to use them. Parents are allowed to go to school at lunchtime to give the ABs if the child is well enough to be at school and they often are.

Ofsted state nurseries need a medicine policy, but I don't think they specify what the policy has to be - it's up to the nursery to determine what they will and won't do.

Exclusion guidelines usually come from the Health Protection Agency rather than Ofsted I think, but that is for specific illnesses/conditions.

They can and do set their own policies - eg conjunctivitis it is very common for them to exclude children until they have been having drops for 24 hrs, but HPA says no need to exclude.

I would want my nursery to exclude until 48 hours free from D and V. My childrens preschool and school, I believe, say the same about being on ABs for 24 hrs before returning, I understand it is in case of side effects/allergic reactions.

They should be happy to show you the policies if you ask.

Ofsted released an information factsheet on giving medicine, if you google Ofsted guidance on medication the fact sheet will come up. There has been a lot of confusion relating to prescribed, prescripted and over the counter medication, but the only requirement is that the nursery or provider has to have a clearly set out policy, IME most nurseries will exclude for 24hrs to ensure that the child does not have any adverse reaction to the antibiotics, so pretty standard, schools if they will administer meds (a heck of a lot won't) generally do the same.

Here's the linky thing

www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/factsheet-childcare-giving-medication-children-registered-childcare