Hot drinks policy at pre-school

[marathonmum]

I have just taken over as manager of a pre-school. The last manager allowed staff to have a cup of tea/coffee midmorning. However recently staff have been walking around the setting with cups of tea on trays , drinking them outside etc. I feel this is a health a safetyissue for the children . I would like tohave no hot drinks around the children at all. I am happy to have cold drinks/snack for the staff mid morning esp as one member of staff is diabetic.
What do other settings do? How would you feel if you were a staff member deprived of your tea? or a parent seeing staff drinking Tea instead of playing with your child.
I'd really appreciate your advice

generally staff wouldnt be outside all morning. As some children are outside and some are in according to their choosing then dtaff swap around being both inside and outside so they can do their obseravtions and assessment and so they dont get to cold.

Are you open all day Katy or just a morning/pm session

But with an open door - how will you keep inside warm (it's a major issue for me as it is my house that is cold)

Our staff have a hot drink in the morning while the children are having their snack and drink. The children are all sat down for snack time so there is a bit more control. I would not suggest to our staff that they went without their cup of coffee. There would be uproar, but I am not the Nursery manager thank goodness.
There is a no hot drinks policy where we hold our toddler group and us parents have struggled to get used to that, especially now the weather is colder. I am afraid I miss the cup of coffee, but can certainly live with it.

7:30 til 6

I keep trying to find ways to keep the inside warm - but I am failing

I could get the staff to have a cuppa while the children are having a snack, but arent we supposed to be sitting down with them chatting and helping them pour their own drinks . Still maybe we can multi task. We should really be doing free flow snack bar but thats an entirely new discussion.
It does get cold inside you are rigth Katy. I just kep my fleese on all day as do the rest of the staff. Our layout means that the main playroom doesnt have an open door directly onto it so is warmer than the smaller playroom with the outside door leading off. Going outside is never popular but I didnt write the EYFS
I do feel that Ofsted requirements require us to be superhuman with thermal vests

oh my goodness Katy your heating bill must be huge. Just think of the green house effect of your house. WE must write to Gordon Brown immediately.................... starting a debate... the cost to the environment of free flow play................

Tell me about it

My covered play area is off my playroom which is off my kitchen (no door) which is off my hall (no door)

I can't come up with a solution - I trialled opening the door anytime a child went close to it - but apparently that isn't good enough

I worry about keeping the babies warm - but I don't want to segregate the age groups

I also worry about keeping my house warm

Our Nursery is small. Only 18 children. One member of staff helps the children pour their drinks while another member if staff is making the hot drinks. The children hand the snacks round and the adults are sat around with them in the same area, but not at the tables (no room).

An open door all year, literally open, not just unlocked????? Madness. As is free flow snacks imho. They wouldn't get that at home so why at Nursery. I love some aspects of EYFS, but other bits seem to be pure lunacy esp for childminders.....

I do work outside with children in the winter, Katymac, for an hour and a half at a stretch - which is probably for longer at a stretch than someone in a pre-school - and with nary a cup of tea to be seen. Dressed properly, and over a short period of time, I don't see that as a problem.

Over a full day then yes, but not just for three hours.

Katymac - we were told by both Ofsted and the Early Years team for our City that the door didn't need to be actually open all the time. It was more to do with the children knowing that it would be opened for them as soon as they asked, or being able to open it themselves and have access to the outdoor space.

I agree Vanilla, free flow snacks for 2 year olds os lunacy. Whats wrong with learning to sit down and socilise whilst eating. Gives chance for staff to catch up with what the children have been doing informally cahtting.
We keep our door open to avoid trapping of fingers etc, also we would need 1 member of staff to man the door as children are in and out constantly.
I may suggest the hot drinks during the children's snack

I do wish Ofsted would get it together and come up with some really consistent advise

I get so blummin confused - you get told something - someone else gets told something different

At our pre-school we have our tea-break in the tiny little kitchen.
Usually there are two staff and a parent helper.
But on Thursdays we have 5 people as we have two SN helpers, parent helper and the two staff, so at least then most people do get their cuppa, we take it in turns to stand in the kitchen!

Katymac, could you not get one of those automatic door closer thingies that you see at the top of shop doors.
Should be quite easy for the kids to open but then it would shut itself and keep the heat in!

Our pre-school has free flow snacks, in that all the children have a name card, and when they choose to have their snack, they take their card and stick it to the board by the snack table. They bring their own drink from home, in a cup/flask and they choose what they have to eat from a selection in the middle of the table. When they have finished, they wash up their own plate, then they return to the activity of their choice.

WRT to hot drinks, the kitchen has a serving hatch, and I believe (from what I saw) that the person who stands by the door supervising the outdoor play area gets to take their tea over, but everyone else comes to the hatch and takes a sip or whatever, and the tea gets left there.

Totally agree that it is not unreasonable to expect staff not to have a hot drink betwenn 9am and 12pm. It's not a requirement or anything. I know a lot of people get to drink tea while they are working, but equally many people do not and do not keel over.
My mum is 63 and works in a shop, she is not allowed to drink on the shop floor and manages perfectly well until her break.
FGS - these adults are being paid to do a job and to ensure that the children are safe.
An accident waiting to happen, imo

Ofsted haven't said we have to have the free open door policy.

WE only have hot drinks in one place in the room, and they are up high out of reach.
Staff can only drink them when stood there.

And obviously when there are no children there.

On the open door thing our Nursery don't have the door open all the time either. They do go outside every day and the door is open then, but not when they are all inside, for example at the start of the session, or for story time.
I am all for child led activities and freedom to play, but also think a little structure to a day is a good thing. The children really enjoy snack time together and all take turns in helping. They all sit down together and I think this encourages some children to try new things if they see another child enjoy it etc, and I think this is a good skill and a good thing to get used to. But then I make my children sit at the table for meals and mostly sit down for their snacks too. I didn't think that was unusual..

Open doors? So the Early Years thing is hardly compatible with energy efficiency at all, is it? I like my DS to have fresh air and outdoor access as much as the next person but I'd also like my childminder's energy bills to be as low as possible. Barmy.

Thanks for your support ming ming. The problem is if we allow hot drinks in one area where it is deemed safe i can guaratee that the staff will all b inside at that area with me watching over 24 children outside on my own which is another safety issue. Ive asked them before to have a quick sip one or two at a time but the others complain that their tea is cold by the time they get it!

My word lou, the children wash their own plate up. I cant even get my staff to do that let alone my 2 year olds

In our pre-school staff can have a hot drink on their lunchbreak but aside from that are only allowed cold drinks.

marathonmum, they love it! They have a washing up bowl of water to wash their hands prior to their snack, and a table with newspaper on it, with a washing up bowl and a mop on a stick, and a drainer. They also have a bin in the corner, so they empty their waste into it and then wash up.

WRT open doors, ours only has the door open during free play, but they go outside every day for outdoor activity in the structured time also.

I'm sure I have come across a pre-school where the teacher always had a pot of tea ready next to the door for any person who walked in off the street. Think it was in Scotland somewhere.