School Policies
The Dorothy Gardner Centre relies on various policies and procedures to aid the day to day running of the establishment and to ensure that pupils receive high quality education. A number of these have been made available below. Due to the amount of content, all policies are downloadable for offline reading.
Behaviour Management Policy
We believe that young children are most able to show respect, care and thoughtfulness when they feel that they themselves are valued. We believe that all children and adults need positive responses and praise for their achievements in order to develop to their full potential. We also believe that in order for children to develop respectful, considerate behaviour toward other children and adults they must first see the adults around them behaving in this way.
Our approach to behaviour is that we will model the kind of behaviour we wish children to develop; we will talk about behaviour in positive ways and praise appropriate and generous behaviour to show that this is what we value.
CP & Safeguarding Policy
The governors and staff of Dorothy Gardner Centre fully recognise the contribution it makes to safeguarding children. We recognise that all adults working with children, including volunteers, have a full and active part to play in protecting our children from harm.
All staff and governors believe that our centre should provide a caring, positive, safe and stimulating environment which promotes the social, physical and emotional development of the individual child.
We value the opportunities offered to children and families by the development of children’s centre services. They also recognise that this development has an impact on the work of the centre in relation to chid protection, and are committed to working with all partners - providers and users of services - to develop robust procedures that protect all children and increase adult understanding of safeguarding children.
Complaints Policy
This procedure aims to reassure parents and others with an interest in the nursery school that:
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Where possible, complaints will be dealt with informally and at the lowest possible level in school in order to reach a resolution promptly;
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Any complaint against the nursery school will be dealt with in a fair, open and responsive way, with the aim of achieving a speedy and satisfactory resolution; and
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The nursery school recognises that a willingness to listen to questions and criticism and to respond positively, can lead to improvements in school in practices as well as provision.
Health & Safety Policy
This document outlines the health and safety policy arrangements for ensuring compliance with Westminster Children Services Health and Safety Policy, and where appropriate highlights the specific responsibilities of individual employees to ensure that this is achieved, It should be read in conjunction with the WCC Health and Safety Policy and the CS Health and Safety Policy.
Race Equality & Cultural Diversity
Dorothy Gardner Centre welcomes its duties under the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2010.
Under this act all people are legally protected against discrimination due to their race. It covers employment, education, housing, the provision of goods and services, the NHS, local authorities and government departments.
Trips & Outings Policy
Going on visits outside the centre or nursery is an important part of the curriculum for children. Both visits to local, familiar places and new or less familiar places offer children opportunities for learning that are different from those which they can be offered in the centre.
Food Policy
To ensure that all aspects of food and nutrition across each setting promotes health and well-being of pupils, staff and visitors. We aim for children to learn life-long skills in healthy eating as part of a healthy lifestyle and to ensure parents are involved wherever possible. We believe that it is important for families to understand the impact of nutrition on health, concentration, energy levels and positive self-image.