Food Policy

Every single Mum can attend her Mums Squad sessions and know her child will never be exposed to nuts or traces of nuts or other well-known food allergens. Our food policy is simple. Every session is a nut free zone. No nuts, nut products or products that are made in factories that produce nut products are ever to be brought to a Mums Squad session. As a result it goes without saying that they will never be eaten at a Mums Squad session. All the same we limit the possibility of cross-contamination of foods by removing all children who are eating, away from other children. We encourage you to feed your child at home or before or after your session. If the need arises, they can be fed at their session providing that:

• All food is nut free;
• All food containers, bottles and spoons are labelled clearly with your child’s name; and
• You must provide a container or bag, to place dirty/used items. 
• During your sessions our Nannies will ensure:

• Children are removed from the play area onto a separate mat or place in their pram to eat;
• All children will be wiped down after eating and before they return to the play area; and 
• All Nannies will wipe down their hands using an alcohol-based solution after feeding the children.

If you know your child has an allergy you must:

• Include the relevant and most recent information on the pre-screening forms you complete when you start with Mums Squad. If you become aware of a new allergy or a change in your child’s status you must complete a new form. 
• Tell the Nannies at every session that you child has an allergy and instruct them accordingly in case treatment is required.
• Provide any drugs required should your child have an allergic reaction,

Breast Fed Babies

• Please make every effort to breast feed your baby before a session. It will help them settle and make your workout more comfortable.
• If it’s not possible to feed your baby before the session please express milk so the nannies can feed them as needed. Please make a note on your baby’s pram card indicating what will be required and make sure the Nannies know where to find the babies bottle.
• The bottle can be fed to the baby in the nannies arms or while the child is in the pram.
• If no expressed milk is provided and your child needs to be fed you will be called out of the session to feed your baby.

Bottle Fed Babies

Our policy here is very similar to Breast Fed Babies. Please feed your baby before the session to help them settle. If you think your baby will need to be fed, please make a note on your baby’s pram card indicating what will be required and make sure the Nannies know where to find the babies bottle. The bottle can be fed to the baby in the nannies arms or while the child is in the pram. 

Tod squad

All Tod squad sessions are to be nut free zones. Please bring morning tea properly labelled for all toddlers. They all love morning tea time. We seat all together whilst talking about Healthy Eating Habits.  They will then be wiped down before they return to go back to play time. Nannies will also wipe their hands. We will also ensure that all Tods eat only the food that they bring with them. All Toddlers food MUST BE in a clearly labelled container.

Child Collection Policy

When you are training at Mums Squad to get fit after having children you want to know where your child is and who is responsible for them. Accordingly you are the only person who can pick your child up from a Mums Squad Session. The policy means you will be called out of your session to personally hand over your child to someone who will be caring for your child thereby giving your consent for your child to leave the care and control of Mums Squad.

Here is how it will work: 

• At the beginning of the session you will hand the child over to your Mums Squad Nannies.
• If your baby or toddler is to be collected by anyone other than you must leave your session and personally hand the baby/child over to the relative or friend. 
• If someone turns up unexpectedly to look after or collect your child, you will be called over, out of your exercise session, to assess whether you would like your child to be handed over to that person. 
• If you do not wish to hand over your child to any person, inform a Mums Squad staff member and the person will be asked to leave the area. If they do not comply, the police will be called and alerted to the situation. 
• If you want your child to be handed over to anyone you have to do it personally each and every time. 
• If you are injured or fall ill during a session are unable to collect your baby or toddler, the child will stay with a Mums Squad staff member until your Emergency contact has been called by us and comes to collect your child.  Mums Squad staff will be responsible for the child until the Emergency contact arrives to collect them.

Once your child has been handed over to you Fit4Dreams and Mums Squad will no longer be responsible for your child. 

Sickness & Exclusion Policy

You can come to Mums Squad knowing we have done everything possible to avoid either you, your baby or your toddler, getting sick from a contagious illness, infection or disease. Accordingly if your child has an illness, infection or disease you may not bring them to Mums Squad until you have kept them away for the minimum exclusion periods as set out in the NSW Staying Healthy in Childminding Guidelines. (Click here for more)Staff who are ill will not be allowed to work for the minimum exclusion period.We know that sometimes you may not be aware that your child is ill when you come to one of our sessions. If you later find out that your child is sick, you must email and let us know the details of their condition so we can warn the other mums. At the same time, we will let you know about any sickness, illness or disease that your child may have been exposed to as soon as we are aware of it. We will immediately clean & disinfect any toys and equipment that may have become in contact with the sick child. This will be in addition to our scheduled weekly cleaning of all the toys and equipment. It can be difficult to know whether you should keep your child away from Mums Squad. The government has published a number of exclusion periods for different diseases. Click Here to see them.To help we have outlined the “NSW Staying Healthy in Childminding Guidelines.” In the next two paragraphs please read “Mums Squad” for the words “the Centre”. 

“Some times, Children and Adults need to be away from the centre for the safety of others. This is called exclusion. The “exclusion period” is a minimum period to be away from the centre. However, a child or member of staff may need to stay at home longer than the exclusion period  to recover from an illness.” 

“Recommended exclusion periods are based on the time that a person with a specific disease or condition might be infectious to others. Recommended non-exclusion means there is not a significant risk of infection to others. A person who is not excluded may still need to stay at home because they do not feel well. Some diseases require a medical certificate before the child or adult can be re-admitted to the centre. These diseases are: Diphtheria, Hepatitis A, Polio, Tuberculosis, Typhoid, Paratyphoid.”

The NSW Staying healthy in Childminding Guidelines set out:

• If one of our staff members becomes ill during a session they will be allowed to leave. We will inform you of the staff members condition so you can watch out for similar symptoms in your child and see if you are happy to continue training without the Nanny being there. All toys will be cleaned using our recommended cleaning product to reduce the risk of cross-infection.
• If a Mother becomes ill during her session and can not continue but she is able to collect her child, she should do so. 
• If a Mother becomes ill or injured during a session and is unable to collect her child, the child’s emergency contact will be called to collect them. The child will stay in our care until the emergency contact arrives to collect the child. When the child has been handed over to the emergency contact, the child will no longer be our responsibility. 
• When dealing with a sick baby, toddler or mother, all staff or required to wear gloves. Upon removal of gloves, staff are to use the anti-bacterial hand sanitizer available in their Nanny Box. 
• If an outbreak of a contagious illness is reported at Mums Squad, all toys will be cleaned each day using the recommended anti-bacterial product to stop it spreading.

Toy Cleaning Policy

As a mum you need to be able to concentrate on your fitness without worrying about your baby or toddler.At Mums Squad we minimise the risk of your babies or toddlers getting sick by keeping all our toys, equipment, bibs, blankets and drop sheets clean. We make new play-doh every week and all our toys and blankets are cleaned weekly or as needed.

Here is an outline of our procedures:

• Blankets are washed using 30℃ water and Nappysan sensitive (or equivalent) and Canesten anti-bacterial and anti-fungal solution. All blankets that become dirty during the week are removed from the toy collection and placed in a plastic packet until wash day and replaced by clean spare blankets kept in the office. 
• Tarps are cleaned as needed. Nannies check the tarp after every session and clean any marks that they see using gloves and Tissues and Germ-ex solution. Tarps will be cleaned with Germ-ex solution at least every month, or as needed. 
• Boxes are wiped down weekly using Germ-ex solution and a clean cloth by staff wearing gloves. Boxes are then left to air dry. 
• If boxes become dirty or sandy between cleans, our nannies empty the boxes and wipe them down with wet wipes.

Lost Child Procedure

At Mums Squad safety is paramount. You sign your children in and out. And all toddlers wear one of our bibs so they are readily identifiable. At the same time, we have developed a ‘Lost Child Procedure’ to ensure that we are ready should a child ever go missing whilst in our care. All of our Nannies and personal trainers have been trained to carry out the procedure, so if you have any questions or would like to see the full copy of the Lost Child Procedure, please ask. The procedure is very simple, its basically a step-by-step structured search. The Nanny who discovers a child in Mums Squad’s care is missing becomes the alerting nanny who assumes control of the Lost Child Procedure.

The Alerting Nanny: 

• Counts and recounts the children;
• Determines which child is missing;
• Quickly scans the immediate surroundings for the child;
• Makes note of the time;
• Ensures adequate staff is in place to mind the children while the lost child procedure commences. In emergency cases, one staff member may be left alone with each Bub or Tod Squad;
• Collects all available staff and takes them to the trainer
• Raises the alarm by quietly telling the trainer which child is missing. It is the trainers job to stay with the mother of the lost child and tell her what’s happened. The trainer will remain honest and positive, offering support and treatment for shock if needed.
• The Alerting Nanny’s then collects the Lost Child Procedure Envelope from the Bub Squad Nanny Box.
• Informs the other parents of the situation and what they need to do next by saying this: “Parents ,we have a situation and we will need your co-operation. Please listen carefully, we have a lost child, his/her name is… (The Alerting Nanny then lists all the particulars).  Please come to me one at a time and I will hand you a piece of paper with a location where you have to go and look for the child. Please report back to me when you have looked carefully in your location”. 
• In make this statement the Alerting Nanny informs parents and other staff of the Child’s particulars eg:

1. Name;
2. Age;
3. Hair Colour;
4. Eye Colour;
5. Clothes they are wearing; and
6. Where they were last seen.

• The Alerting Nanny then hands out a slip of paper to each mum and available staff, to tell them where to go and look for the missing child. There is a Map of each training area in the Nanny box.
• Parents and available Staff report back to Alerting Nanny once they have looked in their place. Once they have completed their search they systematically return and collect another search area until the child is found.
• The procedure must not take more than 10 minutes, If the lost child is not found within these 10 minutes, “000’ must be called and alerted to the situation. An Available staff member is to call the service as the Alerting Nanny will be dealing with the searching parents and other available staff.