Child Illness Policy in Adherence to CDC Guidelines

Health Status

Upon arrival each day, Drop-Off Person will need to complete the COVID-19 Screening Tool as required by DHS and RI DOH, for each child. If answer is “yes” to any of the questions on the survey, child will be excluded from the facility until he/she is completely free from symptoms for 72 hours, AND 7 days have passed since first symptoms started. Child’s temperature will also be taken before entering the facility. Please inform staff of any significant changes in child’s health, including any injuries sustained outside of school (cuts, bruises, etc.).

If Drop-Off/Pick-Up Person, child, or anyone in household has been diagnosed with COVID-19, has been told to quarantine by a public health authority, has been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, has traveled anywhere outside of the 50 United States or on a cruise, or has traveled anywhere within the US by commercial airline, they will be excluded from the facility and should self-quarantine until 14 days have passed since the time of potential exposure/travel.

As a provider, we must immediately contact the DOH for guidance and DHS Child Care Licensing if the provider, staff, child or family member has been instructed to isolate or quarantine due to having contracted or been exposed to COVID19 for further instruction.

If your child is ill and will not be attending school, please call to notify the education coordinator (Procare message, phone or email) of absence, including the specific reason for the absence. Also, if your child has been diagnosed with a contagious illness, please inform administration. When appropriate, a note will be posted for the general school population to inform parents of a specific illness within our school. Rest assured that confidentiality is always strictly maintained in order to respect your privacy.

Illness

If your child becomes ill at school, you will be notified immediately. If the illness warrants exclusion from school, your child will need to be picked up from school immediately. Parents must have plans in place should early pick-up become necessary. 

Your child will be removed from the group setting and join a staff member in an isolation area (office area) until they receive a call from the pick up person. At that point, the staff member will bring your child to your car.

If a sick child has been isolated in our facility, the isolation area as well as other contact areas will be sanitized and disinfected.

Conditions that require exclusion from school and requires direct contact with COVID-19 RIDOH Probable case of COVID 19 symptoms:

One of the following:

  • Cough

  • Shortness of breath

  • Difficulty breathing

  • New loss of taste

  • New loss of smell

Two of the following:

  • Fever

  • Chills (rigors)

  • Muscle aches

  • Headache

  • Sore throat

  • Nausea or vomiting

  • Diarrhea

  • Fatigue

  • Congestion or runny nose

Other conditions that require exclusion from school until completely symptom free for 24 hours:

  • Purulent conjunctivitis-pink or red eye with white or yellow eye drainage

  • Head lice-may return to school after first treatment

  • Rash

  • Communicable Illness

Medication

All medication to be administered at school requires a doctor’s order and written permission from parent/guardian. The doctor’s order may be submitted to school in person or by fax. All medication needs to be in its original container and clearly labeled. The label affixed to medication at the pharmacy is valid as the doctor’s order as long as it contains all necessary information (i.e., medication name, dosage, frequency, doctor’s name).The parental permission form to be completed and signed by parent/guardian is available in the office. No medication is allowed in the classroom. Bring all medication and necessary paperwork to the education coordinator (Exception: EpiPen when indicated, is kept in the child’s classroom). Medications that are to be given 1-2 times per day will not be administered at school unless indicated by the doctor. Standing orders for fever-reducing medications are not allowed at school. All medication administered at school will be done so by a staff member.

Allergies

Allergies should be listed on medical records, on enrollment forms where indicated and discussed with the teacher and education coordinator. The school maintains a list of all allergies within the student population and a copy of the list is posted in each classroom in order to assure awareness of all staff members. When indicated by a doctor’s order, EpiPens and Benadryl are kept in the child’s classroom for use in the event of an allergic reaction.

Families will provide all snacks and lunches for their child. Snacks will be served to each child by the teacher, as we are not able to do family style dining where children scoop their snack from a shared bowl at this time. Duty parents will continue to provide the snack daily, a healthy carb and fruit or vegetable. Staff will cut all fruits/veggies, it is very helpful if the snack is purchased in individual packs for ease of distribution to children. If that is not the case, please make sure the container/bag that is provided is unopened or we cannot serve.

We will continue to monitor to ensure these meals are prepared in compliance with our usual policies regarding types of foods, preparation and allergies.

First Aid

Minor accidents and injuries will be attended to immediately and first aid administered as needed. Parents will be notified by phone and an accident report will be completed. The accident report requires a parent signature and will be available for review at pick-up. Minor accidents and injuries which occur late in the day may be verbally communicated to parents (accompanied by a written accident report) at pick-up since phone calls near the end of the day may not be conducive. 

In the case of a more serious injury, parents will be notified immediately, and all necessary medical action will be taken. For this reason, please be sure to provide any change in contact information to school, including phone numbers of additional emergency contact persons. When indicated, 911 will be called and a staff member will accompany the injured child to the medical facility.