Policies for your setting

Advice about adopting, implementing and reviewing policies.

Policies help to provide good quality provision and are a requirement for Ofsted registered settings. The management committee or school governors, parents, staff and children should be involved in producing, adopting, implementing and reviewing the policies.

Implementing and reviewing policies

The policies are the rules for the running of the provision, so it is important that the management and staff read and sign them.

We advise that everybody reads the policies, signs and dates a form to say that they have read and understood the policies.

Policies must be reviewed, renewed, signed and dated annually.  Once reviewed policies must be available for all parents/carers to read.

All providers must implement the following policies and procedures and all, (except childminders), are expected to have written copies of those policies and procedures for:

  • Safeguarding children (to include the procedure to be followed in the event of an allegation being made against a member of staff and the use of mobile phones and cameras at the setting)
  • Promoting equality of opportunity and for supporting children with special educational needs or disabilities
  • Administering medicines, including effective management systems to support individual children with medical needs and respond to children who are ill or infectious
  • A risk assessment policy, clearly stating when risk assessments will be carried out, by whom, the date of review and any action taken following a review or incident – there is no requirement for risk assessments to be in writing [1]
  • Health and safety relating to accidents, hazards and faulty equipment
  • Behaviour management
  • Dealing with concerns and complaints from parents
  • Smoking
  • The event of a parent failing to collect a child at the appointed time
  • The event of a child going missing
  • Emergency evacuation of the premises
  • Checking the identity of visitors.

Additional policies

You will need additional policies as appropriate to your individual setting, for example:

  • Administering medication
  • Admissions and fees
  • Arrivals and departures
  • Behaviour management
  • Bullying
  • Child induction
  • Complaints
  • Confidentiality
  • Dangerous plants
  • Early Years Foundation Stage
  • Emergency evacuation
  • Environmental policy
  • Equalities
  • Fire safety and risk assessment
  • Health and safety
  • Healthy eating
  • Illness and accidents
  • Intimate care
  • Involving parents
  • Manual handling
  • Missing children
  • Mission statement
  • Pandemic flu
  • Participation
  • Play
  • Risk assessment
  • Safe recruitment
  • Safe internet use
  • Safeguarding
  • Smoking, alcohol and drugs
  • Staff disciplinary procedure
  • Staff induction and development
  • Suspending and excluding children
  • Uncollected children
  • Whistle-blowing

Examples of policies can be found at:

You must ensure you personalise any example policies, and adapt them as appropriate.