Red Apple Daycare adheres to all fire, health and safety regulations and must require all members and visitors to the premises to do likewise as we are located in a Toronto Board of Education school. We also follow board regulations regarding the use of this property.

We at Red Apple Daycare strive to have the healthiest children we can possibly have in a group setting. In order to achieve this objective, the following is incorporated into our policies and procedures:

• Serve nutritious snacks and lunches
• Go outdoors everyday, weather permitting as per Day Nurseries Act
• Obey strict sanitary procedures
• Ensure that your child has sufficient rest during the day
• Follow strict health and illness policies which have been set in consultation with the East York Department of Health.

We would like you to understand that when we send your child home due to illness, we do so for the following reasons:

• Your child is ill and needs time to rest and recuperate
• We have 35 other children who are exposed to your child's illness
• Our staff is not qualified to diagnose your child's condition
• We can only observe symptoms and ask for a professional diagnosis.

Communicable Disease

Any child with a communicable disease must be kept home for the full period required by the Department of Public Health.

Please notify the daycare if your child has a communicable disease. We have to notify the staff and parents to look for symptoms in other children. The centre also has to keep record of communicable disease outbreaks for the Department of Health.

Communicable disease include, but are not limited to the following illnesses:

Diarrhea

Your child will be sent home if he/she has two or three loose, mucousy, discoloured bowel movements which cannot be contained in the diaper. Re-admittance to the Daycare is allowed once your child is diarrhea free for 24 hours. However, if the diarrhea recurs or if we have an outbreak in the Centre you may be required to take stool sample to your doctor for analysis.

Fever

As a rule of thumb, anything over 38 degrees Celsius is considered out of the normal range. The child must be fever free for 24 hours without fever reducing medication before they may return to the centre. A doctor's note is not acceptable in lieu of 24 hours.

We understand the difficulty for many people to take time off from their work to be home with a sick child. We will not call you unless it is warranted and only after the staff has consulted with the supervisor.

Doctor's Note

Doctor's notes are often required for re-admission to the centre. A doctor's note must contain the following information: date of visit, child's name, the fact that the child is free from contagion, the date the child may return to the centre, and the doctor's signature.

If you are a parent receiving subsidy from Metro Social Services and your child is away 10 consecutive days, subsidy requires a doctor's note.

General Policies Regarding Illness

If we observe that your child appears to be ill and exhibits specific symptoms and is unable to participate in the program we will refuse admittance. If your child develops symptoms through the day we will call you and ask you to pick up the child promptly.

Your child will be refused admission or sent home if he/she has any of the following:

Illness Report

If your child is sent home, you will be asked to read and sign an illness report. It will go into your child's file and a copy will be sent home with you.

The illness report will include symptoms observed, conditions of your child's return to the centre, etc. Please make sure that you receive this report before leaving the Daycare.

Your child must have a medical completed before admission to the Centre. All immunizations must be up-to-date. PLEASE REMEMBER TO ADVISE THE DAYCARE IN WRITING AFTER EACH INOCULATION.

We are able to administer prescription medicine to your child. The medication MUST BE PRESCRIBED BY A PHYSICIAN. Over-the-counter medicine which your doctor prescribes may be given provided the physician provides the following on his/her letterhead and attached to the bottle: child's name, name of medication, dosage to be given, length of time it is to be administered, the date the note was written, doctor's signature.

The mediation must be in the original container. All mediation must be placed in the locked medicine box in the refrigerator in the kitchen at the daycare.

The medicine will be administered by the E.C.E. on the earliest shift in each room. If this E.C.E. is unable to administer the medication, she will designate another E.C.E. to administer it.

All medication to be administered by the Daycare staff must be signed daily in the Medicine Log.

The daycare provides two nutritious snacks as well as a hot meal at lunch. Homo and 2% mild and juice are provided by the daycare. Infant cereal is supplied by the parent. Parents are responsible for supplying formula prepared in bottles for their infants. Jarred baby food and formula is to be supplied by the parent.

No peanut products are served.

IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU NOTIFY THE STAFF OF ANY ALLERGIES OR SPECIAL DIETS.