COVID-19 Protocols to keep your child safe
New policies and procedures are in place to minimize the risk of Covid-19 transmission. At times this will be frustrating to all of us. Please be patient as we do our best to keep your children and our educators as safe as possible.
Our plan to keep everyone safe Smart Start Highlights of Protocols
• Screening of all children and staff at the door prior to entry including a temperature and physical signs check to ensure the individual is healthy upon entering. You will be greeted by our Screener who will greet and escort your child to their classroom.
• Extra cleaning - repeat sanitation and disinfection of the classroom toys and equipment and frequently touched areas per local public health guidelines.
• Increased cleaning and disinfection throughout the day in accordance with public health guidelines
• Physical distancing and Individual Play – Our classrooms will be rearranged to stimulate individual activities to allow for more parallel play opportunities. We will continue to plan engaging activities for continued learning and growth.
• Meals and nap time – children will be spaced out during these times to allow for physical distancing.
• Personal Protective Equipment for Educators - All our educators will be equipped with shields, masks, gloves and hand sanitizers. This equipment will be used for engagement throughout the day and especially when social distancing between the educator and child is not possible
• Enforcement of a strict illness policy that will ensure if any child presents illness symptoms during the day, they are immediately quarantined with a staff, monitored and sent home per local public health guidelines. This will also apply for our staff.
• No external visitors - We will limit entrance to the centre to only our staff and children. Visits from Public Health and Ministry Inspectors will increase to support the centres through the pandemic.
• Daily communication with our Parents - While we miss being able to meet with you in person on discussing your child's day, we will resort to the use of virtual means to stay connected. Our classrooms will use ‘My kids daily’ report to communicate on the child's daily activities through reports and pictures, zoom calls, or phone calls as needed.
• Small groups in outdoor play to limit interactions. Outdoor play will continue to be a big part of our programming and it will be modified to comply to our pandemic policies