RCC Policies

 

Illness Policy 

Rosslyn Children’s Center, as a licensed child development center, is unable to provide care to an ill child. Should a child exhibit any of the symptoms listed below, we will contact his/her parents and/or emergency contact for pick up arrangements. Educators will bring sick children to the front office with their belongings, and a member of the administrative team will call the parent or caregiver to arrange for pick up within one hour of the onset (and notification) of symptoms. Educators will complete a Sick Child Dismissal Form indicating when the child may return to the center. The Administration reserves the right to decide when a child needs to be sent home for illness.

The symptoms of an illness requiring a child be taken home (or stay at home) are:

• A fever of 101 or higher;
• A nasal discharge of yellow or green mucus;
• An unexplained rash on any part of the body;
• A known communicable disease that has not been treated for a full 24 hours by the appropriate medication (We reserve the right to
• request an approval notification from the child’s physician under these circumstances);
• Any unexplained vomiting and/or two or more episodes of vomiting within four to six hours;
• Two or more loose bowel movements within four to six hours;
• Any time a child is not able to be on site, i.e. listless, complaining of not feeling well, unwilling/able to participate in any activities.

Children who have any of the above symptoms must be free of them for at least 24 hours, without medication, before returning to RCC.

 

Sign-in & Sign-out Policy

RCC educators and parents work together to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all our children.
Educators must acknowledge each arrival, greeting both the child and adult dropping off. Each Parent/Guardian MUST sign (with their name, not title i.e. “mom”) and indicate the time they are dropping off/picking up their child on our sign-in/out sheet. They should also provide the phone number/person to be contacted that day in case of emergency. The sign-in/out sheet will be visible and easily accessible to families. When children are collected to go home, educators must ensure that the child is being picked up by an authorized person, and that any critical information about the child’s day is communicated to the responsible adult picking up the child. Under no circumstances will a child be accepted or released by a person not known to RCC educators or not previously authorized (in writing) as an emergency contact by the child’s parent(s). If, for any reason, the sign-in/out sheet is not filled out – or is incomplete – an administrator must be notified immediately.
Nutrition Policy

The intention of this policy is to ensure that the mealtime process supports the development of children’s skills and self-image.
Rosslyn Children’s Center prides itself on providing our children with nutritious, well balanced meals each day. We provide a morning and afternoon snack as well as a hot lunch. Our lunches are catered through Good Food Company, and the menu is guided and approved by a nutritionist, following the USDA guidelines. In addition, because it is our goal to exceed guidelines in our nutritional as well as our educational experiences, we offer an additional serving of fruit each day with our afternoon snack.

Our philosophy and best practices regard mealtime as a prime opportunity for social interactions as well as skill building in independence, fine motor and sensory development.  To achieve these goals, RCC implements “family style meals”. This style of snack and mealtime supports children’s experiences in helping to set the table, prepare and serve the meal, serve and pour for themselves, control portion intake and share the experience with friends and educators through extended conversation.

Because our meals involve passing food around the table for serving and sharing, as well as pitchers of water or milk to be poured, it is critical that we have our families support this endeavor. Children who bring food from home to augment our menu become limited in their participation of these activities; due to licensing regulations they cannot share their food with others. In addition, educators who are tasked with preparing individual meals for several children in the class are removed from the group experience.
Therefore, we are asking our families that NO FOOD BE BROUGHT FROM HOME with the exception, of course, for any child who has an allergy or food restriction (supported by a physician’s note) or family culture practice (which needs to be handled on an individual basis with the Executive Director). This policy is in effect once the child is of the age where he/she is eating table food and able to tolerate our menu.

 

Reporting Child Abuse & Neglect 

Educators are required by law to report any suspected neglect or abuse within 72 hours. Failure to report suspected child abuse could result in a penalty including, but not limited to, a monetary fine. Persons reporting their suspicions are immune from civil and criminal liability.

As a member of the RCC community, educators are required to report any suspected abuse/neglect immediately to the Executive Director or any available administrator. The Administrator will then partner with the educator in ensuring the documentation is filed and made available to Child Protective Services (CPS).

The abused or neglected child includes any child under 18 years of age whose parent or other guardian/adult cause or threatens to cause a physical or mental injury; neglects or refuses to provide adequate supervision for the child’s level of development; abandons the child; commits or allows any illegal sexual act: incest, rape, indecent exposure, prostitution, or the use of children in sexually explicit visual material.

Signs of child abuse and neglect may include:

* the child tells you about an abusive or neglectful situation;
* the child displays excessive anxiety;
* there are bruises or injuries after an absence;
* there are sudden changes in the child’s behavior;
* the child frequently complains of pain and/or injury without apparent injury or illness;
* the child turns to strangers indiscriminately for affection;
* the child does not look to the parents for relief from discomfort;
* the child appears frightened of parents/caretakers;
* the child seems afraid to go home;
* the child rationalizes excessive punishment by saying, “I’m bad. I deserve it”.
* the child displays destructive or cruel behavior;
* the child re-enacts the abuse using dolls, drawings, or friends;
* the child has detailed and age-inappropriate understanding of sexual behavior;
* the child wears clothing inappropriate to the weather to cover body; or
* the child displays consistent hunger and/or poor hygiene.

After CPS receives a valid report, they will assess the situation to determine if there is immediate danger to the child. IF that is the case, they then have a number of options, including working out a plan with the family to protect the child and help the parents solve the problems which are leading to abuse or neglect.

 

Playground Safety Plan

Classroom teams should take the room’s backpack any time the group leaves the classroom. This should contain an updated First Aid kit and charged cell phone.

Supervision: Educators should spread out equally and plan responsibility for supervising different areas of the playground. Special attention should be given to higher incident risk areas such as climbers, slides, etc. Children must always be within eyesight of an adult.

Ratios: Adult/child ratios must be maintained outside, as indicated by state licensing regulations. There should be at least two adults outside at all times, regardless of the number of children. NO child(ren) should ever be left unattended at any time. If a child needs to use the bathroom, get a drink of water, etc., he/she should use another classroom where there is already adult supervision.

Safety of Equipment and Grounds

The playground equipment and grounds are to be inspected on a daily basis before use. A member of administration, or designee, will complete this upon opening the center in the morning.

 

Emergency Evacuation 

Shelter in Place: Should an incident occur within the DC metro area that compromises the safety or security of the immediate area outside the school building, but does not affect the conditions within the building and therefore does not require an evacuation of the Center, our team will proceed with our “Shelter in Place” procedures. Once we have notification of such an occurrence, RCC will be on “lockdown”. No parents or individuals will be allowed to enter or exit our space for the safety of children and staff. Educators will move children to the internal classrooms, bringing with them emergency backpacks and attendance sheets; all ventilation systems will be turned off (building personnel assigned to this task). Classrooms are all stocked with batteries, radios and additional first aid supplies. Our storage room contains additional food and water.

Communications systems include cell phones and email. Emergency backpacks include emergency contact cards for each child and primary contacts will be notified individually as soon as possible. Should systems allow, parents will be notified immediately via email, as well as an updated outgoing telephone message.

Fire: Center educators and children participate in monthly emergency evacuation drills. In case of fire or any other emergency at the Center site, classroom teams will lead children using the designated route from the room to the outside playground; each team will bring emergency backpacks and attendance sheets.

In each classroom, staff area, common area and administrative office, there is a floor plan showing the evacuation route for that room. These routes should be followed for all evacuations.

Center Security: The entry to the Center is locked when children are on site. It can be accessed only with your security access card or by having an educator open the door. Members of the community are urged to allow egress ONLY to educators and family members.