Sleep is an important part of babies’ and young children’s growth and development. At Little Scallywags, we take our responsibility for safer sleep seriously and continually review our procedures to ensure our practice reflects current guidance and supports the individual needs of every child.
We follow safer sleep guidance relevant to early years settings and ensure our procedures are reviewed and updated as guidance changes. Our approach focusses on providing a safe sleeping environment, maintaining appropriate supervision and ensuring that every member of staff understands their responsibilities.
Our safer sleep procedures include:
Safe sleep positioning – babies are placed on backs to sleep, in line with current safer sleep recommendations.
Safe sleeping spaces – we provide suitable, clean and well maintained cots and beds with a firm, flat mattress and an appropriate sleep environment.
Keeping sleep spaces clear – we follow guidance on keeping cots free from unnecessary items such as pillows, loose bedding and soft toys/comforters to reduce potential risks.
Appropriate room conditions – staff monitor the sleeping environment including temperature, clothing and bedding to prevent children becoming too hot.
Supervision and monitoring – children are checked regularly in accordance with our procedures, with staff remaining alert to their wellbeing and any changes that require attention.
Individual needs – We work closely with parents/carers to ensure we understand each child’s usual sleep routines, developmental needs and any relevant medical advice, while maintaining our safer sleep responsibilities.
We ensure staff understand the importance of following our procedures consistently, rather than relying on individual experiences or assumptions. We provide staff with safer sleep training and guidance relevant to their roles – we reinforce this knowledge through our nursery procedures, staff discussions and supervisions and ongoing reviews of practice.
Safer sleep is everyone’s responsibility and your child’s safety and wellbeing will always come first.