Teddy Bears Hit By Swine Flu

Government guidelines just realised state that to help reduce the spread of swine flu, nurseries and pre schools should remove teddy bears and other soft toys.

The guidance issued by the Department of Children, Schools and Families recommends that nurseries and early years settings remove communal soft toys as they are often difficult to clean.

Additional guidance has also been issued to childminders advising that it may be easier to avoid using soft toys and to clean hard toys after use.

The government guidelines for early years establishments and schools also advise against the sharing of crayons, colouring pencils and wind instruments and to suspend morning assemblies.

They also suggest children clean their hands after carpet work as carpets can cause cross-contamination.

Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of the National Day Nurseries Association, said, ‘Settings may wish to consider a temporary removal of shared soft toys due to the difficulty keeping them clean and the risk that they may pass on infection. Nurseries of course will follow the guidance sensibly and work with parents to minimise any distress to children who may have brought items from home. NDNA recommends that nurseries keep themselves familiar with the latest on swine flu and ensure that parents are aware of any necessary steps that are being taken to minimise the risk of outbreak.'

The guidance also outlines strict rules if children fall ill during the day, recommending that a member of staff be nominated to look after the child in an isolation room, with the door to the room left open.

Mark Burdett of NCi Nursery, The UK Nursery Insurance Broker, had this to say, “Many of our nursery clients are likely to follow any guidance given to reduce the chances of children and staff at their location fall victim to swine flu. Good health and safety practices are vital for all nurseries on a daily basis so these latest guidance shouldn’t hopefully be too difficult to implement.”

For further information on the Nursery Insurance facilities available from NCi Nursery, visit http://www.ncinsurance.co.uk/nurseryinsurance.html or call 0800 046 1446.