Cedar Bluff Play School Policy Statement

Enrollment

All enrollment forms must be completed, all fees paid, and all immunizations up to date 2 days prior to admission to the program. Parents and children must have a pre-enrollment visit to meet the teachers and view the appropriate classroom. A non-refundable registration fee of $80.00 per family is due upon enrollment and annually thereafter on the first Monday in March.

Students and staff are admitted on a 90-day trial basis. If a child cannot adjust to a group setting or if behavior problems prevent smooth classroom maintenance, we reserve the right to request that a child be placed elsewhere. We will work diligently to provide appropriate care for all children in our program and will keep you aware of any problems.

Hours of Operation

Our center is open from 6:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. Children are not allowed in the building before we open. Your child must be in attendance prior to 9:30 a.m. unless we have been notified of a doctor’s appointment and you have a doctor’s note. We do not allow drop off or pickup during naptime, 12:15 to 2:15 p.m. We lock up and staff clock out at 6:00 p.m. so please plan accordingly to arrive earlier if you need extra time at departure or to discuss any questions or concerns. We charge a $1.00 per minute late fee for any children who are here after 6:00 p.m.

Payments

Fees are due in advance each Monday morning. Payments late will require a late fee of $5.00 per day. If we have not received payment by Tuesday, your child will not be permitted to attend our program until we receive the full payment. Your weekly fee is due each week, whether your child attends or not. If our center is closed for inclement weather or holidays the full weekly payment still applies. Twice a year you will have the ability to receive a 50% discount off of your weekly fee if your child misses an entire week for vacation or illness. This discount may not be used during holiday weeks.  

 

Drop off and Pick up

Each child must be signed in and out daily. Only adults specified on your child’s application will be able to pick up. Please notify management if someone different will be picking up your child. All adults other than parents will have to show photo ID before children will be released to them. No child will ever be released to anyone whose behavior may place the child in imminent risk.

 

 

Sick Policy

Sick children will not be admitted into the center. If a child has a fever or becomes sick throughout the day, we will call the parents and ask that the child be picked up and taken home or to the doctor if needed. Children will be sent home for the following: a fever of 101 or higher, three or more diarrhea, vomiting twice, lice or nits, drainage from or redness/ swelling of the eye. Parents must be able to be reached immediately in case of illness, injury, or another emergency. Phone numbers and additional persons available in an emergency must be kept current and on file. We will call your emergency contact person if you are unavailable. It is the parent’s responsibility to inform the center of any communicable diseases, and in return we will inform the rest of the building of what illness their child may have been exposed to.

We will administer medications when needed. Only prescription medicines with the name, date, and dosage clearly indicated may be given. No non-prescription medication may be given without specific instruction from your child’s physician applying to the named child only. All medication must be locked in our medicine box. The proper forms must be filled out in our office for any medication to be given.

Immunization Records

Children’s immunization records must be kept up to date to comply with state law. A child whose immunization record is not kept current in a timely manner will be terminated. Please be sure to ask your doctor for a copy of your child’s record each time they get immunizations.

What we provide and what you provide

  • We provide a breakfast at 9:00 a.m., lunch at 11:15 a.m., and a snack at 2:15 p.m. Breakfast and lunch are served with milk and the afternoon snack is served with fruit juice. If your child is dropped off before 8:00 a.m. you may send them with a healthy breakfast. Otherwise, children may not bring food into the center unless it is previously agreed to by the director and there is enough food to serve the entire class.
  • We provide a nap mat, sheet, and blanket. However, if your child would like to bring his or her own small blanket they may. The blanket must be able to fold up small enough to fit into a cubby basket.
  • We provide sunscreen and bug spray to be applied when children are on the playground. If you prefer a specific brand, please label it with your child’s first and last name and give it their teacher.
  • We provide sippy cups for children under 2 1/2.
  • Parents provide formula or breastmilk and baby food for infants.
  • For children who are not potty trained, parents will provide diapers, wipes, and diaper cream if needed.
  • Parents provide a change of clothes appropriate for the current season to be left in the child’s cubby.
  • Children should not bring money, toys, food, or dangerous objects to school.
  • Personal items that are misplaced or lost such as coats, hats, bags, etc. must have an incident report filled out stating the description of the item, the date the item disappeared, the suspected whereabouts and the approximate value or replacement cost. We will always attempt to locate these items or give a reasonable credit to the customer’s account if we are not able to find them. Please be sure all of your child’s items that are left at the center are labeled.

Holidays

The center will be closed for the following holidays:

 

  • New Year’s Eve
  • New Year’s Day
  • MLK Jr. Day
  • President’s Day (Teacher training)
  • Good Friday
  • Memorial Day
  • Juneteenth
  • 4th of July
  • Labor Day
  • Thanksgiving and the Friday after
  • Christmas Eve
  • Christmas Day

 

           

We do charge for these holiday weeks regardless of attendance. Half week discounts cannot be used for these holiday weeks.

Other Policies

We do not discriminate for reasons of color, creed, race, or disabilities.

In case of inclement weather, we will leave an outgoing message on our voicemail as well as send an email with any delays or cancellations.

CBPS campus has a no alcohol, tobacco, and firearms policy. These items are prohibited on the premises including the parking lot.

Open house, parent conferences, progress reports, and special events are scheduled throughout the year so that you may meet our staff members and monitor your child’s progress.

Our center has a voice mail service and we check this service every half hour for messages. If you reach our voice mail service, we are either on the phone, away from our desk or in a meeting. Please leave a message or wait a few minutes and call back.

In case of an emergency after hours please contact the owner, Nichole Ringer, at 865-474-0363.

A two-week written notice is required to take a child out of our program. Parents are responsible for the payment of those two weeks whether the child attends or not.

Returned checks will require the amount of the check plus a $39.00 fee to be paid before the child will be able to stay in our care. Also, after one returned check the only form of payment that will be accepted is cash.

Children attending less than a full day program shall be offered a proportional amount of the physical activity time as required by TDHS licensure rules.

Physical activity for children ages three years and older must be a balance of structured and unstructured play, both indoors and outdoors (weather permitting) utilizing age-appropriate activities.

CBPS shall provide education (i.e., via parent meetings, provider newsletter articles, sharing of educational video resources, etc.) to families twice each year that addresses the importance of limiting screen time according to the current American Academy of Pediatrics policy and the development of a Family Media Plan.

Children shall not be allowed to remain sedentary or to sit passively for more than 60 minutes continuously, except for scheduled rest or naptime.

CBPS director shall take GO NAP SACC Self Assessments (Infant and Child Safety Physical Activity & Screen Time) to compare their physical activity practices to best practice standards.

CBPS teachers must ensure physical activity is a positive experience for children and that it is never used negatively or to control behavior.

Teachers shall ensure appropriate infant and child feeding patterns, including breastfeeding. All educators shall be trained to: advocate for breastfeeding, safely prepare expressed breast milk for feeding, feed infants according to their individual needs, and store expressed breast milk properly.

CBPS publicly displays their support for breastfeeding infants and mothers by posting signage or other publicly facing information (I.e., participate in Breastfeeding Welcomed Here through the TN Department of Health or Team Nutrition Resources for new and expectant moms about breastfeeding.) 

CBPS teachers shall ensure appropriate infant and child feeding patterns, including adequate time for snack and meal consumption and age-appropriate portion size.

CBPS shall provide education to families twice each year (i.e., via parent meetings, provider newsletter articles, sharing of educational video resources, etc.) that address nutritional learning experiences, with a focus on adequate time for snacks and meals and age-appropriate portion size.

All eating opportunities shall consist of a respect for the child and promotion of a positive attitude toward food.

CBPS shall apply evidence-based early food preference learning strategies such as introducing healthy foods, repeatedly pairing new healthy food choices with foods children already like and modeling consumption and enjoyment of healthy foods.

The child care provider campus shall be free of all tobacco and tobacco-related products, including smoking, smokeless and electronic products. The campus is inclusive of all vehicles used to transport enrolled children, all outdoor spaces, and all indoor locations, whether or not children are present. Child care employees and volunteers may not use tobacco or tobacco-related products while off-campus at provider-related activities (i.e. fieldtrips, walks, and all other outdoor activities)

Employees who use tobacco products while off campus are required to change clothes and wash hands thoroughly prior to interacting with children.

“No Smoking” signs shall be posted conspicuously at each entrance, as required by state law.