The health and safety of every child is at the heart of everything we do. Twinkle Little Stars is a licensed child care center, and our team follows Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing (OCCL) requirements and Division of Public Health guidance to keep our classrooms clean, safe, and healthy. All staff are background-checked and trained per OCCL requirements.

Staff and children practice healthy habits every day, including frequent handwashing, covering coughs and sneezes, and keeping hands away from the face. Classrooms, toys, and shared surfaces are cleaned and disinfected daily with child-safe products. Children who are sick must stay home until they meet our return guidelines (see Sick Child Care Procedure below).

Safety practices will be integrated into the regular curriculum at Twinkle Little Stars Early Learning Center. Topics such as the following will be explored at the appropriate developmental age:

1. Safety habits on the playground
2. Safety habits in the Center
3. Riding safely in cars
4. Walking near or across streets
5. How to act with strangers
6. What to do near strange animals
7. “Stop, drop, and roll” if clothes catch on fire
8. Shelter in place

Fire drills are exercised monthly as required by the Fire Marshal. All teachers and staff are trained in fire and safety techniques.  Shelter in place drills are conducted several times a year.

A physical examination must be completed on all new children entering the Center. Physicals need to be completed within one year prior to the first day of attendance. Current physical and immunization records must be on file with the Center to ensure continued enrollment.

It is the parent’s responsibility to provide health records to Twinkle Little Stars Early Learning Center upon the child’s enrollment.  Parents must have their child’s physical and immunization records updated as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics and be sure that the information is received by the Center. If a child is ill and unable to get his immunizations when needed, the parent must get a statement to that effect from the doctor and submit a copy of that statement to the Center Director. A tuberculosis (TB) test and a lead test are required.

All staff are trained to recognize the symptoms of common childhood illnesses.  The staff will evaluate the health of each child upon arrival at the Center during health check and throughout the day. In the event that a child should become ill during the day, he/she will be immediately separated from the other children with proper supervision. Twinkle Little Stars Early Learning Center has an isolation room for the care of a sick child until a parent/guardian or emergency contact can be notified that it is necessary for the child to go home. Please contact the center to notify us if your child has a communicable disease. This information is posted by number of cases per room so that staff and families can be proactive in the management and care for the other children.

Please make alternative care arrangements for your child in the event that your child becomes ill. This will help eliminate problems when a parent is asked to take his/her child away from the Center if he/she arrives sick or becomes sick during the day. If a child is sent home from public school due to illness, they are excluded from Center activities as well.  It will be necessary for parents to make other child care arrangements when their child has a fever. Parents or emergency contacts will be called so the child can be picked-up from the Center. Children with a fever or children who have been placed on prescription medication must not return to the Center until 24 hours have passed without a temperature and/or medication has been administered, and the physician provides written verification that the child has been diagnosed and poses no serious health risk to the child or to other children. Fever reducing/pain tolerance medication may only be administered with written physician documentation.

• Parent Handbook