COVID-19

COVID-19 Protocols

Nelly’s Childcare & Preschool will continue to be in close contact with health officials to ensure our school follows the most current guidance to keep our children, families and staff safe. Our school will adjust its plans as directed, either loosening or tighten restrictions as needed, or closing our campus completely if required by a Shelter-in-Place order.

To maintain a healthy group of children and staff and avoid exposure to COVID-19, viruses, infections, or other diseases, we ask that you keep children at home who have any of the following symptoms in the past 48 hours:

  • Fever 100°F or more: If a child’s temperature reaches 100°F or higher, or if they are experiencing respiratory symptoms such as cough, shortness of breath, chills, night sweats, sore throat, congestion, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, tiredness and/or lethargic, muscle or body aches, headaches, confusion, or loss of sense of taste/smell, please keep them home and get them tested for COVID-19.
  • Any other Communicable disease.
  • Body Rashes and/or diaper rashes.

Parents must complete the “Daily Wellness” questionnaire prior arrival to our campus to verify that children are free of any of the above in the last forty-eight (48) hours. Due to the regulations of the state of California, only parents and/or children that respond “No” to all of these questions will be allowed entry in the program for the day. Nelly’s Childcare & Preschool Sick Policy will be strictly enforced. Your cooperation is of upmost importance to keep any possible exposure away from other children, families and staff.

Parent/guardian(s) will NOT be allowed inside our building as the Delta variant keeps spreading in our state; however, our playground areas and exterior hallways will be accessible to sign in/out and to drop-off or pick-up children (weather permitting). 

Parent/guardian(s) are required to wear a mask, always covering nose and mouth while in campus, regardless of vaccination status or outdoor location.  Nelly’s Childcare and Preschool understands the necessary feedback with members of staff. Parent/guardian(s) must not wear face shields, neck gaiters, masks with exhalation valves or vents, and instead agrees to wear a disposable mask or cloth mask that has two or more layers, completely covers nose and mouth, fits snuggly to your face, and doesn’t have gaps.

Teaching and reinforcing prevention behaviors such as handwashing and cough/sneeze etiquette will continue to be very important strategies in slowing the spread of COVID-19 as well as other infectious diseases. Children and staff will be given frequent opportunities to wash their hands and/or use hand sanitizers throughout the day. Teachers will ensure children are washing their hands often and frequently to comply with our safety practices.

As a community, we ask for your cooperation and support to try keeping interactions with other families to a minimum. While we recognize social distancing will be a challenge, families will be asked to maintain a distance of six (6) feet from others while on our campus. Classrooms and playing areas will be rearranged to assist in complying with the social distancing guidelines. However, we also understand that children need social interactions with their peers and teachers for proper development. Specified greeting areas will be placed throughout our campus to help with such social distancing goals. This way we can limit as much as possible exposing our children, their families and our staff to COVID-19.  To further minimize contact with individuals, we will be limiting the presence of visitors inside our facilities as well as assigning children into small cohorts throughout the day to again limit exposures as much as possible.  

All adults and staff will be required to wear face masks at all times while on campus, including drop offs and pick-ups. Children 2+years of age will be asked to wear face masks.  This requirement (as of July 1, 2020) applies to children two (2) years of age and older.  Please keep in mind that this is a state-mandated rule. 

Nelly’s Childcare and Preschool will be enforcing the use of facial coverings in children over two (2) years of age and all adults (regardless of vaccination status) while in campus. Parent/guardian(s) or children 2 years+ must not wear face shields, neck gaiters, masks with exhalation valves or vents, and instead should wear a disposable mask or cloth mask that has two or more layers, completely covers nose and mouth, fits snuggly to your face, and doesn’t have gaps.

Rules and guidelines requirements might change in the future. 

Each classroom will be reorganized into small cohorts, with the goal of limiting intermingling with other classrooms. These groups will be assigned specific times for outdoor play along with specially assigned members of staff.  

Nelly’s Childcare & Preschool staff will clean, disinfect, and sanitize high touch surface areas (door handles, toys, tables, chairs, switches, etc.) each day. Janitorial services will provide a SECOND cleaning of such surfaces and flooring at night. In the case of a positive COVID-19 test, enhanced cleaning protocols will be implemented. Shared surfaces and objects (i.e. playgrounds, toys, etc.) will also be cleaned, disinfected, and sanitized frequently during the day.

Nelly’s Childcare and Preschool has installed HEPA filters in all classrooms and hallways as an additional tool to purify our areas.

All meals (breakfast, lunch, and snacks) are included in the tuition fees for children 1 year +.

Menus are published every Monday morning for the following week. Milk is provided with breakfast and lunch, while water is provided throughout the day. Due to our curricular activities, we are not able to “make up” meals after designated mealtimes. Please ensure your child arrives before the designated mealtimes: 9 am, 12 pm and 3 pm.

Nelly’s Childcare and Preschool requires to be notified of any dietary restrictions or allergies that may affect a child, and that alternatives be provided by the parent/guardian(s) if a menu item is not suitable for the child’s consumption. No credit will be provided if meals need to be provided by the parent/guardian(s) or if the child misses a meal.

Nelly’s Childcare & Preschool will modify its operational schedule from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.  Nelly’s Childcare & Preschool will operate with a maximum classroom capacity of ten (10) children per classroom.  Children will be placed for naps following CDC guidelines of 6′ apart between cots, or 3′ apart when placing children head to toe to further reduce exposures. 

  • Santa Clara County Public Health:

https://www.sccgov.org/sites/covid19/Pages/home.aspx

  • COVID-19 Prepared-Reopening of Santa Clara County Schools:

  file:///C:/Users/Owner/Downloads/ReopeningofSantaClaraCountyK12Schools.pdf

How will our classrooms look like?

  • Our program will be open from 7:30am to 5:30pm. We offer up to 9 hours of care to our families. 
  • Staff will wear protective gear including face masks and/or face shields throughout the day. Gloves will be strictly required when handling food and during diapering/toileting.
  • Each classroom will be a cohort section. Each cohort will not exceed 10 children. They will have a specific playground time and designated greeters for sign in/sign out.
  • Staff will not rotate between cohorts.
  • No toys from home will be allowed whatsoever. 
  • Children will be washing their hands between activities and prior to and after eating snacks.
  • No visitors will be allowed inside the classrooms. However, teachers will provide constant feedback on each of their groups to the parents via pictures and videos.

What happens if my child gets sick?

To maintain a healthy group of children and staff and avoid exposure to COVID-19, we ask that you keep children at home who have any of the following symptoms in the past 48 hours:

  • Fever 100°F or more: If a child’s temperature reaches 100°F or higher, or if they are experiencing respiratory symptoms such as cough, shortness of breath, chills, night sweats, sore throat, congestion, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, tiredness and/or lethargic, muscle or body aches, headaches, confusion, or loss of sense of taste/smell, please keep them home and get them tested for COVID-19.
  • Any other Communicable disease.
  • Body Rashes and/or diaper rashes.

Should your child become ill at the center, he/she will be isolated immediately from the other children, and the parent/guardian will receive a phone call to have someone pick up the child immediately. The parent/guardian(s) must ensure to make accommodations to ensure that the child must be picked up no later than half an hour (0.5 hr) or 30 mins after being contacted to prevent further contamination and to keep in ratios with staffing.

Children that begin to exhibit symptoms after their arrival to campus will be escorted to an isolated “sick area” and be with a caretaker until they are picked up. 

  • Children who test positive for COVID-19 will need to remain off campus as directed by Santa Clara County Public Health authorities. Currently, positive cases are instructed to isolate for 10 days from the date they tested positive AND, if symptomatic, two days after symptoms resolve (whichever is longer). Child may return to school after both criteria are met (10/2 rule). A medical clearance is required to return to school after resolution of illness.
  • Following Santa Clara County’s Public Health Department guidelines, children or unvaccinated household members that have been in close contact with a positive COVID-19 case, must stay home for a period of fourteen (14) days, regardless of test results. For COVID-19, a close contact is defined as anyone who was within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes starting from 48 hours before the person began feeling sick until the time the patient was isolated.
  • Parents are required to report any positive COVID-19 test within their household to Nelly’s Childcare and Preschool immediately, so thorough contact tracing can be conducted and individuals who were in close contact can be notified.
  • Nelly’s Childcare and Preschool will work closely with the Santa Clara County Public Health Department to determine through contact tracing if the affected child’s cohort and additional individuals will need to be quarantined.
  • Our campus will follow Santa Clara County protocols for a student diagnosed with COVID-19 to return to school. A doctor’s note will be required prior returning to our campus to ensure the safety of all members of our school community.

If your child develops a fever or other symptoms, but tested Negative for COVID-19, then child should remain isolated at home until two (2) days after fever is gone (without the help of medication) and other symptoms are improving. A copy of COVID test results will be required to be emailed to the director prior returning to our campus to ensure there is no possible exposure to other individuals. Said results must include: the child’s full name, date test was performed, and results.

For communicable diseases, we will require a doctor’s note before allowing your child to return to our campus, stating the child is no longer contagious. If your child should come down with a communicable disease, please inform us immediately. It is our policy to notify all parents when children have been exposed to a communicable illness and how to help prevent further spreading.

If a parent is unable/unwilling to provide negative COVID-19 test, following CDC guidelines, child shall remain home for ten (10) calendar days after fever and other related symptoms have resolved without medication.

The collective effort and sacrifice of Santa Clara County residents staying at home limited the spread of COVID-19. But community transmission of COVID-19 within California continues, including transmission by individuals who are infected and contagious, but have no symptoms. Infected persons are contagious 48 hours before developing symptoms (“pre-symptomatic”), and many are contagious without ever developing symptoms (“asymptomatic”). Pre-symptomatic and asymptomatic people are likely unaware that they have COVID-19. 

The availability of childcare is an important step in the resumption of activities. However, the decision by the Health Officer to allow childcare for all families at facilities that follow required safety rules, does not mean that attending childcare is free of risk.

Enrolling a child in childcare could increase the risk of the child becoming infected with COVID-19. While most children that become infected do well, there is still much more to learn about coronavirus in children.

Each parent/guardian must determine for themselves if they are willing to take the risk of enrolling their child in childcare, including whether they need to take additional precautions to protect the health of their child and others in the household. They should particularly consider the risks to household members who are adults 60 years or older, or anyone who has an underlying medical condition. Parent/Guardian(s) may want to discuss these risks and their concerns with their pediatrician or other health care provider. More information about COVID-19, and those at higher risk for serious illness is available on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website at  https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/.

Nelly’s Childcare and Preschool encourages all families in our program to continue social distancing practices (including avoiding non-essential travel), follow face covering mandates and promoting handwashing and sanitizing practices while at home.