Physical Contact and Intimate Care Policy

Physical Contact and Intimate Care Policy

Children will be given some degree of physical affection within our childcare setting, which will be appropriate to the situation and the child’s preferences. Physical contact may be necessary for the following reasons:

• Comfort and nurturing: This kind of physical contact will be required daily to meet the physical and emotional needs of children. We may give children hugs, let them sit on our laps, hold hands, rub their back and tie their hair back. We will always gain your child's consent before touching them in this way or let them initiate the touch.

• During play and learning: This kind of physical contact will be required daily to support the learning and development needs of children. We may guide their body into positions to support physical education and sports, hold their hands to guide equipment and writing tools in modelling their use, use hand over hand to support writing and using scissors or knives and lift them up onto or down from play equipment. This will always be either in response to a child requesting such help or after gaining consent from the child to help them in this way. 

Applying suncream or other skin care creams provided by parents: This kind of physical contact will be needed during sunny weather or for the health care of a particular child (previously discussed and with parental consent.) We will apply suncream to children when needed. If a child comes to our setting without suncream on, needs a top up after water play or needs a top up when with us for long periods of time we will apply suncream to the child. We will gain your child's consent to do this and support them to apply it themselves when they are developmentally able to do this. We will only use creams provided by the child's parents/carers and labelled with the child's name unless we have gained express permission from parents and carers to use our own suncream. 

• Personal care and hygiene: This involves attending to the personal care needs of young children to perform tasks they cannot yet do independently (e.g. changing nappies, wiping noses/bottoms/ faces, dressing and undressing, attending to some medical needs, washing hands, replacing hair accessories). This may also apply for some older children, if appropriate. You child's care needs will be discussed with you during settle in and a care plan agreed. We will always gain your child's consent to touch them in this way. If your child is not able to consent we will gain written permission from parents/carers to carry out tasks. We will not be able to perform personal care tasks on children who refuse or protest to this care and may have to call parents/carers to come and provide this care if it is essential. (For example we will not change the nappy of a crying child who is refusing the change and may need parents to come and change their child in this circumstance.) 

• First aid: If a child has an injury, they may need first aid to be administered, such as being cleaned up with a medical wipe, applying plasters and ice packs, etc. We will seek consent from your child to help them in this way unless it is medically essential for us to touch them even when they protest, for example to apply pressure to a bleeding wound or elevate a broken limb.

• Physical restraint: We will only use physical restraint in extreme circumstances where not doing so would lead to a child physically harming themselves, an adult in the setting or another child. We will never use more force that is absolutely necessary and never for longer than absolutely necessary. We will record the detail of all such incidents and have parents sign the report on collection of the child. We will always phone parents/carers to collect their child following such displays of behaviour. 

• Friendships between children: Physical contact between children, such as holding hands, kissing (on the hand, head or cheek) and hugging, is a natural way for children to express their affection for each other. These kinds of physical contact are welcome in our setting but we encourage all children to ask for permission before touching others and to respect others’ responses. We will teach children that kissing others on the lips is reserved for families only and they will be taught about safe places to touch with consent and private places that should never be touched by another child or unknown adult. 

​

We always make sure that before making physical contact with a child for any of the reasons stated above, we ask their permission or explain what we are doing. Unless absolutely necessary in an emergency situation, we would never touch a child in a way that might cause them harm, distress or discomfort. All of the aspects above can be discussed in more detail on request, if you have personal preferences as to what level of contact you feel is appropriate for your child.