4.10 Health and Safety Policies for Illness
If your child has any sign or symptom that requires exclusion from the facility, FEELC follows guidelines set by the NC Licensing Authorities for Childcare facilities and the standard set by the National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care (NRC) for Inclusion/Exclusion/Dismissal of Children (standard 3.6.1.4 stated in Caring for our children Basics Health and Safety Foundations for Early Childcare and Education).
Temperatures of 100ºF (measured axillary) or above. (Children’s temperatures are taken a second time in the front office for confirmation.)
Significant bodily secretions, including vomiting, diarrhea and persistent discharge from eyes.
Confirmation of Hand, Foot, and Mouth with excessive drooling due to sores in or around the mouth regardless of whether a fever is present.
Once it has been determined that a child will need to go home, parents will be notified. The sick child may be brought to the front office to wait for their parents depending on their comfort level. If the child is at the front desk with the administrative staff, then they will be given a resting mat until the parent arrives. For infants and young toddlers that require the comfort of their teachers, arrangements will be made in the classroom for support. Children are expected to be picked up within 30 minutes.
Any of these symptoms require the child to be excluded from FEELC for 24hrs, which effectively means the next school day, unless a doctor diagnoses him/her with an ear infection or viral conjunctivitis. If this is the case, then a doctor’s note is requested upon return.
Do NOT send a child to FEELC if they have any of these symptoms.
If your child does not have these symptoms, but you have administered a fever reducing medication (e.g. Tylenol), do NOT send your child to FEELC. These medications may mask important symptoms.
If you child has been prescribed an antibiotic, the first dose must be administered at home. Please allow a minimum of two hours before coming to the center after the initial dose of the antibiotic. This allows the parents to monitor the child for possible allergic reactions.
Please remember that exclusion of a child for illness is critical to minimize the impact it may have on the child population as a whole.
Parents will also be notified if their child is lethargic, exhibits unusual behavior, is unable to participate comfortably in activities, and/or is in need of care that is greater than the staff can provide without compromising the health and safety of other children. (According to the Inclusion/Exclusion/Dismissal of Children standard 3.6.1.4 stated in Caring for our Children Basics Health and Safety Foundations for Early childcare and Education)
During the course of an identified outbreak of any reportable illness at the program, a child or staff member should be excluded if the local health department official or primary health care provider suspects that the child or staff member is contributing to transmission of the illness, is not adequately immunized when there is an outbreak of a vaccine-preventable disease, or the circulating pathogen poses an increased risk to the individual. The child or staff member should be readmitted when the health department official or primary health care provider who made the initial determination decides that the risk of transmission is no longer present by submitting a written note. Parents/guardians should be notified of any determination.
Given the highly contagious nature of GI illnesses (vomiting and diarrhea), we ask parents to consider keeping out non-symptomatic siblings of the same household to lessen the risk of transmission to other classrooms. Please note this is not a requirement, but a consideration to keep our community healthy.
Last updated: 12/10/2025