Whilst staff are on duty with the children, personal phones do not need to be kept on their person, or with them I the rooms
Our office manager has the office phone with them all the time, and this number can be given to schools, nurseries or other people who may need to reach a staff member in an emergency. If the Office Manager receives an urgent call for a staff member, for example about a sick child, the manager will come immediately to the classroom and hand the phone to the staff member concerned. This means that there is no reason to keep personal phones during the workday.
There is also a working phone located in every classroom, which can always be used in an emergency.
Personal phones should be stored in the staff members boxes in the staff room. This will enable the staff to focus on working with the children, rather than be distracted by their telephones.
The nursery teams do use Whatsapp as a mode of communication within staff teams throughout the day. Staff also take pictures of videos of the children, and post these to the pictures whatsapp group (such photos or videos should always be deleted off of staff personal phones after they have been sent). Staff also use phones to stream music to speakers during activities. So, staff are permitted to have their phones in the classrooms, for occasional and authorised use.
Where staff do bring phones into the classroom, (with the exception of the team leader) the phones MUST be stored in the dedicated phone box. There is a phone box in every classroom. Staff are permitted to periodically check their phones, messages etc during the day, but this should not exceed once per hour, and should not be for extended periods, and should be only with permission from the team leader, or person in charge. Phones should never be kept on a staff members person or in a pocket.
Where a team leader, senior practitioner or manager feels that a staff member is using their phone excessively or in an unauthorised manner; the staff member will be given a verbal and informal warning to put their phone away. If the problem persists, the staff member will no longer be allowed to take their phone to the classroom, and will be required to keep it in their bag or box in the staff room. If a staff member, continues to bring their phone to the classroom after such a time that they have been instructed to leave it in the staff room, they will be required to leave their phone in the office, with the manager at the start of their shift, and can collect it at break times, or at shift end.
This policy is in place to ensure that staff are focused on the children and their needs rather than pre-occupied with their phones during working hours.
Failure to comply with this policy will result in disciplinary action, and could result in termination of employment.