OUR POLICIES

Preface

All parents and children have the right to a safe, respectful, and positive environment that supports children’s social, emotional, physical, and academic development while promoting wellbeing and safeguarding. Little Explorers Nursery maintains a safe and respectful environment for all children, families, and staff. Where a child demonstrates repeated behaviors that place themselves, other children, or staff at risk of harm, the nursery will work collaboratively with parents to assess appropriate support strategies, interventions, or placement considerations. We must consider the wellbeing, safety, and overall experience of all children and families. While every child develops at their own individual pace, we ask that parents carefully consider their child’s social and developmental readiness before enrolling in a preschool environment. The safety and wellbeing of all children and staff remain our highest priority.

You are paying for an enrollment slot and not for attendance, Therefore, Little Explorers Nursery does not refund paid childcare service fees for holidays, staff development, illness, vacation, discontinuation of childcare services, or the delay, reduction, suspension, cancellation, or closure of nursery operations resulting from circumstances beyond the nursery’s reasonable control. This includes, but is not limited to, inclement weather, public health concerns (including COVID-19), government directives, civil disturbances, regional instability, transportation disruptions, staffing shortages affecting safe operation, emergencies, force majeure events, or other circumstances impacting the health, safety, or security of children and staff. Little Explorers Nursery will not prorate fees for discontinuation of services within the academic term period or summer term period. More details may be found below, we ask that parents fully understand our transparent policy before proceeding with registration. For further clarification, you may contact our administration team.

Nursery & Program Dates and Timings

Just like adults, children feel more secure and confident when their daily activities are predictable and familiar. A consistent daily schedule and step-by-step routines give children a predictable day, and has been proven to reduce stress, increase confidence and give children a sense of security. While we are flexible within our daily routines once our day starts in nursery, we are strict in our timings at arrival and for dismissal.

Timing is very important for us and we ask that parents get their children to nursery on time. We recommend you drop off your child 10 to 15 minutes early for settling in. Children enrolled in our program must not arrive later than 8:00 AM as our gates are locked at 8:15 AM sharp. In case you need to drop your child off late, we kindly request you inform administration in advance. Failure to do so may result in non-admittance for the day. Late arrivals are disruptive to the group your child is in, and the staff, and may be a difficult transition if tardiness is a continuous habit.

Our dismissal time is at 12:15 PM and the end of the day is just as important to us as the start of the day. Early pick ups must have a valid excuse and advanced notice given so our team may prepare the child for early dismissal.

Our core nursery hours are 8:00 AM to 12:15 PM. We understand that working parents may require before and after hours’ care, therefore we have extended hours from 6:30 AM to 5:00 PM:

Before Care Services - You may drop your child off as early as 7:30 AM, but any care required between 6:30 AM and 7:30 AM is part of our Before Care services and is at a fee.
After Care Services - You may collect your child after 1:00 PM, but any care required between 1:00 PM and 5:00 PM is part of our After Care services and is at a fee.

Children not registered in the Before / After Care Program that are dropped off earlier than 7.30 a.m and /or picked up later than 5.00 p.m. will be charged additional fees to be settled by the next day’s attendance.

Please refer to the nursery calendar to avoid any confusion on term dates and times. Timing in Ramadan is reduced to 7am to 3pm.

Attendance

In case your child will not be attending nursery due to, but not limited to: illness, travel, did not sleep well, etc, parents are responsible for informing administration the reason of the absence and the number of days the child will not be attending nursery, when possible.

Registration & Fees

Parents must submit all required documents and settle ALL fees (Annual Resource Fee / Tuition Fee) before or on the day their child begins sessions at LEN. Please note that all fees are non-refundable and non-transferable for any reason including holidays, absences or enforced closures out of the nursery’s control. Upon joining, the Annual Resource Fee, Term Fee, term optional extra care (Before Care and/or After Care) and Uniform Fees are due in advance. Payment of the full term's fee is a confirmation of a place for your child(ren) at LEN. We ask that you are certain of your child attending our program as after payment is received, there are no refunds. There are no reduction in fees for absences of any reason whatsoever as our fees are per the term and not on a daily / weekly / monthly basis, even if a monthly installment is accepted or by any other methods.*

Annual Academic Resource Fees (September to May) and Summer Resource Fees (June to August) are included for all children and must be paid in order to secure your child's seat. These fees are due annually for new and returning students, are non-refundable and non-transferable and due upon submission of your child's registration within 48 hours. Failure to pay the fee will result in cancellation of the submitted application form.

Little Explorers Nursery charges an academic year tuition (Term 1, 2 and 3 from September to May) with payments due at the beginning of each term. Tuition fees may be paid for the entire year in one lump sum or through term payment installments. You are paying for an academic enrollment slot and not for attendance. Tuition fees exclude the cost of uniforms, curriculum, field trips, before / afternoon care, or evening baby sitting. Tuition fees for each term must be paid via bank transfer.

Although we are open more days in some months than in others, there are no adjustments or transfers in fees (we close for a portion of some term for breaks, government announced holidays and staff development when declared necessary). Therefore, Little Explorers Nursery does not refund paid child care services fees for holidays, staff development, illness, vacation, discontinuation of child care services or the delay, closing, cancellation of days or reduction of operating hours due to inclement weather, public health concerns (e.g., Covid-19) or staffing availability which would put the health and safety of the children at risk and an enforced closure out of the nursery’s control. In case of a shutdown beyond our control for a period of 10 school days or more, learning packets for all age groups provided online will be substituted in lieu of fees paid for that period. Fees will not be carried over into a subsequent term or year.

If it is found that any information provided within the application form is misleading or false, Little Explorers Nursery reserves the right to withdraw the child from the nursery without refund.

Any known developmental, behavioral, medical, physical, sensory, or learning-related concerns that may impact a child’s participation, supervision needs, safety, or classroom experience must be disclosed to the nursery prior to enrollment and throughout the child’s attendance.

Little Explorers Nursery is a mainstream early childhood setting and may not be equipped to provide specialized one-to-one therapeutic, behavioral, medical, or educational support services required for certain developmental, behavioral, physical, or learning support needs. Placement suitability will be assessed on an individual basis.

Where appropriate, parents may be advised to seek additional external professional guidance, assessments, or specialized support services through qualified providers or relevant authorities within the Sultanate of Oman.

Late Registrations

If a child joins anytime during the academic year and a place has already been reserved from the beginning of the year, the full tuition fees for the term unattended from the beginning of the academic year are payable. If a child joins late in the academic year, the fees for the entire term are due and are not pro-rated.

Withdrawal from the Nursery

Little Explorers Nursery requires a written withdraw notice 30 days in advance via email (admin@littleexplorersoman.com) and fees are required to be paid whether the child attends the final 30 days or not, no exceptions. Please note that a verbal notification or telephone/WhatsApp message to any member of staff is not considered a formality/formal notice of withdrawal. Upon receipt of the written withdraw notice, the child's seat will be made available to an alternate student. If your child would like to rejoin LEN within the academic year in which the withdraw was made, a 50 OMR re-registration fee will be required and is subject to availability of seat. Absence of 7 days without formal notification will be assumed as as a withdraw and seat will be made available to an alternate child.

Little Explorers Nursery will not prorate fees for discontinuation of services within the academic term period or summer term period. If a child withdraws at any time or does not join LEN for any reason during Terms 1-3 or the Summer Term, the Registration Fee and/or Tuition Fee as well as other optional services are NON-refundable.

Staff

Our staff are prohibited in sharing their personal contact details and addresses with parents or students. Any general form of communication or query may be done via our app, telephone, email or face to face with our administration. In case you would like to contact your child's teacher directly, you may do so via the application or contact administration to set up a face-to-face meeting.

Cash gifts or tips are prohibited to be given to any member of staff at Little Explorers Nursery.

Transportation

Little Explorers Nursery does not coordinate or arrange any third party or private transportation services. Little Explorers Nursery holds no liability for transportation for your child sought and utilized by a private or third party. If you so choose to utilize this service, we recommend you have confirmed that the bus driver has appropriate children’s car seat or booster seat and is fully insured in case of any accident. Drivers, nannies or bus drivers must collect the child from the gate for safety and are responsible for signing your child in and out using their own pin code assigned to them for the application.

Uniforms

Uniforms are mandatory for all children at Little Explorers Nursery. The uniform consists of:

a pull over shirt with LEN logo to be worn Sunday to Wednesday, and
a sports uniform to be worn on Thursdays.

Uniforms can be purchased from the Nursery Office and may be exchanged with 24 hours of purchase, provided they are in brand new condition.

All children must wear socks and shoes that are easy to remove as we have a no-shoe indoor policy due to hygiene. Flip-flops, beach sandals, or unsafe footwear are not permitted. Parents may be contacted to remedy repeated non-compliance with the uniform policy.

Nutrition & Food Safety

We hold a strict NO-Nut (including NO Nutella) policy. We ask that parents that snacks do not include any type of nuts or nut spreads, and no sesame (including sesame seeds, oil, tahina…etc). The safety of all the children at the nursery is a priority and parents must comply with our No Nut and No Sesame Policies.

Parents must notify us if their child has any specific food allergy. While the nursery implements reasonable allergy-awareness and food safety measures, parents acknowledge that the nursery cannot guarantee an allergen-free environment. Our premise does not have a school nurse on staff, nor do we keep an epi-pen for such instances. In case of an emergency allergic reaction, 9999 will be called for an ambulance first and parents / emergency contacts will be called immediately thereafter.

All containers and bottles sent in are to be clearly labeled with your child's full name and containers and bottles are not to be glass.

Toys/Jewellery

Toys from home are not allowed. The nursery has plenty of toys and resources for the children that are sanitized daily. Dangling earrings, necklaces rings, bracelets, ankle bracelets, pendants, etc. are prohibited. Little Explorers Nursery cannot be held responsible for the loss of any toy or jewellery nor will the nursery hold any responsibility of a child being injured from wearing jewellery to nursery. Your child's safety is a priority and we urge parents not to send children wearing jewellery.

Potty Training

All children 3 years and older must be potty trained to join or continue at Little Explorers Nursery. Our assistants and teachers will work with your child up to the age of 3 to encourage them, however due to the nature of our program and the transitions to groups, it is essential your child is not in nappies, pampers or pull-ups at the age of 3. While we will work with your child on training, we ask that the same consistency and plan is followed through at home for potty training success. If your child is not fully potty trained by the age of 3 and must transition to the next age group, the nursery may recommend temporary home-based training support before returning to the program. There is no refund, transfer of or prorating for the fees for potty training at home.

Behavior Guidance & Safety Policy

LEN maintains a safe and respectful environment for all children and staff. Repeated aggressive, unsafe, or harmful behaviors, including but not limited to physical aggression, repeated biting, intentional harm, or serious disruption, will be addressed collaboratively with parents through behavior guidance strategies and support discussions. Where the nursery determines that a child’s needs can no longer be safely or appropriately supported within the classroom environment, the nursery reserves the right to review or discontinue placement without refund.

Aggressive parents or visitors will not be tolerated at any point and will be asked to be removed from the premises immediately. We do not tolerate verbal or physical abuse at Little Explorers Nursery. Repeated offense(s) may result in the child’s parent/family member to be denied access to any part of the premises and the child withdrawn without refund.

Sickness, Medication & Medical Emergencies
Children who are ill should not be brought to nursery with any one of the following:

They have had a fever within the last 24 hours
A cough or runny nose,
A temperature of 37.7c
Vomiting or diarrhoea occurring more than once in a 24 hour period,
A contagious disease such as but not limited to: chicken pox, pink eye, strep throat or hand-foot-mouth disease,
An unidentified rash or constant thick colored nasal discharge.

Parents are responsible to inform administration of an absence with the reason (even if there is no illness, but the child is just staying home via messaging in the application used). If a child is ill, a 24 hour period of full recovery is required before returning from nursery.

If any child with a sign of runny nose, cough or sneezing starts after being dropped off at nursery, they will be separated from their group and parents will be asked to come pick them up. Little Explorers Nursery staff will not administer any medication (over the counter or prescribed by a doctor) unless a written consent form is submitted with specific instructions. Staff will not administer any amount over the recommended dosage as specified on the medication prescription or bottle for the child's age/weight. Medication prescribed by a doctor must be brought in its original container with the child's name and dosage information and instructions clearly marked.

A student who has been prescribed antibiotics may return to nursery as per the following:

24 hours after the first dose has been administered without any adverse reactions (allergic reaction of any sort including but not limited to vomiting, diarrhea, etc).
AND 24 hours have passed fever free.

In the event that the nursery is required to administer any form of medication to a child, parents must contact a member of our Admin Team to explain the nature of their child’s ailment, as well as fill in our Medication Authorization Form which is available at this link https://www.littleexplorersoman.com/medform

For the safety and wellbeing of all children, parents/guardians must not place any medication in a child’s bag or lunchbox under any circumstances without prior authorization from the nursery administration. All medication must be handed directly to the administration team and accompanied by a completed Medication Authorization Form with clear written instructions. Informing the gate attendant or any staff member at drop-off does not constitute proper notification and is not an accepted procedure, as such information may not be formally recorded or communicated. The nursery does not accept responsibility or liability for any medication sent without following the above procedure. Any such instances will be treated as a breach of nursery policy and may result in further action to ensure the safety of all children.

In the event of a medical emergency requiring urgent care, parents and any emergency contact person in your child’s file will be contacted. In the event of no-contact, we will contact an ambulance to transport your child to the nearest health center or hospital. Any incurred fees for transport / treatment / medication are the parents responsibility.

Overall, it is important that children show visible signs of improvement and is well enough to return back to nursery.

Personal Hygiene

Children brought with head lice will be sent home for treatment until the nits / eggs have been removed. Staff at Little Explorers Nursery will not cut the nails of any of the children. Instead, if nails are observed to be too long, a notification will be posted to inform parents through Procare or WhatsApp.

Responsibility & Duty of Care Boundaries

Little Explorers Nursery exercises reasonable care, supervision, and safeguarding procedures during nursery operating hours while children are formally signed into the nursery’s care.

The nursery’s duty of supervision applies only during official nursery operating hours and once the child has been formally handed over to an authorized member of staff inside the nursery premises. Responsibility for the child returns to the parent/guardian or authorized collector immediately upon formal collection, sign-out, or departure from nursery supervision areas.

Parents/guardians acknowledge that participation in normal early childhood activities, movement, play, social interaction, and outdoor activities may involve minor accidental injuries despite reasonable supervision and safety measures.

The nursery shall not be responsible for incidents occurring:

before formal handover of the child to nursery staff,
after formal collection/sign-out,
outside official nursery operating hours,
or where parents/authorized collectors remain responsible for supervision on or around nursery premises.

Nothing within this policy excludes the nursery’s responsibility to provide reasonable supervision, safeguarding, and duty of care in accordance with applicable laws and regulatory obligations.

Accident, Injury & Incident Reporting Policy

The safety, wellbeing, and safeguarding of all children at Little Explorers Nursery is of the utmost importance. While the nursery implements active supervision, age-appropriate safety measures, and reasonable precautions at all times, parents acknowledge that minor accidents and injuries may still occur within an early childhood environment as children participate in normal movement, exploration, play, and social interaction.

All accidents, injuries, medical concerns, behavioral incidents, or significant events occurring during nursery hours will be documented in accordance with nursery procedures and safeguarding responsibilities.

In the event of an accident or injury involving a child:

Staff will respond immediately to assess the child and provide appropriate first aid or comfort measures within the scope of their training.
Parents/guardians will be informed as soon as reasonably practicable depending on the nature and severity of the incident.
Serious injuries, head injuries, suspected fractures, breathing difficulties, allergic reactions, loss of consciousness, or incidents requiring urgent medical attention may result in emergency medical services being contacted immediately prior to parent arrival.
Where deemed appropriate by management, parents may be requested to seek medical evaluation and provide follow-up information or medical documentation relating to the child’s condition, diagnosis, treatment recommendations, or return-to-school guidance.

The nursery reserves the right to request temporary exclusion from attendance where a child is medically unfit to safely participate in nursery activities, requires one-to-one medical supervision beyond the nursery’s capabilities, or where medical clearance is considered necessary for the child’s wellbeing or the safety of others.

All incidents are reviewed internally by management where necessary in order to assess supervision practices, environmental factors, safeguarding considerations, and whether any additional support strategies or reasonable adjustments may be appropriate.

Parents acknowledge and understand that nursery supervision within a group early childhood environment does not constitute continuous one-to-one physical monitoring of individual children unless specifically agreed in writing. Children require opportunities for natural movement, exploration, independence, and developmental participation, and it is not possible to physically prevent every stumble, collision, or fall without significantly restricting normal childhood activity.

The existence of CCTV systems does not create an entitlement for parents or third parties to review, access, photograph, copy, or obtain footage of incidents involving children, staff, or other individuals, except where disclosure is required by competent legal or regulatory authorities in accordance with applicable law and nursery policy.

Any concerns regarding an incident must be communicated respectfully and directly with nursery administration so that the matter may be reviewed appropriately and professionally.

Supervision Limitation & Placement Review

Nursery supervision does not constitute continuous one-to-one physical monitoring of individual children unless specifically agreed in writing. The nursery reserves the right to review whether the environment, staffing structure, or available support services remain appropriate for a child’s individual needs.

Mobility, Coordination & Developmental Support Acknowledgement
Parents/guardians are required to inform the nursery in writing of any known developmental, medical, physical, neurological, sensory, or behavioral condition that may affect a child’s balance, coordination, gait stability, spatial awareness, safety awareness, or ability to navigate a classroom environment independently.

Where a child demonstrates recurring falls, reduced stability, delayed motor coordination, or other mobility-related concerns, the nursery may request additional medical guidance, developmental recommendations, or supportive strategies from the child’s treating pediatrician or specialist in order to reasonably support the child within the nursery environment.

Parents acknowledge and understand that early childhood environments are developmentally active spaces designed to encourage movement, exploration, independence, and play. While the nursery provides active supervision and reasonable care, it is not possible to physically prevent every stumble, collision, or fall without significantly restricting a child’s normal developmental movement and participation.

In cases where a child may require enhanced physical support, individualized supervision considerations, or environmental accommodations beyond what is reasonably achievable within a standard classroom ratio and setting, the nursery reserves the right to review whether the placement remains appropriate and safe for the child, other children, and staff.

Parents may also be asked to sign an acknowledgement confirming discussion of identified mobility, balance, coordination, or safety concerns, including the nursery’s supervision limitations within a group early childhood environment.

Parent Conduct, Communication & Reputation Protection

Little Explorers Nursery is committed to maintaining a safe, respectful, and professional environment for children, families, staff, and visitors at all times. Parents, guardians, family members, caregivers, drivers, and visitors are expected to communicate respectfully with nursery staff and management. Abusive, threatening, intimidating, discriminatory, defamatory, harassing, or aggressive behavior — whether verbal, written, physical, or online — will not be tolerated under any circumstances.

This includes, but is not limited to:

shouting, insults, threats, or hostile conduct toward staff, children, or other families,
repeated disruptive or unreasonable behavior,
harassment through telephone calls, WhatsApp messages, email, or social media,
publishing false, misleading, confidential, or defamatory statements regarding the nursery, its staff, children, or families,
recording staff, children, classrooms, CCTV monitors, or nursery premises without prior written authorization,
encouraging conflict or reputational harm toward the nursery through online platforms or public commentary.

Parents are expected to raise concerns directly with nursery management so that matters may be reviewed professionally, fairly, and confidentially.

The nursery reserves the right to restrict communication channels, deny access to the premises, suspend services, or withdraw a child’s enrollment where parent or visitor conduct is considered threatening, abusive, defamatory, unsafe, or incompatible with maintaining a respectful nursery environment.

Where necessary, the nursery also reserves the right to involve appropriate legal, regulatory, or law enforcement authorities in response to serious misconduct, harassment, safeguarding concerns, reputational attacks, privacy breaches, or unlawful behavior.

Child Protection

In the toddler stage of development, particular concerns may arise and should be brought to the parents attention in which they may seek third party evaluation, opinion and support. In the event that a child’s teacher or a member of staff has a concern about a child’s development, administration will be informed and a meeting will be set up with the child’s parents as necessary to discuss the concerns. A child’s development, and any discussions around this, are kept confidential.

The safety and wellbeing of the children at Little Explorers Nursery is our number one priority. An oral report shall be immediately made by telephone or otherwise to the nursery administration who will call the local office of Ministry of Social Development and/or the Royal Oman Police in the event:

A staff at Little Explorers Nursery has reasonable cause to believe that any child with whom they have come into contact with has suffered abuse, or
That any child with whom the employee comes into contact with has abused a child.

Media

Little Explorers Nursery may hire 3rd party photographers and/or staff to photograph and/or film children attending Little Explorers during his / her learning. These media files may be used for LEN’s online / social media and printed publications / advertisements / displays and these files shall be deemed to be Little Explorers Nursery property. Parents may submit a written request to admin@littleexplorersoman.com should they decline to have photographs of their child shared on any social media platforms or Little Explorers Nursery website. We are sorry, but if a post has been published on Instagram prior to your request to decline use of photos of your child on social media, we are unable to remove or amend that post. Any other channel of communication will not be accepted as a formal request.

CCTV

As required by applicable regulatory obligations and safety standards, all areas of Little Explorers Nursery (LEN), including classrooms, outdoor play areas, and external premises, are monitored by CCTV systems.

CCTV systems are installed and operated strictly for safety, security, safeguarding, and property protection purposes. The system supports the nursery’s duty of care toward children, staff, parents, and visitors and contributes to maintaining a secure environment.

Access to CCTV systems and recordings is restricted exclusively to authorized personnel. All images and recordings are handled in a confidential, secure, and controlled manner.

In accordance with the Personal Data Protection Law of the Sultanate of Oman (Royal Decree No. 6/2022) and applicable privacy obligations, LEN maintains strict control over CCTV recordings. CCTV footage constitutes protected personal data and will not be viewed by, released to, copied, photographed, or otherwise shared with parents, guardians, or third parties under any circumstances, except where disclosure is required by competent legal or regulatory authorities.

Digital recordings are captured and stored using secure systems operating continuously. Recordings are normally retained for a limited period (typically 30 days) and are automatically overwritten in accordance with system protocols, unless required for lawful internal review, safeguarding considerations, or regulatory compliance purposes.

All student incidents, injuries, or accidents observed by staff or reported to the nursery are documented in writing in accordance with nursery procedures and safeguarding responsibilities.

The existence of CCTV monitoring does not create any entitlement or right of access, review, or disclosure of recordings by parents or non-authorized parties.

Confidentiality & Privacy

Little Explorers Nursery respects the privacy and confidentiality of all children, parents, families, and staff. Child records, developmental observations, medical information, behavioral concerns, incident reports, and family information are treated confidentially and shared only with authorized personnel where reasonably necessary for the child’s care, safeguarding, operational requirements, or legal obligations. Parents are also expected to respect the privacy and confidentiality of other children, families, and staff members at all times.

Termly Evaluations and Graduation

There are 3 terms per academic year, and written evaluations of your child’s progress will be provided at the end of each term. Reports are not provided in two instances:

during Summer Camp (from June to August), and
to children who have attended our Little Explorers group (aged 42 months+) for less than 2 months.

There are also 2 scheduled parent/teacher conference days (also known as portfolio days) per academic year; one in Term 1 and one in Term 3. Please note that you may request a conference at any time throughout the academic year as necessary.

A graduation ceremony for the Little Explorers group is held at the end of every academic year. Only children who have attended our Little Explorers group of children (aged 42 months+) will participate in the graduation ceremony. Children who are leaving Little Explorers Nursery prior to entering the Little Explorers group, to honour the start date/age of another school, will not be allowed to participate in the graduation ceremony.

Use of Resources & Equipment

Parents will be charged for any lost or damaged Little Explorers Nursery resources including borrowed books and equipment.

Amendment to Policies

Management and Shareholders reserve the right to change policies at any time.