Are individual towels a requirement under EYFS?

[helendee]

As the title says, can anyone tell me if it is a current requirement under the EYFS to provide individual towels and flannels for each child? My daughter in law was told off by her inspector last week for not having them, however at my last inspection my inspector was happy that I use paper towels which are thrown away.

I have searched through the statutory requirements and can find no mention of this being a necessity. :confused:

[serin]

I really dont think it is a requirement. I have one hand towel and change it regularly but if I had to bath them which is never then they would obviously have their own.

[helendee]

I really dont think it is a requirement. I have one hand towel and change it regularly but if I had to bath them which is never then they would obviously have their own.

Thanks for the reply Serin, that is just as a thought.

I just don't understand why the inspector told my dil off about it! x

[dawn100]

It was something that we were told about in our training and recommened we do i think there is a sentence about avoiding the spread of germs, we were advised to either have paper towels or individual towels also that children should also have individual bedding, I was asked this question both at my pre reg and at my graded inspection

[rickysmiths]

Yes all my children have their own towels which are washed every week. I have a set with different animals on and a set of different colours. The children choose their own and it is their towel for the time they are with me, be it weeks or years. As a family we each have our own hand towels so it didn't occur to me to do it any other way with the minded children.

[Tazmin68]

At my last yearly review with local authority although I had individual Hand towels which were washed twice weekly I was suggested to me that I either change to disposable paper towels or buy lots of flannels which the children use once and up in washing bin so I can wash them and that it what I did. This is because using a hand towel and still using same one throughout the day or two was seen as not good enough practice. Just though I would feed thus back.

[Vickster]

I have lots of flannels. 1 per dry. They are from ikea. I just put them in the wash with my washing at the end if the day.

[Rachel6]

I also use flannels from ikea,each child has a different colour & I think a pack of 4 is about £1.00 they also have loops already on them so you can hang them up x

[Simona]

The original question was whether 'individual towels' were a requirement of the EYFS?

This is another issue in the framework where we differ in 'individual' interpretation or guidance from our LAs...we should use whatever we feel is appropriate to reduce the spread of germs so that we would be able to explain our interpretation/choice to the inspector and also should reflect what is in our H&S Policy?

The best is drying with air but not many CMs have one of those blowers in our bathroom
Paper towels are also good because they are disposable and used once only
Individual flannels are also acceptable...should they be changed daily or weekly? well germs spread wildly in damp conditions ...so up to you to decide

Good luck on your choice!!

[bindy]

I use paper towels, easy, no washing /drying and getting mixed up with others, I really don't want loads of hanging towels in my bathroom. I have 12 different children altogether!

[Glitter]

If children have washed their hands there should not be any germs on them to spread on to a towel.
So if you are teaching children to wash hands properly do you really need separate towels?

[bunyip]

EYFS Statutory Framework (3.59) states


providers should ensure that an adequate supply of clean bedding, towels, spare clothes and any other necessary items is always available.

It does not state what it means by "clean". Does a towel cease to be clean when the child uses it? another child uses it? you touch it to take it out of the airing cupboard? when you flush the toilet and cover the entire room and all its contents with a microscopic layer of poo/wee microbes? (for such is the case.)

[vals]

I have individual towels -when I got the bathroom done I had some extra hooks put up for them. I doubt very much that the children actually use the right towel, some don't even use a towel at all lol.

[tas]

I use paper towels, easy, no washing /drying and getting mixed up with others, I really don't want loads of hanging towels in my bathroom. I have 12 different children altogether!

At the moment each child has an individual small towel that is washed at the end of the day

I would like to start using paper towels or was thinking of kitchen roll but how do the children access the the paper towels as I really don't want a dispenser attached to my wall

[Simona]

Maybe this from the NHS will help... as said before flannels are fine but germs multiply in damp conditions

How to prevent germs from spreading - Live Well - NHS Choices (http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/homehygiene/Pages/prevent-germs-from-spreading.aspx)

[Bluebell]

This is a really interesting thread - I have just started using individual towels for each child that gets washed each day - this was to get brownie points with Ofsted not because I believed that it was an actual requirement!

When I had my visit from environmental health, as I registered with them as a food business, they said it was something that Ofsted liked to see - that was feedback they had got from childminders they had visited.

When I asked if they supported that and thought it was neccessary they hummed and harred over what their answer should be. In the the end they said they need to be seen to be giving the best advice for individual hygeine and so yes they would recomend it. They also pointed out that young children getting them to wash their hands a lot fo the time is to get them into good hygeine routines and that actually a lot of the time their hands aren't necessarily 100% clean so germs could spread on the towels. Its taken me about a year to et round to implementing it but I have at last. I was going to dye the towels different colours or sew the childrens names on but as I have 13 children you can imagine I haven't quite got round to it yet!!

[watford wizz]

I use paper towel on a free roll, buy in bulk much cheaper, I tear a small pile off ready for very little ones but older ones soon get the hang of it. It's not always torn on the perforations but this doesn't bother me. It's about them being independent. It also makes a good addition to the compost heap which is also a good lesson. Ofsted liked this. I used to ask parents to supply a towel but this just caused the children to all want to use the " best " towel as some bought a big fluffy Thomas one while others bought ones that looked liked they'd cleaned the car engine before being sent!

[Tazmin68]

When i say flannels we use them as a very small hand towel so they are not damp used to dry hands

[clairer]

My Ofsted inspector was happy with paper towels being used for the children. I don't like hand towels- with seven children they can all end up dropped on the floor and stamped on!

[Simona]

Not an easy answer or one that will please either Mrs O, our LA or even Environmental Health but we are all so resourceful and use our common sense after all!!

Bluebell...I like your idea of names on hand towels...I had labels on the wall above their hook for mine...I'd better get my sewing machine to good use and start embroidery!

[kime]

Don't think it is a requirement but at my inspection earlier this year Mrs O said that having paper towels would be really good & could factor in progressing to outstanding x

[Bluebell]

I have pegs with names and photos on that is next to the hand wash area, it's a bit much with all their coats, bags and towels on! Something else I need to suss out how to fit everything in my house!!

[Ali56]

I have a very large stack of flannels. Children use them and then put them to the wash. Mrs O Was quite happy with that :)

[hectors house]

My view of childminding is that we are here to equip children with living in the real world - that is a world where bathrooms have towels (in my case individual easily identifyable towels), rather than paper towels, bottles of liquid soap rather than a machine that dispenses it from the wall and even a toilet brush and holder (once told my LA that I couldn't have one out on display).

[MessybutHappy]

My view of childminding is that we are here to equip children with living in the real world - that is a world where bathrooms have towels (in my case individual easily identifyable towels), rather than paper towels, bottles of liquid soap rather than a machine that dispenses it from the wall and even a toilet brush and holder (once told my LA that I couldn't have one out on display).

I agree! And this is why I have one towel! Mine are all under two, I supervise, then wash their hands, so I know they are cleaned well. I have a stock of flannels, but use them ford that purpose, I.e. To clean mucky faces and wipe toothpaste dribble away! I live in my home, I have lots dedicated to the children, but I've decided not to have pegs everywhere we wash our hands, and spend precious time hanging towels all over the place! Perhaps I'll never get outstanding, but the children will know very well how to clean their hands and then dry them on THE towel!!!

[newbie]

My thought exactly Messy!!! Worlds gone mad IMHO! I used to have flannels for the children to use to dry their hands but it was a nightmare to wash and dry them every night.....not very economical to put the tumble dryer on every night :(. I also don't agree with paper towels for environmental reasons. My ONE hand towel is changed every day.....I am pretty sure that is what the mindee is used to in their own home and I as a childminder am offering a 'Home From Home' service! I am not a nursery, preschool or school!!!!

[loocyloo]

We have either a hand towel that everyone shares that is washed each day OR I have a pile of ikea flannels that hang on shower curtain rings on the towel rail in my downstairs toilet. Each curtain ring has a laminated name tag for each child and these towels stay for the week for each child to use. ( most of my children only come one day a week!) IF they get grubby then I wash them and give child a clean one. But I swap between the two as sometimes I forget to put the ikea ones out!
I asked my environmental health chappie and he was not happy with anything less than a new towel per child per hand wash! He said use paper towels... I said I had in the past, but cost, storage & disposal were an issue plus it's a home not an institution!

[greanan]

I've always used just the one towel for everyone. I put a clean one out every morning and never had any problems

[Tulip]

I think flannels instead of towels are good, they only have little hands! you could have lots of different coloured one's and could even iron on a name label. If you get flannels that have a label on them they can be hung up by the label maybe on suction hooks. No cross contamination :clapping:

[bindy]

I've always used just the one towel for everyone. I put a clean one out every morning and never had any problems

Its getting a little silly if you ask me, kids are always touching, hugging, coughing, kissing, sneezing over each other, but god forbid if they dry their already clean hands on each others towels lol

[dawn100]

Bindy I do agree with you it doesn't all add up. I do have a stack of flannels which are washed daily and each of the kids have individual bedding as I know of a local childminder who was actioned for not having it, I was also quizzed by ofsted at both my pre reg and graded inspection about towels and sheets but this is where it just seems a bit mad these children share car seat and pushchairs and cushions in the lounge which dont have individual covers let alone the toys that go from one mouth to the next. (Not that I'm suggesting that they should ever have indivudual covers -that would be completly bonkers).

[FussyElmo]

As the title says, can anyone tell me if it is a current requirement under the EYFS to provide individual towels and flannels for each child? My daughter in law was told off by her inspector last week for not having them, however at my last inspection my inspector was happy that I use paper towels which are thrown away.

I have searched through the statutory requirements and can find no mention of this being a necessity. :confused:

What was the system your dd was using. If paper towels I would have argued the point.

[bunyip]

Unless they're expecting them to be sterile, exactly how 'clean' do Ofsted want these towels to be?

Do all inspectors carry some device for scientifically measuring the cleanliness of fabric?

Should I change my shirt between nuggling children, so as not to inadvertently cross-infect them?

Are the children allowed to touch the soft furnishings, or do we need to cover the sofa, etc. in plastic sheeting?

Can Ofsted provide data on the number of towel-related deaths and serious illnesses in the UK?

Would Mrs O like to stand outside my house and conduct the inspection through the window, cos I guarantee she will be carrying more bacteria on her body than can be found on even the dirtiest post-match rugby club towel?

Ofsted: proud to be talking b0ll0x since 1992. :mad:

[jackie 7]

Perhaps we should give each child gloves and face masks when they come. Don't let th touch anything of breath on each other.

[AdeleMarie88]

At the moment each child has an individual small towel that is washed at the end of the day

I would like to start using paper towels or was thinking of kitchen roll but how do the children access the the paper towels as I really don't want a dispenser attached to my wall

I use Marks and Spensor kitchen roll, it has nice patterns on and the little ones pul it off the roll themselves. As for babies who have faces washed also, I ask their parents to provide a wash cloth which goes home with them everynight.
I also have some little animal soaps that I found in pound shop, and they have one each in their own little box and they use that to wash their hands. This isn't a requirement, it started when one mindee I had had autism and was very particular about having his own soap, so of course they all wanted their own then! X

[karen m]

So true Bindy, I was also to not to use anti bac hand spray when they cover their mouth after coughing but to make sure they go and wash them well am sorry I don't want to spend all say in the bathroom washing hands

[AdeleMarie88]

So true Bindy, I was also to not to use anti bac hand spray when they cover their mouth after coughing but to make sure they go and wash them well am sorry I don't want to spend all say in the bathroom washing hands

I think you have to use common sense, there has to obviously be a standard of cleaning so us and mindees aren't constantly ill, but I think to have all individual towels, bed sheets and so on, gets a bit ridiculous, and lets face it, we would spend all our time at the washing machine!
As long as hands are washed before eating and after toileting, that should be satisfactory. If you had younger babies toys would have to be sterilized once a week or so...
As I said in previous post I do separate soaps, only because of a child with SEN, but it is important to enforce personal hygiene skills x

[bunyip]

We spend all day washing the protective oils out of their hands, then wonder why so many children present with skin conditions. :(

[Mouse]

Our school nursery (graded good) has out 2 towels a day for all the children to use. That's 70 children over a day. These children wash their hands unsupervised, so I would guess their hands aren't squeaky clean when they finish. The towels spend most of the time on the floor and are pretty awful. The children never wash their hands before snack time and use the same towels when washing their hands after going to the toilet, or after messy play/painting.

The nursery was praised for encourage independence in self care :rolleyes:

How many childminders would receive praise if they did the same?

[AdeleMarie88]

Our school nursery (graded good) has out 2 towels a day for all the children to use. That's 70 children over a day. These children wash their hands unsupervised, so I would guess their hands aren't squeaky clean when they finish. The towels spend most of the time on the floor and are pretty awful. The children never wash their hands before snack time and use the same towels when washing their hands after going to the toilet, or after messy play/painting. The nursery was praised for encourage independence in self care :rolleyes: How many childminders would receive praise if they did the same?

I think that is gross, I wouldn't wash/dry my hands with a dirty towel so would not expect a child to do so!

[Mouse]

I think that is gross, I wouldn't wash/dry my hands with a dirty towel so would not expect a child to do so!

It really is disgusting and has got to be a huge health hazard. When my children went there I used to tell them not to dry their hands.

[bunyip]

Our school nursery (graded good) has out 2 towels a day for all the children to use. That's 70 children over a day. These children wash their hands unsupervised, so I would guess their hands aren't squeaky clean when they finish. The towels spend most of the time on the floor and are pretty awful. The children never wash their hands before snack time and use the same towels when washing their hands after going to the toilet, or after messy play/painting.

The nursery was praised for encourage independence in self care :rolleyes:

How many childminders would receive praise if they did the same?

Ah, now I'm beginning to see where the EYFS regulation came from.

It's a shame that inspectors lack the wit to see the difference between dozens of children to one towel in a nursery setting and a couple using one at a CMs. :doh: