The policies that shape every day here

Every adult at Mosaic shares responsibility for keeping children safe, and our Designated Safeguarding Lead — the nursery manager — is on site every day, supported by a trained deputy. All staff complete safeguarding training at induction and refresh it annually, and all hold UAE police clearance, an overseas police check where they have lived abroad, verified identity documents and two written references obtained before any unsupervised contact with children.

We record every concern in writing on the day it arises, however small, and the Designated Safeguarding Lead reviews it within twenty-four hours. Where a concern meets the threshold for referral, we report it to the relevant Dubai authorities without waiting for certainty and without requiring parental consent, because the child's safety takes precedence. Records are kept securely and separately from the child's learning file.

In daily practice this means no adult is ever alone and unobserved with a child; nappy changing takes place in a designated area visible from the room; personal mobile phones are locked away during contact time; and any staff member may raise a concern about a colleague, including about leadership, through a whistleblowing route that bypasses their line manager. We also record any existing injury a child arrives with, so that our record is accurate and fair to families and staff alike.

Nursery is where young children meet their first serious run of viruses, and consistent exclusion rules keep more children in nursery across the year, not fewer. A child must stay at home if they have a temperature above 38°C, have vomited or had diarrhoea in the previous twenty-four hours, have conjunctivitis, an undiagnosed rash, suspected hand, foot and mouth disease, or any condition requiring the first twenty-four hours of antibiotics. Children may return twenty-four hours after the last episode of fever, vomiting or diarrhoea and without fever-reducing medication.

If a child becomes unwell during the day we call you immediately, keep them comfortable and quiet away from the group, and record temperature and symptoms. We do not administer paracetamol or ibuprofen to reduce a fever so that a child can stay — a child with a fever needs to be at home.

We administer prescribed medication only, in its original pharmacy-labelled packaging, against a signed parental authorisation stating the medicine, dose and times. Two staff check and countersign every dose in the medication log. Emergency medication such as inhalers and adrenaline auto-injectors is stored in the child's own room, unlocked and out of children's reach, never in a locked office. Every practitioner holds current paediatric first aid certification.

Full policy PDF available on request from reception.

Mosaic is a completely nut-free premises. No nuts, nut oils, nut butters or products carrying a may-contain warning may be brought into the building by anyone, including for birthdays and celebrations. This is deliberate: in nurseries, the most dangerous exposures usually come from shared food and casual hand contact.

Every child with a diagnosed allergy or intolerance has a written care plan agreed with you and their treating doctor before their first day. The plan includes symptoms, the exact response required, emergency medication and its location, and emergency contacts. The child's photograph and allergen list are displayed inside the classroom, they eat from an individually plated meal with a coloured place setting, and their emergency medication is kept in their room. Staff are trained annually in recognising anaphylaxis and administering an auto-injector.

Full policy PDF available on request from reception.

Children under five are learning to manage large feelings with an immature brain. Biting, snatching, hitting and screaming are developmental, not moral, events — and how the adults respond determines how quickly they pass. Mosaic uses positive guidance: we never shout, shame, isolate, withhold food, or use any form of physical intervention beyond the minimum necessary to prevent injury.

When something happens, an adult moves close, gets down to eye level, keeps their voice low, names what they see, and helps both children find words. We support the child who was hurt first, then help the other child understand the effect of what they did and make some form of repair. We look for the pattern behind repeated behaviour — hunger, tiredness, a language gap, a transition, a change at home — and change the environment or the routine rather than trying to correct the child.

Where behaviour persists, your child's key person will talk with you early, share observations, and agree a consistent approach between home and nursery. We may, with your consent, seek advice from our inclusion lead or an external professional. We will always tell you if your child hurt someone or was hurt, and we will not name the other child involved.

Full policy PDF available on request from reception.

Your first week at nursery is the settling-in week. It is the single biggest predictor of whether a young child is happy at nursery three months later, so we do not rush it. Before the first day you will complete an all-about-me form and meet your child's key person, who will ask how your child sleeps, what they eat, what soothes them, what their words for things are, and what makes them laugh.

Our standard pattern is: one hour with a parent in the room, then two hours alone, then a morning, then a morning including lunch, then a full day. Some children complete this in three days; others need three weeks, and that is normal. You are welcome to wait in the parent room with a laptop and coffee for as long as you need to, and we will phone you rather than leave you wondering.

We ask parents to say a clear goodbye and leave, rather than slipping out or returning repeatedly, because prolonged uncertainty is harder for a child than a short, sad goodbye. Comfort objects, a family photograph and a familiar blanket are always welcome. If your child is genuinely not coping after a fortnight, we will pause, meet you and rethink the plan together — including reducing days temporarily.

Full policy PDF available on request from reception.

Please tell us before 9:00 AM on any day your child will not be attending, through the parent app or by phone. If a child has not arrived by 9:30 AM and we have not heard from you, reception will call you and then your emergency contacts, because an unexplained absence is a safeguarding matter as well as an administrative one.

Where an absence is due to illness we ask you to tell us the symptoms or diagnosis. This is not intrusive record-keeping: it lets us notify other families if a communicable illness is circulating, and it lets us know when your child may return. Certain conditions require a doctor's clearance note before return, and reception will tell you if yours is one of them.

Fees are charged for the place, not for attendance, so absence for illness, holidays or travel is not refundable or transferable, and missed sessions cannot be swapped for other days. Extended absences of more than four weeks should be discussed with the manager in advance so that we can hold the place correctly. Persistent unexplained absence may put a place at risk, as we are required to keep accurate attendance records for the KHDA.

Full policy PDF available on request from reception.

Children are released only to adults named on your authorised collection list. For each authorised adult we hold a photograph and a copy of their Emirates ID or passport, collected before their first collection. Any one-off change requires written notice from you through the parent app before 3:00 PM, and the named adult must present photo ID at reception. Where staff are not completely certain of an adult's identity or authorisation, your child stays with us and we call you — every time, including for grandparents and regular drivers.

Our doors close at 6:00 PM. If you are delayed, call reception as soon as you know; your child will be cared for calmly by a member of the leadership team with a snack and a book. A late collection charge applies for every fifteen minutes after 6:00 PM and is added to your next invoice. Repeated late collection will prompt a conversation about whether your session pattern still fits your working day.

If a child has not been collected by 7:00 PM and we have been unable to reach you or any of your emergency contacts, we are obliged to follow our uncollected child procedure, which includes notifying the relevant Dubai authorities. This has never happened at Mosaic, and the point of saying so publicly is that you should know the procedure exists.

Full policy PDF available on request from reception.

Fees are set annually within the framework approved by the KHDA and are invoiced termly in advance, across three terms. Payment is due within fourteen days of the invoice date or before the first day of term, whichever falls earlier. We accept bank transfer, credit card and cheque, and can arrange a post-dated cheque plan across the academic year on request.

A non-refundable registration fee is payable with your application and holds your child's name against a specific start date. A security deposit equal to one month of fees is payable on acceptance of a place and is credited against your final invoice, or refunded within thirty days of the last day of attendance, provided the required notice was given and the account is clear.

To withdraw a child, or to reduce a session pattern, we require one full calendar month of written notice; notice given mid-month takes effect from the following month. Refunds on the current term are calculated pro rata on complete unused weeks, less the registration fee and any outstanding charges. Fees are charged for the place rather than for attendance, so absence, travel and public holidays are not refundable. Where fees remain unpaid after two written reminders, a place may be suspended.

Full policy PDF available on request from reception.

Most concerns are resolved in two minutes at the classroom door, and that is genuinely the fastest route: speak to your child's key person first. If the matter is not resolved, or you would rather not raise it with the room, ask reception for a meeting with the nursery manager, who will normally see you within two working days.

If you want a formal response, put your complaint in writing to the manager at operations@mosaicnursery.com. We acknowledge every written complaint within two working days, investigate, and give you a written outcome within ten working days, with an explanation if we need longer. Complaints and outcomes are logged, reviewed by leadership each term, and used to change practice — several of our current procedures exist because a parent complained.

If you remain dissatisfied, you are entitled to escalate to the Knowledge and Human Development Authority, which regulates early childhood centres in Dubai and operates a parental complaints route. We will give you the current contact details for that route without hesitation if you ask. Where a complaint concerns a child's safety, it is treated under our safeguarding policy rather than this one, and the timescales are immediate.

Full policy PDF available on request from reception.

Mosaic is on the first floor of Fortune Executive Tower with two protected escape routes. Fire alarms are tested monthly, extinguishers serviced every six months, and a full evacuation drill is carried out every term with all children and staff present — including at least one drill a year during nap time, because that is the hardest one.

On evacuation, each room leader takes the printed daily register and the room's emergency grab-bag, which holds the register, emergency contact list, medication for the children in that room, water, a first aid kit and a small number of comfort items. Infants who cannot walk are carried in an evacuation cot. The fire marshal sweeps every space including toilets and the sleep room, and the team assembles at the tower's designated point where the register is called and confirmed to the building's fire warden.

Parents are notified by app message and, if the closure extends beyond an hour, by phone. In a scenario that prevents return to the premises — a building-wide incident, a utility failure, extreme weather — children are cared for at our designated alternative assembly location and you will be told exactly where to collect them. Children are only ever released to authorised adults, even during an emergency.

Full policy PDF available on request from reception.

Mosaic welcomes children of all abilities, backgrounds, languages and family structures, and we do not select children on the basis of ability, development or diagnosis. Where a child needs additional support, our aim is to provide it inside the ordinary life of the room, alongside their friends, rather than in a separate programme.

Most children at Mosaic are growing up with two or more languages, and it is normal for expressive English to trail comprehension for a while. Our practitioners are trained to distinguish multilingual development from a delay that needs attention, and to raise it with you early.

Where additional support is agreed, our inclusion lead writes an individual education plan with you, sets specific short-term targets, and reviews them with you every six to eight weeks. We support referrals to speech and language therapists, occupational therapists and paediatricians, and — with your consent — will host external therapy sessions on site so that strategies carry into the classroom. We accommodate a shadow teacher where a plan requires one, and we contribute honest written evidence to any application for additional support at your child's next school.

Full policy PDF available on request from reception.

The quality of a nursery is the quality of the adults in the room, so our recruitment process is deliberately slow. Every candidate is interviewed at least twice, one of those interviews includes a paid observed session in a room with children, and no offer is made without two written references — one from the most recent employer — verified by telephone.

Before a first unsupervised shift, every appointee must have: verified original qualification certificates recognised by the KHDA; a UAE police clearance certificate, plus an overseas police check or DBS-equivalent for any country they have lived in as an adult; verified identity and residency documents; a completed DHA medical fitness check; current paediatric first aid certification or a booked course; and completed induction covering safeguarding, allergy management, positive guidance and our intimate care procedures.

New staff work under supervision for a probation period with a named mentor and are observed in practice at least three times before probation is confirmed. Thereafter, every practitioner has an annual appraisal, a personal development plan and a minimum number of training hours each year, and safeguarding and first aid training are refreshed on a fixed cycle. Volunteers, students on placement and agency relief staff are vetted to the same standard and are never left alone with children.

Full policy PDF available on request from reception.