POLICY STATEMENT:
Our Service will ensure that children arrive at and leave the Service in a manner that safeguards their health, safety and wellbeing. Educators will manage this by adhering to clear procedures regarding the delivery and collection of children, ensuring that families understand their requirements and responsibilities and accounting for the whereabouts of children at all times whilst in the Service’s care.
PROCEDURES:
(a) Delivery of Children:
Children should not arrive before opening times and never be left unattended at the service when delivered.
The attendance register must record the child’s time of arrival and have a signature documented.
If a child requires medication to be administered whilst at the Service, the person delivering the child must document this in writing as per the Service’s Administration of Medication procedures.
(b) Collection of Children:
Children must be collected by the closing time of the Service.
Any person who is collecting a child from the Service must be listed as an authorised nominee on the child’s enrolment form with their contact details. The collection list must be kept current and updated on a regular basis. Any changes will be advised by parents in writing.
The authorised nominee who is collecting a child must sign the attendance register and record the time of collection and their signature.
Written authorisation (including timeframes) must be given if children have permission to leave the Service themselves. In this case, the Responsible Person would sign the child out of the Service. In this instance, once the child leaves the service, they become the responsibility of the parent.
Educators will be aware of each child’s departure from the Service to ensure children are only collected by an authorised nominee listed on their collection list.
Educators should be notified as soon as possible if the authorised nominee will be later than expected and the child will be informed to avoid unnecessary anxiety.
If a person who is not on the collection list arrives to collect a child, written authorisation will be sought from an authorised nominee before the child is able to leave the Service. The Responsible Person will also request identification from the person collecting the child.
In the case of an emergency where a child’s authorised nominees cannot collect the child and someone not on the collection list will be collecting the child, the Service must be notified by phone as soon as possible by an authorised nominee. Written authorisation should be gained where possible however verbal consent and an identification check will be sufficient in the case of an emergency
(c) Absent and Missing Children:
Families are required to notify Educators if children will be absent from the Service as early as possible and at least 15 minutes prior to handovers Educators will record the absences on the attendance roll where other Educators will be aware of the information.
Families will be informed of their notifying responsibilities upon enrolment and through the parent handbook. All absences must be advised and contact numbers to key accessible contacts updated regularly, to ensure the safety of your children and to minimise unnecessary police involvement.
Kindergarten to year 4 children will be collected and delivered by Educators from and to their respective school assembly points. A designated area will be assigned for this handover to occur.
Should a child not be waiting in the designated area when expected or in the case of years 5 and 6 children, not arrive at the service
Educators will:
Ask the teacher to verify any absences and ask them to follow up the location of the child.
If the teacher is unable to locate the child during this handover process, Educators will then support the teacher by:
Informing the nominated supervisor that the child is missing
- Asking the other children of their knowledge of where the child might be.
- Approaching the school office and asking for information regarding the child’s attendance at school.
Helping to look within the school boundaries for the child.
Once notified, the nominated supervisor will either designate a staff member or proceed to
attempt to contact authorised nominees to locate the child.
If the authorised nominees cannot be contacted or verify the whereabouts of the child, Police will be contacted and a missing child report made.
It would be expected that the child’s whereabouts would become evident by between 3.30pm and 3.45pm. Depending on the circumstances, police would be contacted within this time frame and no later than 3.45pm should the child’s whereabouts still be unconfirmed.
At this point the missing child will become a police matter and the service will support the police as appropriate.
· Notify the ACT Regulatory Authority within 24 hours of the incident occurring.
CONSIDERATIONS:
Education and Care Services National Regulations | National Quality Standard | Other Service policies/documentation | Other |
r99, r158-161, r168, 176. | Standards 2.3 and 7.3 | Parent Handbook Staff Handbook Acceptance and Refusal of Authorisations Policy Enrolment and Orientation Policy Administration of Medication Policy Providing a Child Safe Environment Policy | |
Endorsed by MPSOSHC Committee 04/05/2017
Proposed review 26/04/2017
Under review Aug 2019 - changes due to app introduction for signing in and out.
