SAFE ARRIVAL & COLLECTION OF CHILDREN
- PURPOSE
The purpose of this policy is to outline the procedure for managing safe arrival and collection of children who attend Green Umbrella OSHC. To establish protocols and procedures that effectively monitors, supports and manages the attendance and departure of children within our service.
- POLICY STATEMENT
Green Umbrella OSHC 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.
- PROCEDURE
- Arrival of Children:
- Children are not to be left at the service unattended at any time prior to the opening hours of the service.
- Any person delivering a child to the service who is not Kinma staff must sign the child in via the app or attendance register, recording the time of arrival and their signature.
- Children attending after school care at Kinma, will walk from their classrooms to the school office by 2:55pm. At 3pm the Green Umbrella children will be sent by office staff to the hall for after school care.
- Educators will be aware of and record each child’s arrival at the service either on an attendance sheet or in the app.
- 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 services Management of Medical Conditions and Administration of Medication procedures.
- In the event of child not arriving within a timely manner, procedures for absent child will be followed.
- 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.
- The authorised nominee who is collecting a child must either sign out using the app or sign the attendance register, recording the time of collection and their signature.
- Written authorisation must be given in the child’s enrolment form if children have permission to leave the service themselves. In this case, the Responsible Person/ Nominated Supervisor would sign the child out of the service.
- 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. In the event of an authorised nominee not signing a child out, the Responsible Person/ Nominated Supervisor will confirm with educators who the child left with and sign them out.
- 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/ Nominated Supervisor will also request identification from the person collecting the child.
- Where possible, children are not given into the care of a parent/guardian who is prohibited by a court order to cease contact with the child. Immediate advice will be sought from the police.
- If a person appears intoxicated or under the influence of illicit substances or medications, educators will contact an alternate authorised nominee to collect 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.
- Absent and Missing Children:
- Families are required to notify educators as early as possible if children will be absent from the service. Educators will record the absences in an appropriate place where other educators will be aware of the information.
- Families will be informed of their notifying responsibilities upon enrolment and through the parent handbook.
- If a child only attends after school care the families must notify educators when a child has returned from an absence so they know to expect the child at the service.
- Should a child not arrive at the service or not be waiting in the designated school pick up area when expected, educators will:
- Ask the other children of their knowledge of where the child might be.
- Approach the school office and ask for information regarding the child’s attendance at school, this may be done via email, text or phone call.
- If the child was absent from school, and the school was notified but not the OSHC service, the service will call or text the child’s authorised nominees at a suitable time to check on the child, remind them of their notifying responsibilities and find out when they should expect the child to return to the service.
- If the child was present at school and the other children and school staff are unaware of their whereabouts, educators will ask the school staff for assistance in searching for the child in the school area. Supervision will be maintained for other children during this process.
- If the child is still unable to be located, educators will return to the service and call the child’s authorised nominees to gain further information. Educators will continue to call the authorised nominees on the contact list until contact has been made. Educators will maintain contact with the authorised nominees until the child has been located.
- Continue to keep in contact with the school during this time.
- Arrange for appropriate supervision of children at the service and send an educator back to the school area to continue looking for the child. Follow up on any leads regarding children going to a friend’s home and check common places in the local area.
- If the child is not found, contact the police and keep the authorised nominees and school informed of the situation.
- Educators will notify the Department of Education and Communities (DECS) within 24 hours of the incident occurring.
- Late Collection
- In the event of a child not being collected by 6pm, the Responsible Person/ Nominated Supervisor will contact the authorised nominee by phone.
- If contact is not made the Responsible Person/ Nominated Supervisor will continue to contact all emergency authorised nominees to have the child collected.
Self-Referred child
- If a child who is enrolled with the service but is not on the roll for a particular day, arrives at the service, the Responsible Person/ Nominated Supervisor will immediately contact the child’s authorised nominee to determine whether the child should be in attendance on that day. Should the child’s authorised nominee advise the service that the child will be attending, the child’s name will then be added to the roll.
- If a child has not been enrolled at the service, they will not be taken into care under normal circumstances. In this case, the child will be walked to the Kinma office or Kinma staff.
- In the case of an emergency, a non-enrolled child may be accepted, should the child’s authorised nominee authorise for the school to provide Green Umbrella Inc with the child’s details including emergency contact information, address, date of birth and health needs. Care will only be provided on the condition that the parent completes an enrolment form upon collecting the child and pays for any attendance.
- Acknowledgement of Children’s Arrival:
- Educators will acknowledge children’s arrival at the service during After School Care by recording the child’s name and arrival time at the service. This is particularly important when employing new or casual staff.
- During Vacation care, all children and their authorised nominees will be greeted and be sighted at drop off by a educator.
- End of day procedures:
- Educators check that all children have been signed out within the app or on a attendance sheet. If a child has left without being signed out and an educator saw them leave then the educator will sign them out.
- Educators must check the premises at the end of the day to ensure no child remains after the service closes.
- CONSIDERATIONS
Education and Care Services National Regulations | National Quality Standard | Other Service policies/documentation | Other |
r99, r100-102D, r122, r123, r158-161, r168, r170, r171, r172, r176. | Standards 2.1.1, 2.2,.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
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ENDORSEMENT BY THE SERVICE
Approval date: September 2023
Date for Review: September 2026
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