Arrivals and departures policy

Twilight recognises the importance of having robust systems in place to ensure the safe arrival and departure of the children in our care.

The manager will ensure that an accurate record is kept of all children in the Club, and that any arrivals or departures are recorded in the register. The register is kept in an accessible location on the premises at all times. In addition we conduct regular headcounts during the session.

Escorting children to the Club

• The Club and school have a clear agreement concerning the transfer of responsibility for children’s safety.
• We have risk assessed the route used to escort children to the Club and review it regularly.
• The Club keep an identical register of children who require escorting between locations which is updated daily.
• The school have a set place for meting all children attending the club which reassures the staff and parents that all children will be collected from school before walking down to the club.
• Two members of staff will escort the children from school to the Club.
• If a child is booked into the Club but is not at the collection point, we will check whether the child was present at school that day. If the whereabouts of the child is not known, staff will immediately inform the designated contact at the school and ask the school to implement its Missing Child policy.

Arrivals

Our staff will greet each child warmly on their arrival at the Club and will record the child’s attendance in the daily register straightaway.

Departures

• Staff will ensure that parents or carers sign children out before they leave, including the time of collection.
• Children are collected by an adult who has been authorised to do so on their registration form.
• In exceptional circumstances, if the parent requires another person who is not listed on the registration form to collect their child, the child’s parents or carers must inform the Club in advance and provide a description of the person and a password that they will use. If the manager has any concerns regarding the person collecting he/she will contact the main parent or carer for confirmation.
• The parent or carer must notify the Club if they will be late collecting their child. If the Club is not informed, the Uncollected Children policy will be followed.
• Children over the age of eight will only be allowed to leave the Club alone at the end of the session if the Club has discussed this with the child’s parents and has received their written consent.
• Children below the age of eight will not be allowed to leave the Club unaccompanied.

Absences

• If a child is going to be absent from a session, parents must notify the Club in advance.
• If a child is absent without explanation, staff will contact the parents or carers and the school to check where the child should be. If staff still have concerns about the child’s whereabouts after attempts to contact the parents and the school the manager will contact the police.
• The Club will try to discover the causes of prolonged and unexplained absences. Regular absences could indicate that a child or their family might need additional support.