Uncollected Child Policy

Statement of Intent

In the event that a child is not collected by an authorised adult at the end of a pre-school session, the Pre-school puts into practice agreed procedures. These ensure the child is cared for safely by an two experienced and qualified practitioner who is known to the child.

Aim

In the event that a child is not collected by an authorised adult, we will ensure that the child receives a high standard of care in order to cause as little distress as possible. We inform parents/carers of our procedures so that, if they are unavoidably delayed, they will be reassured that their children will be properly cared for.

Methods

• The register and collections book is checked for any information about changes to the normal collection routines.
• If no information is available, parents/carers are contacted at home, on their mobile or at work.
• If this is unsuccessful, the adults who are authorised by the parents to collect their child from Pre-school — and whose telephone numbers are recorded on the Registration Form — are contacted.
• All reasonable attempts are made to contact the parents/carers, for example a member of staff visits the child’s home.
• The child stays at Pre-school in the care of two fully-vetted workers until the child is safely collected.
• The child does not leave the premises with anyone other than those named on the registration form or someone party to the child’s confidential password.
• If no-one collects the child and the staff are no longer available to care for the child, we apply the procedures set out in our Safeguarding Children Policy and inform Ofsted (telephone no. 0300 123 1231) and our local social services duty social worker on telephone no. 08453 708090
• A full written report of the incident is recorded and kept on file in the Pre-schools Incident File. We reserve the right to charge parents a late fee of £25.
• Continued late collections may be escalated to a safeguarding concern if staff feel this is appropriate.

This policy was adopted by West Wycombe Pre-school in October 2013.  Policies are updated when necessary and reviewed on a yearly basis.

Reviewed August 2023