Uncollected Child Policy

It is a priority of Stocks Wood Outdoor Centre that all participants are kept safe. If a child is not collected by authorised adults at the end of a session, the following procedures will be undertaken to ensure the child’s safety.

All parents / carers of children complete a registration form that includes their home address, telephone number (including alternative numbers) and email address. If adults other than the parents are to collect a child, the child’s parents inform staff during registration.

Procedures

· Staff check that no alternative arrangements have been made for that day.

· The child’s parents / carers are contacted using the information available on the child’s registration form.

· All available numbers (and email) are used if necessary, until a parent / carer is contacted. If possible, messages are left.

· If a child’s parents / carers cannot be reached within 15 minutes of the end of the session the child will accompany the staff whilst the staff clear away equipment from that session, remaining under staff supervision on the site.

· In the unlikely event that the child is not collected within one hour of the end of the session, and all contact numbers have been used again without speaking to an adult authorised to collect the child, we will contact our local authority children’s social services care team.

Allerdale Support and Protection Teams 01900 706444 / 706333

Allerdale Children’s Services out of hours telephone: 0333 240 1727

· The child will stay with two members of the centre’s staff at the centre, until the child is safely collected by either the parents/ carer, other authorised adults or a social worker.

· The social worker will aim to find the parent / carer and if they are unable to do so they will become looked after by the local authority.

· The staff will record the incident and attach it to the child’s registration form.

· Depending on the circumstances, we reserve the right to charge the parents for the staff’s additional time in looking after the child.

· Ofsted may be informed 0300 123 1231