2.5 Non Collection/Missing Child |
SCOPE OF THIS CHAPTER
This Chapter informs staff of their duty if a child is not collected by a parent or if a child goes missing whilst accessing a Children's Centres service.
OUTCOME STATEMENT
Children who go missing or uncollected will be protected by these procedures.
RELEVANT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
The following Children's Centre Procedures:
Contents
1.Uncollected Child
In line with the Children's Centres Health and Safety Procedures, the children's safety must be paramount at all times. If staff feel that this a child protection issue then they should follow the Safeguarding and Child Protection procedures.
All hours and days of attendance must be agreed with the Children's Centre Manager and detailed within each Child's Care Plan. Flexibility in hours can be accommodated where needs are divers, however all additional times must have prior consent.
Staff should have contact details of the parent/carer and a emergency contact person, these contact numbers should be checked and updated regularly.
In the failure of a parent/carer collecting a child every effort should be taken by the Manager or designated staff to contact the parent as soon as possible. If the parent/carer cannot be contacted then the emergency person should be contacted.
If the Manager or designated staff have been unable to contact the parent/carer or emergency contact then they should contact the Children's Services (e.g. Emergency Duty Team) to inform them about the situation without delay. The EDT/Duty Social Worker should then decide the next course of action and decide whether police should be involved in helping to trace the parent/carer.
Staff should allow 30 minutes from the time the child is due to be collected before putting these procedures into place.
A minimum of two staff must remain on the premises with the child at all times.
A child must never be taken to a member of staff's home.
An Incident Report should be completed and OFSTED informed of the events. See Incidents Procedure.
2. Missing Children
This section should be read in conjunction with Milton Keynes LSCB Protocol re Missing Children.
Staff should be aware of the situations that could result in children being missing while the child is their care or with their parent. For example:
- This could be during a Children's Centre outing where the child wanders off;
- Or a child leaves the Children's Centre without permission; (see Children's Centres Activities Procedure)
Should a child become missing staff should inform the Manager or the member of staff in charge, who should make enquiries as to when the child was last seen and where.
Supervision, safety and security of the other children should remain paramount.
One staff member should be selected to search the building and immediate vicinity to try and find the child, if this is unsuccessful the staff should open up the search further and keep in contact with the Children's Centre by phone. If staff are unable to find the child within 15 minutes a member of the staff must contact the parent if they are not on site and the police.
After the situation has been resolved, staff should record the incident as an Incident Report, see Incidents Procedure. The Manager and staff should review how and why the incident happened and ensure measures are taken so it does not happen again.
End