Arrivals and Departures

Prime times of the day make the very best of routine opportunities to promote ‘tuning-in’ to the child emotionally and to create opportunities for learning. Arrivals and departures are key times in the day when children need support from their carer to make the transition smooth and happy; these times of day also pose a certain level of risk as parents and carers come and go.

All staff are aware of the potential risks and take measures to minimise them.

Arrivals

• A member of staff always greets young children. This ensures that young children are received into the setting by a familiar and trusted adult. Staff greet parents and children at the main gate and escort children into the building.
• A member of staff will mark their presence and time of arrival on the register.
• If a child who is expected fails to arrive, this is recorded on the child’s attendance record and the managers are immediately notified so that they can contact the child’s parents to find out why the child is absent following the procedure absence.
• Staff will receive the child physically and tunes in to how he or she is feeling and prepares to meet his/her needs.
• Always ensure that the parents say goodbye to their child and say when they are coming back.

 

Injuries noted on arrival

• If a child is noted to have visible injuries when they arrive at preschool a pre existing from will be handed to parent/carer and completed.

 

Departures

• Children are prepared for home, with clean faces, hands and clothes if required.
• Staff always greet parents when they arrive, ensuring that the person who has arrived to collect the child is known by staff. They hand over the child personally and enter the time of departure in the register. We have a password for each child and if someone we do not know arrives to collect a child, unless the parent/carer has already informed us, we will contact the parent and verify.
• Only persons aged over 16 years should normally collect children. If a parent has no alternative, then this is agreed with the managers and a risk assessment completed and signed by the parent. In all cases the managers will ask the parents to ensure that in future alternative arrangements are made. If the parent is under 16 years of age a risk assessment will be completed. No child will be collected by anyone who has not reached 16 years of age. The risk assessment should take account of factors such as age/vulnerability of child, journey travelled, arrangements upon leaving the setting to go home/elsewhere.
• Practitioners verbally exchange information with parents.