Principle and statement of intent
Bumbles Day Care arrival and departure policy has been adopted to support the safety and well being of the children in our care. We will give a warm and friendly welcome to each child on arrival and ensure they depart safely at the end of each session / day.
- This policy has been formed following the guidelines and principles in the:
Department of Health & Social Services NI – Childminding & Day Care for children under age 12 Minimum Standards, updated October 2018, which states that safeguarding children is afforded the highest priority.
There is a system in place to ensure that children are collected from the setting only by parents or those with parental responsibility or persons authorised by them to do so.
Procedures for Arrival at Our Settings
Bumbles Nursery Setting
On arrival at the nursery building, the parent/carer is requested to ring the door bell and wait for a member of staff. Once the member of staff has identified the parent/carer they will be given access to the building. At the end of the day a staff member will ensure that the child is handed over to the parent/carer. We ask that parents NEVER open the door for another parent, this will ensure the safety of all of our children. Please note: Since Covid parents and children have been welcomed in our carpark / boatyard area and our staff also bring children down to their collectors at the end of the day. This practice is currently being reviewed (September 2023).
Bumbles Wraparound Settings
During term-time, Bumbles offers a school collection service which can either be by car or on foot. In order to provide children with a sense of security and offer continuity of care, every effort is made for staff to be allocated the same schools every day, from which they collect the same children; only when a member of staff is absent due to illness or personal leave are these arrangements altered. On such occasions we try to let the children affected by such changes know in advance, so that they know who to expect at the end of the school day. Children will never be collected by a member of staff that they have never met before.
Bumbles on the Hill
On arrival the The House please knock for access, Pod 1 and Pod 2 can be accessed through their front play space and Pod 3 and Pod 4 please come through front door past the Office. Once the member of staff has identified the parent/carer they will be given access to the building. At the end of the day a staff member will ensure that the child is handed over to the parent/carer.
Daily Register
We use a system called Famly to record the arrival and departures of all our children. Staff access Famly using password protected devices.
Parents/carers will be encouraged to fully settle their child before leaving them into our settings.
Parents/carers will be given the opportunity by staff to pass on and receive any information regarding their child and to make specific requests relating to their child’s care when necessary. If children will not be attending for their session, parents should mark them as absent on the app.
For children who attend our wrap around settings, parents can contact us via the Famly app to pass on information or can phone us at the nursery office. If children will not be attending for their afternoon session, parents should mark them as absent on the app before 10am.
Our use of the Famly app means that even if a child (or parent/carer) is feeling a bit wobbly on leaving in the morning, by the time they get to work there may be a photo of the child engaged in play.
In our Rosetta setting only, children from P3 upwards, make their own way to our rooms in the school – an adult is watching out for them from our rooms and know who to expect. At all other schools we will collect from every collection point.
For any children dropped off in the morning or collected from our wraparound care at the end of the day and during school holidays, access needs to be gained by ringing the bell and waiting for a member of staff to identify the parent/carer before being allowed entrance.
If children are at play outside when a parent/carer arrives for pick up then staff need to identify the parent/carer before releasing a child into their care. If a child requires access back into the building to collect belongings, they will be accompanied by a Bumbles member of staff. In line with our risk assessment procedures, the playground area entrance/exit will always be supervised by a member of staff.
Vehicles used in transporting children from school, whether nursery or privately owned must be properly licensed, inspected and maintained and Bumbles’ staff are aware that it is their responsibility to ensure that they comply with this. Staff members who collect children in cars are all appropriately insured for business use and car safety seats are provided for all children.
Permission for collection
Parents / Carers are responsible for letting Bumbles Day Care know who is authorised to collect their children, and this should be recorded on the child’s Famly profile. We also require a clear photograph of each authorised collector to be uploaded to Famly on the child’s profile along with their phone numbers in case we need to contact them. If circumstances change that affect the child and who they arrive / leave Bumbles with we must be informed by the parent/carer or a person authorised to do so by email or message on Famly.
If circumstances change during the day, it is the parent’s responsibility to inform us if anyone other than a child’s parents is expected to collect them and this information must then be passed on to all the staff, particularly those responsible for door duty at the end of the evening. It is the parent’s responsibility to maintain their own contact details via Famly and make any changes. Room Co-Ordinators check these termly and may ask parents to log in and check their details routinely via message.
For security reasons and in accordance with principles of good practice, it is Bumbles’ policy that children should only be released to someone other than their parents, if advance notice is given and if this is verbal, then a photo must be placed on Famly alongside their contact details. Please note that unless they are the parents, persons authorised to collect children must be aged 18 or over, as per the Minimum Standards for Childminding and Daycare.
If a parent has a residency order and the other parent is not permitted to collect the child, Bumbles requires a copy of the residency order to be kept on the child’s file.
In the event of a person who is an authorised collector arriving to collect a child, without Bumbles having been informed the following procedures will apply:-
If the person is an authorised collector on the child’s Famly profile and is known to staff, the child can be released but the following action must be taken:
- The Manager/Deputy Manager is to be informed.
- Make the collector aware that the correct procedures have not been followed.
- Manager/Deputy Manager must follow up with parents about the necessity of following Bumbles procedures for the safety of the child.
- Parents should be reminded that children can be upset and unsettled when they are unprepared for someone other than a parent collecting them.
A person arriving to collect a child who is unknown to Bumbles staff, even if they are a named authorised collector, possibly on their first visit to the nursery, the following action must be taken:
- It must be explained in, a calm and sensitive manner, by the Manager / Deputy Manager / Co-ordinator that it is not Bumbles’ policy, for security reasons, to release a child to someone that staff members are unfamiliar with. The collector should be asked to either wait outside, or in the hallway alongside a member of staff.
- Identification should also be obtained from the collector before a child would be released. The child’s own knowledge of the collector could be taken into account at this stage.
- The child’s parents must be contacted and verbal permission received before the child can be released to the adult in question. Parents must also be reminded of the need to inform us in advance of other collectors.
- In the event of parents being unavailable, authorised collectors on the child’s Famly profile must be contacted and their knowledge of the collector’s identity confirmed with certainty.
- In the event of nobody being available to confirm the identity of the unfamiliar person, the child must be kept at the setting, until parental permission for them to be removed can be obtained.
Bumbles staff, reserves the right to question the suitability and / or state of a parent / carer who arrives to collect their child. If the parent/carer appears to be in an unfit condition the Safety/Well-being of the child will be the primary concern and they will NOT be released. The Manager / Deputy Manager / Co-ordinator will contact another parent / carer and will explain why they have refused collection.
Late collection
Bumbles is open from 7.45 am to 5.45 pm Monday – Friday. For insurance reasons and also taking into consideration the length of time some children might be spending away from their parents, we really appreciate parents not leaving in or collecting their children from us outside of these limits.
Staff members also presume that they will be finishing work at closing time and make personal arrangements accordingly – parents should therefore aim to be leaving the premises with their children before 5.45pm, rather than just arriving to collect them at 5.45pm. We also ask that parents who will be collecting children from two of our settings allow time for this before 5.45pm.
Occasionally, however, some parents are unavoidably detained and know that they are going to be late. In such instances, parents should contact us if they can and let staff know when they anticipate arriving. This allows staff to change their own arrangements if necessary, and also enables them to let the children know what to expect. Parents should bear in mind the fact that children can become upset if their normal routine is altered.
Two staff members will wait with the child/children at the nursery until someone arrives to collect them in such instances.
If a parent does not arrive to collect a child/children and no phone call has been made to prepare us in advance for a late arrival, staff will then try to contact the parent or other authorised collector as listed on the child’s registration form, and arrange for them to collect the child/children.
If the parents, or authorised collectors cannot be contacted, and a child was still at the nursery after 6.15pm, the nursery owner would be contacted and interim arrangements would be made whilst still trying to make contact with the parents, authorised collectors or emergency contacts listed on Famly profile.
Visitors to premises
All visitors must be asked to provide I.D. if they are not known to the member of staff answering the door. Parents are asked not to answer the door if the bell rings, please make a member of staff aware that there is someone at the door.
Once a visitor has shown their I.D. they will be asked to sign in the visitor’s book if they will be staying on the premises and sign out on leaving.
The children’s safety is clearly of paramount importance and therefore it is vitally important that anyone entering and leaving the premises ensures that all doors and gates are securely closed and locked behind them.