Statement of Purpose
Little Wonderland Nursery recognises that the safety and well-being of children and families is
of paramount importance. All information, verbal or written, will be treated confidentially and
the privacy of those involved in the service will be respected.

 

• The Collection of children policy and procedures aim to ensure:
   The safety and care of all children when they are collected from nursery
• A clear framework of procedures to follow to ensure safety of all children when collected
  from Nursery and in the instance of a child not being collected.

Consistency of Approach
Children’s safety is maintained as the highest priority at all times. Safety is prioritised to ensure
children attending Little Wonderland Nursery are safe and cared for through planning to
minimise risk and to maintain safe practices. This policy is a statement of procedures and
responsibilities for the collection of children to ensure their safety

Child collection procedures Admission Arrangements
To ensure safe collection of children, staff, parents and carers must follow the procedures below
when planning the collection of their children from Nursery. Prior to a child starting Little Wonderland Nursery, they are requested to complete an All About Me(My World) to gather information about their child. This includes information details about who may collect their children at the end of the session or earlier if for some reason they have to leave nursery early. information is collated and used to identify designated person(s) on the child’s emergency records
and shared with staff so they are aware who is to collect the child from nursery.
Each child must have at least two authorised people who can collect them, details of which will
be outlined on the child’s Personal plan. Parents are requested to preferably, first introduce
authorised people to staff, or give a detailed description or photograph along with a password
for the collector to identify themselves. The parent will agree an Emergency Password at the time of their child starting nursery, a unique memorable password is chosen by parent/carer. The password is recorded on the child’s one page profile and personal plan and a collated version of all children’s password will be held in the nursery office. Parents are requested to give this password only to the people they have recorded as permitted to collect their child. Passwords are reviewed annually or earlier if parent requests.

Suitable People
A child will not be handed over to a different person unless the parent has given verbal or written permission for this to happen (or, in an emergency, if the parent rings the nursery and speaks to the manager or person in charge). If the person collecting the child from Little Wonderland Nursery is unfamiliar to staff, staff must verify they have permission to collect by checking their identification against the name and address given on the application form or update collection contact information form and requesting the emergency password. If staff are in any doubt about the person collecting on any occasion, staff must contact parent/carer to verify identity /permission for the person to collect. If parent /carer cannot be contacted, staff will then telephone other people on the child’s emergency collection list to verify identity or to collect the child. If another designated person is not available, then social work or the police will be contacted.

It is the policy of Little Wonderland Nursery  that no person under the age of 16 years can collect
a child from nursery. If staff feel that the parent/carer collecting a child may be under the
influence of either alcohol or drugs or are unable to care for your child and the safety and well
being of the child may be compromised. The staff must inform the Nursery Manager or a member of the senior leadership team who will assess the situation. If it is felt that the parent/carer appears unable to take responsibility for the child, they will take appropriate action. This may include
contacting another person on the emergency contact list/member of the family. If another
designated person is not available, then social work or the police will be contacted.

Relationship breakdown of parents / guardians
Collection of children at Little Wonderland Nursery has a clearly defined procedure, which is
followed in the event of the relationship between a child’s parents or guardians breaking down.
Unless there is a legal order, of which the nursery must have a copy, we are legally unable to
deny access to all parents who hold parental rights preventing one parent’s contact to the child, we are legally unable to deny access to any parent that holds parental rights.
Should a parent of concern ask to access their child and they have a legal order stopping them
from doing so, we will then contact the first parent/carer to come to school as soon as possible,
explaining this procedure and asking the second parent to wait. If there is concern about violent
or aggressive behaviour from either parent, we will seek advice from the police and follow their
recommendations.

Failure to Collect Your Child
Failure to collect a child In the event of a parent / carer failing to collect a child the procedure set out below will be followed:
 The child is cared for safely in the nursery environment by an experienced practitioner. At
least two practitioners will be present. Staff will ensure that the child receives a high
standard of care in order to cause as little distress as possible.
 All contact numbers for parents/carers are repeatedly contacted and messages left
 Further emergency contact numbers are tried
 If in the event of a child not being collected and no other contacts have been successful
after an hour of the child’s due collection time, Social Work and/or the police will be
notified of a non-collection and the matter will be handed over to their care
 On no account must a child be taken by a person not known by the Nursery.

Repeated failure to collect your child in a timely manner will result in a note of concern
being made to Social Work
Health and Social Care Standards:
1.2 My human rights are protected and promoted and I experience no discrimination.
3.20 I am protected from harm, neglect, abuse, bullying and exploitation by people who have a
clear understanding of their responsibilities.
3.25 I am helped to feel safe and secure in my local community