Lost or Uncollected Child

a. Every child is to be picked up on time. For the morning session this is 11.30am, after lunch this is 12.30pm, and for the afternoon session this is 3.30pm.

b. If the parent/carer does not arrive to pick up their child we will assume an emergency has occurred and will follow MPS procedure, unless we have been contacted and advised of any delay.

c. If a child is collected late, a practitioner will explain that this contravenes our registration and may leave MPS with no insurance cover. The practitioner will also remind them of the correct time for pick up and to telephone MPS in future of any delays.

d. Children who are not collected within 30 minutes of the expected collection time will become the responsibility of the Social Services Department. Before this happens, the Lead Practitioner/Manager will:

• Call the parent/carer, if they are not available then:
• Call the additional emergency contact numbers, if they are not available then:
• Call the Social Services Duty Team and request collection of the child.

e. At all times two practitioners will be present and together with the child concerned, will remain at MPS until Social Services collect the child.

a. If a child is lost while in the care of MPS, the Lead Practitioner/Manager will:

• Instigate a search of the premises without causing undue panic amongst other children.
• Contact the parents/carers and inform them. If the child is still not found, call the police to conduct a search.
• If the child is not on the premises, widen the search to include the surrounding area and inform Millfield Primary School.
• Maintain the correct staff-to-children ratio, call additional staff and committee members if required.
• Inform all relevant parties (including committee) of findings, implications and outcome.

b. Finally, record incident in detail and retain on file.