Lost/ Missing/ Not Collected Child Procedure

At Pitter Patter Play Ltd we are committed to promoting children’s safety and welfare.

Our security system for gaining access to the building involves several gates and a double-door entry system which are controlled from within the building

In the unlikely event of a child going missing within/from the nursery, we have the following procedure which will be implemented immediately:

• All staff will be aware of the procedure when a child goes missing and supply information to support the search, e.g. a recent photograph and a detailed description of clothing
• The nursery manager will be informed immediately and all staff present will be informed. Some staff will be deployed to start an immediate thorough search of the nursery, followed by a search of the surrounding area, whilst ensuring that some staff remain with the other children so they remain supervised, calm and supported throughout.
• The manager will call the police as soon as they believe the child is missing and follow police guidance. The parents of the missing child will also be contacted.
• The Director will be called so that they can make their way to the setting and organise additional staffing
• A second search of the area will be carried out
• During this period, available staff will be continually searching for the missing child, whilst other staff maintain as near to normal routine as possible for the rest of the children in the nursery
• The manager will meet the police and parents
• The manager will then await instructions from the police
• In the unlikely event that the child is not found the nursery will follow the local authority and police procedure
• Any incidents must be recorded in writing as soon as practicably possible including the outcome, who was lost, time identified, notification to police and findings
• CIW must be contacted and informed of any incidents
• The Flying Start Manager, Emma Levy must also be notified
• With incidents of this nature parents, carers, children and staff may require support and reassurance following the traumatic experience. Management will provide this or seek further support where necessary
• In any cases with media attention staff will not speak to any media representatives
• Post-incident an investigation and risk assessments will be conducted following any incident of this nature to enable the chance of this reoccurring being reduced

Lost Child Procedure from Outings

At Hafan Hael Bettws we are committed to promoting children’s safety and welfare. This includes where children are on outings and visits. We carry out regular head counts of children throughout any outing or visit. In the unlikely event of a child going missing whilst on an outing we have the following procedure which we implement immediately:

• All staff will be aware of the procedure when a child goes missing and supply information to support the search, e.g. a recent photograph and a detailed description of clothing
• The organiser will be informed immediately and all staff present will be informed. Some staff will be deployed to start an immediate thorough search of the area, ensuring that all other children remain supervised, calm, and supported throughout.
• If appropriate, on-site security will also be informed and a description given
• The designated person in charge will immediately inform the police
• The designated person in charge will then inform the nursery who will contact the child’s parents giving details of what has happened. If the whole nursery is on an outing, all contact details will be taken on the trip by the person in charge.
• The Director will be called so that they can make their way to the location, organise additional staffing and supervise the return to the nursery of children
• During this period, staff will be continually searching for the missing child, whilst other staff maintain the safety and welfare of the remaining children
• It will be the designated person in charge or the manager’s responsibility to ensure that there are adequate staff to care for the children and get them back safe, a member of staff to meet the police and someone to continue the search (this may mean contacting relief staff)
• Any incidents must be recorded in writing as soon as practicably possible including the outcome, who was lost, time identified, notification to police and findings
• In the unlikely event that the child is not found the nursery will follow the local authority and police procedure
• CIW must be contacted and informed of any incidents
• The Flying Start Manager, Emma Levy must also be notified
• With incidents of this nature parents, carers, children and staff may require support and reassurance following the traumatic experience. Management will provide this or seek further support where necessary
• In any cases with media attention staff will not speak to any media representatives
• Post-incident an investigation and risk assessments will be conducted following any incident of this nature to enable the chance of this reoccurring being reduced

Non-Collected Children

At Hafan Hael Bettws we have 6 sessions that can be block booked to create up to full daycare.

These sessions mean that Parents / carers are able to collect their child from the nursery flexibly within this time period, although we ask them to be no later than the session end time.

For example if they attend the morning session we expect children to be collected no later than 11.30am, and afternoon session no later than 5pm unless they have added on the later pick up session until 6pm

We understand that some parents may arrive earlier to collect their child, which is acceptable. However, the full fees still remain in place for the allocated session times.

We give parents information about the procedures to follow if they expect to be late.

These include:

• Calling the nursery as soon as possible to advise of their situation and expected time of arrival
• Agreeing a safety password with the nursery in advance to be used by anyone collecting a child who is not the parent (designated adult)
• Asking a designated adult to collect their child wherever possible
• Informing the nursery of this person’s identity so the nursery can talk to the child if

appropriate. This will help to reduce or eliminate any distress caused by this situation

• If the designated person is not known to the nursery staff the parent must provide a detailed description of this person, including their date of birth where known.
• This designated person must know the individual child’s safety password in order for the nursery to release the child into their care. This is the responsibility of the parent.

If a child has not been collected from the nursery after a reasonable amount of time (15 minutes) has been allowed for lateness, we initiate the following procedure:

• The manager will check for any information regarding changes to normal routines, parents’ work patterns or general information. If there is no information recorded, the manager will try to contact the parents on the telephone numbers provided for their mobile, home or work. If this fails the manager will try the emergency contacts shown on the child’s records
• The Nursery Director will be informed that a child has not been collected
• The manager/staff member in charge and one other member of staff must stay behind with the child (if outside normal operating hours). During normal operating times, the nursery will plan to meet required staff ratios. If the parents have still not collected the child, the manager will telephone all contact numbers available every 10 minutes until contact is made. These calls will be logged on a full incident record
• In the event of no contact being made after 45 minutes has lapsed, the person in charge will ring the local authority children’s Social Services Emergency Duty Team
• The nursery will inform CIW as soon as convenient
• The two members of staff will remain in the building until suitable arrangements have been made for the collection of the child
• The child’s welfare and needs will be met at all times and to minimise distress. Staff will distract, comfort and reassure the child during the process.

In order to provide this additional care a late fee of £30.00 for every 15 minutes the child remains uncollected will be charged to parents. This will pay for any additional operational costs that caring for a child outside their normal nursery hours may incur.

This Policy was adopted on	Signed on Behalf of Pitter Patter Play Ltd	Date for review
20/05/2024		May 2025