MISSING CHILD POLICY & PROCEDURES WHEN CHILD IS NOT COLLECTED ON TIME

MISSING CHILD POLICY & PROCEDURES WHEN CHILD IS NOT COLLECTED ON TIME

A Legal Requirement incorporated into the EYFS Statutory Framework, an ISI Reporting Standard for

Independent Schools with Early Years provision, a National Minimum Standard for Boarding Schools

References:

A: ISI Handbook for the Inspection of Schools, The Regulatory Requirements, February 2016: B: Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage, September 2014:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/335504/EYFS_framew ork_from_1_September_2014 with_clarification_note.pdf

C: Keeping Children Safe in Education, DfE guidance, May 2016:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education

D: Working Together to Safeguard Children, DfE guidance, March 2013:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-safeguard-children

Signs of Abuse NSPCC fact sheet: www.nspcc.org.uk/signsofabuse

INTRODUCTION

The ISI Regulatory Handbook (February 2016) states that in schools’ safeguarding policies “specific reference should be made, as appropriate to the pupil body of the school, to concerns such as children who run away or go missing”.

In any EYFS setting the procedure for dealing with the circumstance of a child going missing at, or away from, the setting is part of the information which must be made available to parents and/or carers (EYFS 3.73: Information for Parents and Carers).

National Minimum Standard 15.6 requires that “staff working within the school know and implement the school’s policy in relation to children going missing and their role in implementing that policy. Staff actively search for children who are missing, including working with police where appropriate”.

PART ONE: MISSING CHILD POLICY (EYFS)

INTRODUCTION

The welfare of all of our children at The White House Preparatory School and Woodentops Nursery school is our paramount responsibility. A child going missing from education, particularly on repeat occasions, is a potential indicator of abuse or neglect, including sexual exploitation and so called

‘honour based’ violence. Every adult who works at the school has been trained to appreciate that he or she has a key responsibility for helping to keep all of the children safe at all times. Every member of our staff who works with children has read Part 1 of Keeping Children Safe in Education (Sept

2018). Our staffing ratios are generous and are deliberately designed to ensure that every child is supervised the whole time that he or she is in our care.

INFORMATION FOR PARENTS

The enhanced supervisory arrangements for outings involving our youngest children are set out in a detailed policy document: ‘School Trips Policy. ’. Both documents can be provided to parents on request. We review these policies regularly (at least once a year) in order to satisfy ourselves that they are robust and effective. All new staff receive a thorough induction into the importance of effective supervision of very young children and read Part 1 of the DfE’s ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ guidance. (Sept 2018)

ACTIONS TO BE FOLLOWED BY STAFF IF A CHILD GOES MISSING FROM THE SCHOOL

Our procedures are designed to ensure that a missing child is found and returned to effective supervision as soon as possible. If a child was found to be missing, we would carry out the following actions:

Take a register in order to ensure that all the other children were present
Check with office who will check the signing out/in book
Inform the Head of the EYFS Department or the senior member of staff on duty
Ask all of the adults and children calmly if they can tell us when they last remember seeing the child
Occupy all of the other children in their classroom(s) with a relevant activity
At the same time, arrange for one or more adults to search everywhere within the Nursery

Department, both inside and out, carefully checking all spaces, cupboards, washrooms etc. where a small child might hide

Check the doors, gates [and CCTV records] for signs of entry/exit

If the child is still missing, the following steps would be taken:

Inform the Headteacher, Deputy head or Head of EYFS and the Designated Safeguarding

Lead (Designated Safeguarding Lead)

Ask the Headteacher to ring the child’s parents and explain what has happened, and what steps have been set in motion. Ask them to come to the school at once
The Designated Safeguarding Lead/Headteacher would notify the Police
The Headteacher would arrange for staff to search the rest of the school premises and grounds
If the child’s home is within walking distance, a member of staff would set out on foot to attempt to catch up with him/her
The Designated Safeguarding Lead would inform the Local Safeguarding Children Board

(LSCB) and the school’s Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO)

The school would co-operate fully with any Police investigation and any safeguarding investigation by the local authority.
Inform the Principal.
The school’s insurers would be informed
[If the child is seriously injured ] A report would be made under RIDDOR to the Health & Safety Executive (HSE)

During the course of the investigation into the missing child, the school, in consultation with the LADO, will decide what information should be given to other parents, staff and other pupils and how press enquiries are to be dealt with.

A full record of all activities taken up to the stage at which the child was found would be made for the incident report. If appropriate, procedures would be adjusted.

ACTIONS TO BE FOLLOWED BY STAFF IF A CHILD GOES MISSING ON AN OUTING

An immediate head count would be carried out in order to ensure that all the other children were present
An adult would search the immediate vicinity
Inform the Headteacher and the Designated Safeguarding Lead by mobile phone
The remaining children would be taken back to school
Ask the Headteacher to ring the child’s parents and explain what has happened, and what steps have been set in motion. Ask them to come to [the venue/ the school] at once
[Contact the venue manager and arrange a search]
Contact the Police
The Designated Safeguarding Lead would inform the LSCB and the school’s LADO
The school would cooperate fully with any Police investigation and any safeguarding investigation by the local authority
Inform the Chairman of Governors
The school’s insurers would be informed
[ If the child is seriously injured] A report would be made under RIDDOR to the Health & Safety Executive (HSE)

A full record of all activities taken up to the stage at which the child was found would be made for the incident report. The school will review its procedures and, if appropriate, these would be adjusted.

ACTIONS TO BE FOLLOWED BY STAFF ONCE THE CHILD IS FOUND

Talk to, take care of and, if necessary, comfort the child
Speak to the other children to ensure they understand why they should not leave the premises/separate from a group on an outing
The Headteacher will speak to the parents to discuss events and give an account of the incident (having discussed this beforehand with the LADO if necessary)
The Headteacher will promise a full investigation (if appropriate involving the LSCB)
Media queries should be referred to the Headteacher (after discussion with the LADO if appropriate)
The investigation should involve all concerned providing written statements
The report should be detailed covering: time, place, numbers of staff and children, when the child was last seen, what appeared to have happened, [the purpose of the outing], the length of

time that the child was missing and how s/he appeared to have gone missing, as well as lessons for the future.

DUTY TO REPORT

For children who have not arrived at school in the morning the office will attempt to contact parents/carers. Where contact cannot be made with parents or carers by 11am then Lambeth Social Services will be contacted to follow up and locate the child.

The school will inform the local authority of any pupil who fails to attend school regularly, or has been absent without the school’s permission for a continuous period of 10 school days or more.

PART TWO: PROCEDURES TO BE FOLLOWED BY STAFF WHEN A CHILD IS NOT COLLECTED ON TIME

If a child is not collected within 15 mins of the agreed collection time, we will call the contact numbers for the parent or carers. If there is no answer, [the Head EYFS Department]/ [the Teacher] will begin to call the emergency numbers for this child.

During this time, the child will be safely looked after.

If there is no response from the parents’ or carers’ contact numbers or the emergency numbers within a [one hour period/ when the premises are closing], the Head of the EYFS will contact the Social Care Duty Officer . Social Care will make emergency arrangements for the child and will arrange for a

visit to be made to the child’s house and will check with the Police. We will make a full written report of the incident.

Useful contact numbers

Lambeth Council Children, young people and adults’ services provide an out of hours team that is there to help with these emergencies. The team consists of one social worker on duty at any time.

Children and Young People’s Service – Tel. 020 7926 1000

International House Canterbury Crescent Brixton, London SW9 7QE

Referral and Assessment team

4th Floor, International House

6 Canterbury Crescent

Brixton SW9 7QE

Tel: 020 792 66010 Tel: 020 792 66583 Tel: 020 792 67868 Tel: 020 792 66586

Tel: 020 792 66676 Tel: 020 792 67856 Tel: 020 792 61772

We undertake to look after the child safely throughout the time that he or she remains under our care, until such a time as s/he has been collected by a parent, guardian or carer, or until appropriate, alternative care arrangements have been made with Social Care and/or the Police in order to prioritise the child’s safety. The school’s Designated Safeguarding Lead will keep a record of incidents where parents/carers do not collect a child from school or are late for no explained or good reason, or where there are repeated incidents. If any concerns about the child’s safety and welfare result, these will be dealt with in accordance with the school’s child protection policy and procedures detailed in its staff behaviour and child protection policy.

PART ONE: MISSING CHILD POLICY (KS1 and KS2)

INTRODUCTION

The welfare of all of our children at The White House Preparatory School and Woodentops Nursery school is our paramount responsibility. Every adult who works at the school has been trained to appreciate that he or she has a key responsibility for helping to keep all of the children safe at all times. Every member of our staff who works with children has read Part 1 of Keeping Children Safe

in Education (Sept 2016). Our staffing ratios are generous and are deliberately designed to ensure that every child is supervised the whole time that he or she is in our care.

INFORMATION FOR PARENTS

Our pupil supervision policy describes:

The arrangements for children arriving at school and leaving the premises at the end of the day
The qualifications of our staff and the arrangements for supervising the children whilst they are in school
The arrangements for registering the children in both morning and afternoon. For day pupils we take a register of pupils at the start of the morning and afternoon sessions. Parents are responsible for notifying the school if their child is absent for any reason. The school will

always contact the parent if the child fails to arrive at school without an explanation.

The physical security measures which prevent unsupervised access to or exit from the building
The supervision of the playground and the physical barriers that separate it from the rest of the school

The enhanced supervisory arrangements for outings involving our pupils are set out in a detailed

policy document: ‘School Trips Policy (26)’. This document can be provided to parents on

request. We review all our policies regularly (at least once a year) in order to satisfy ourselves that they are robust and effective. All new staff receive a thorough induction into the importance of effective supervision of pupils and read Part 1 of the DfE’s ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ guidance (Sept 2016).

ACTIONS TO BE FOLLOWED BY STAFF IF A CHILD GOES MISSING FROM THE SCHOOL

Check with the pupil’s friends to see if they know their whereabouts
Check the medical centre
Check with reception who will check the signing out/in book
Inform the senior member of staff on duty
Call the pupil’s mobile telephone
Ask all of the adults and pupils calmly if they can tell us when they last remember seeing the pupil
Occupy all of the other pupils in their classroom(s)
At the same time, arrange for one or more adults to search the school grounds
Check the doors, gates [and CCTV records] for signs of entry/exit

A record is kept by the school of any instances in which a pupil is missing from school without satisfactory permission and documentation, including the action taken and the pupil’s explanation.

If the pupil is still missing, the following steps would be taken:

Inform the Headteacher/Deputy Head and the Designated Safeguarding Lead
Ask the Headteacher to ring the pupil’s parents and explain what has happened, and what steps have been set in motion. Ask them to come to the school at once
The Designated Safeguarding Lead/Headteacher would notify the Police
The Headteacher would arrange for staff to search the rest of the school premises and grounds
If the pupil’s home is within walking distance, a member of staff would set out on foot to attempt to catch up with him/her
The Designated Safeguarding Lead would inform the Local Safeguarding Children Board

(LSCB) and the school’s Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO)

The school would co-operate fully with any Police investigation and any safeguarding investigation by the local authority.
Inform the Principal
The school’s insurers would be informed
[If the pupil is seriously injured ] A report would be made under RIDDOR to the Health &

Safety Executive (HSE)

During the course of the investigation into the missing pupil, the school, in consultation with the LADO, will decide what information should be given to other parents, staff and other pupils and how press enquiries are to be dealt with.

A full record of all activities taken up to the stage at which the pupil was found would be made for the incident report. If appropriate, procedures would be adjusted.

ACTIONS TO BE FOLLOWED BY STAFF IF A CHILD GOES MISSING ON AN OUTING

An immediate head count would be carried out in order to ensure that all the other pupils were present
An adult would search the immediate vicinity
Inform the Headteacher and the Designated Safeguarding Lead by mobile phone
The remaining pupils would be taken back to school
Ask the Headteacher to ring the child’s parents and explain what has happened, and what steps have been set in motion. Ask them to come to [the venue/ the school] at once
[Contact the venue manager and arrange a search]
Contact the Police
The Designated Safeguarding Lead would inform the LSCB and the school’s LADO
The school would cooperate fully with any Police investigation and any safeguarding investigation by the local authority
Inform the Principal
The school’s insurers would be informed
[ If the child is seriously injured] A report would be made under RIDDOR to the Health & Safety Executive (HSE)

ACTIONS TO BE FOLLOWED BY STAFF ONCE THE CHILD IS FOUND

Talk to, take care of and, if necessary, comfort the child
Speak to the other pupils to ensure they understand why they should not leave the premises/separate from a group on an outing
The Headteacher will speak to the parents to discuss events and give an account of the

incident (having discussed this beforehand with the LADO if necessary)

The Headteacher will promise a full investigation (if appropriate involving the LSCB)
Media queries should be referred to the Headteacher (after discussion with the LADO if appropriate)
The investigation should involve all concerned providing written statements
The report should be detailed covering: time, place, numbers of staff and children, when the child was last seen, what appeared to have happened, [the purpose of the outing], the length of

time that the child was missing and how s/he appeared to have gone missing, as well as

lessons for the future.

DUTY TO REPORT

The school will inform the local authority of any pupil who fails to attend school regularly, or has been absent without the school’s permission for a continuous period of 10 school days or more.

PART TWO: PROCEDURES TO BE FOLLOWED BY STAFF WHEN A CHILD IS NOT COLLECTED ON TIME

If a child is not collected within 15 minutes of the agreed collection time, we will call the contact numbers for the parent or carers. If there is no answer, [Senior member of staff]/ [the Teacher] will begin to call the emergency numbers for this child.

During this time, the child will be safely looked after.

If I there is no response from the parents’ or carers’ contact numbers or the emergency numbers within a [one hour period/ when the premises are closing], the Head will contact the Social Care Duty Officer Social Care will make emergency arrangements for the child and will arrange for a visit to be made to the child’s house and will check with the Police. We will make a full written report of the incident.

Useful contact numbers

Lambeth Council Children, young people and adults’ services provide an out of hours team that is there to help with these emergencies. The team consists of one social worker on duty at any time.

Children and Young People’s Service – Tel. 020 7926 1000

International House Canterbury Crescent Brixton, London SW9 7QE

Referral and Assessment team

4th Floor, International House

6 Canterbury Crescent

Brixton SW9 7QE

Tel: 020 792 66010 Tel: 020 792 66583 Tel: 020 792 67868 Tel: 020 792 66586 Tel: 020 792

66676 Tel: 020 792 67856 Tel: 020 792 61772

We undertake to look after the child safely throughout the time that he or she remains under our care, until such a time as s/he has been collected by a parent, guardian or carer, or until appropriate, alternative car arrangements have been made with Social Care and/or the Police in order to prioritise the child’s safety. The school’s Designated Safeguarding Lead will keep a record of incidents where parents/carers do not collect a child from school or are late for no explained or good reason, or where there are repeated incidents. If any concerns about the child’s safety and welfare result, these will be dealt with in accordance with the school’s ‘safeguarding and child protection policy (25) and

procedures detailed in its staff behaviour and child protection policy.

Policy will be reviewed annually

Policy reviewed: Sept 16 By: Principal & Headteacher

Policy reviewed: Sept 17 By: Principal & Headteacher

Policy reviewed: Sept 18 By: Principal & Headteacher

To be reviewed: Sept 19 By: Principal & Headteacher