Hopscotch has a duty to continue caring for any child who is not collected at the usual or expected time. This can happen for a variety of reasons and holiday club staff should keep an open mind until further information is known.
Parents are able to collect their child from the holiday club flexibly within this time period, asking them to be no later than the session end time. We understand that some parents may arrive earlier to collect their child, this is acceptable. However, the full fees still remain in place for the allocated session times.
If parents think they might be late for collection, they should follow these procedures:
- Calling the holiday club as soon as possible to advise of their situation and expected time of arrival
- Asking an alternative designated adult to collect their child wherever possible
- Informing the holiday club of this person’s identity so the club 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 holiday club staff, the parent must provide a detailed description or a photo 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 holiday club to release the child into their care. It is the responsibility of the parent to pass this on.
If a child has not been collected from the holiday club after a reasonable amount of time e.g. ½ hour has been allowed for lateness, the following procedure will be initiated:
- The holiday club manager will be informed that a child has not been collected
- 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 holiday club manager and one other member of staff must stay behind with the child (if outside normal operating hours). 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 one hour has lapsed, the person in charge will ring the relevant local authority children’s social services emergency duty team (information set out in Hopscotch Safeguarding Policies).
- The holiday club will inform Ofsted as soon as convenient and within the notification requirements i.e. 14 days
- 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.
Depending on the circumstances, late fees may be charged for late collection incidents, particularly if this has happened on more than one occasion and without good and reasonable excuse. This will pay for any additional operational costs that caring for a child outside their normal holiday club hours may incur.
Application of the late fee is at the discretion of the holiday club manager. The late fee is set out in the Hopscotch Terms and Conditions, which are accepted on registration with Hopscotch. Parents will always be notified when a late fee has been charged.