Child collection

1. Children should only be collected by the authorised carer. Should another carer be collecting the child, we need to be informed at the start of the session or in the event of an emergency as soon as possible. The other carer needs to be known to us otherwise he/she will need to bring some form of identification with a photograph, e.g. passport, driving licence etc.

2. If some other responsible adult is to collect the child, the authorised parent needs to complete the ‘Collection of a Child Form’ at the start of the session and whenever possible, introduce the staff to that adult. Should that not be possible, the responsible adult needs to bring means of identification to include a photograph such as a passport or driving licence. A password known only to staff, parent and the other responsible adult will be given. Staff will not permit a child to leave the premises unless this procedure is strictly adhered to.

3. In the case of an absentee parent when the authorised carer requests that the child not be allowed to leave with said parent, we would require the following information:

(a) That the absentee parent does not have parental responsibility. This would be the case
if the parents were not married when the child was born and no parental responsibility agreement or
  court order for parental responsibility has been made since, or if the parents have not subsequently married.
(b) Another court order is existence, e.g. injunction, contact order, residence order.

We will require copies of any documentation relating to the above.

4. If an unauthorised carer arrives to collect a child, we will carry out the following procedure:

(a) We will need to establish the identity and credentials of the person collecting the child
including proof that he/she does have parental responsibility, even if they are known to the staff.
(b) If no proof of parental responsibility is available then we will not permit the child to leave the premises. We will make immediate contact with the authorised carer and inform them of the situation. Should the unauthorised carer try to remove the child, we will notify the Police and authorised carer immediately.

5. In a situation where we have not been informed by the authorised carer that the other carer or
responsible adult will be collecting the child, we will need to establish that they have permission to collect the child. If no proof is available we will not permit the child to leave the premises.