Missing Child Policy

Overview

Children are not allowed to leave the premises during school time without the permission of a facilitator. This policy is put in place to ensure that every action possible is taken to ensure the swift and safe return to the school, should a child leave the premises unauthorised. It also includes the procedure to be followed in case of a child missing school.

This Policy should be read in conjunction with Kaleide International School's Safeguarding Policy.

Objectives

The safety of all children will be given our highest priority. A missing child should be an extremely rare occurrence. This Policy is designed to be put into place swiftly and effectively in order for actions to be taken to locate any missing child, and to notify and involve parents and the authorities at every point.

Our objectives are:

1. to locate any missing child quickly;

2. to ensure that all children are kept safely on the school premises during school hours unless they have a facilitator's permission to leave;

3. to ensure that children who leave school during the school day only do so:

   1. with a facilitator’s permission and

   2. that they are accompanied by an authorised adult.

4. to ensure that the building, grounds and play areas are safe and secure during school hours;

5. to ensure that all facilitators and school staff keep the children under proper supervision at all times;

6. to ensure that if a child “goes missing” during the school day he/she is located quickly and returned safely to school.

Strategies

1. If a child cannot be found by the group facilitator, the Director must be notified immediately and told where and when the child was last seen. Time is of the essence and prompt actions must be taken by all.

2. The remaining children in the group will be left safe in the care of suitable staff. All other available staff will conduct a thorough search of the school and its grounds.

3. The Police must be called by either the Director or the School Coordinator if the child cannot be found.

4. Members of staff, where available, may be sent to search the local area.

5. If a child is missing during an outing or school visit, the facilitator in charge must ensure that the remaining children are safely cared for by other staff and adult helpers. An urgent but thorough search should be made of the immediate vicinity and, if the child is not located quickly, the Police must be called and the Director and the school notified.

6. The school will immediately notify the child's parents.

7. If the child has been located, the Director, the Police and the parents will be notified.

8. The Director will investigate how the incident occurred and will take the appropriate action to ensure that similar events do not happen again.

Action in the case of a child missing school

In the case of repeated absence from school the Director will contact parents to establish the cause and contact the Social Services if she is not satisfied that absence is appropriate. If a student fails to attend school regularly or is absent without leave for more than 10 school days, the Director will be notified. If a pupil leaves the school before the age of 11, and no onward school is given, the school will contact the Consejería de Educación in Tenerife.

Procedure for uncollected children

(Please see Appendix III of our Safeguarding Policy: Pick-up and Drop-off Policy)