1.4.2 Children not Collected from School |
Contents
- Children not Collected from School
- Protocol - for Schools
- Protocol - for Children's Social Care
- Key Contacts
1. Children not Collected from School
| 1.1 | This protocol should be followed on those occasions where a child has not been collected from school at the end of the day and it has not proved possible to contact the parent(s) / carer(s) or the emergency contact person for the child. The vast majority of these occasions prove to be where there has been a misunderstanding between parents / carers about arrangements for the collection of their child(ren) or an unexpected difficulty. Whilst these situations are time consuming for the school and upsetting for the child, in most instances, the child is collected late from school. |
| 1.2 | Where children are collected late from school on a regular basis, then the school must make a referral to the Education Welfare Service and the matter followed up with the parent(s) / carer(s). However, there will be the occasions when parents / carers fail to collect a child due to an accident, illness or other emergency which will result in the child not being able to go home at the end of the day. On these occasions, it is important that a protocol is available which will enable the child to be cared for in a safe and welcoming environment. |
| 1.3 | The guiding principle in dealing with any situation in which a child is not collected from school must be to minimise distress to the child and for him or her to remain in familiar surroundings and / or with familiar people for as long as possible. |
| 1.4 | This policy has been developed in consultation between the Education Service, Children's Social Care and the Police |
2. Protocol - for Schools
| 2.1 | If a child has not been collected, the school should make every possible attempt to contact the parent(s) / carer(s). The child may well be able to indicate if something out of the ordinary has happened at home (e.g. parental illness or absence). On some occasions another parent may offer to take a child home with them. Schools should never release a child into the care of another adult without the consent of the parent(s) / carer(s). Neither should members of staff take children home with them. |
| 2.2 | If no contact has been made and no one has arrived to collect the child by 5.00pm, then they should contact the Emergency Duty Team (EDT) via Taberner House. |
| 2.3 | The EDT Social Worker will make arrangements for the child until the parent(s) / carer(s) can be traced |
| 2.4 | It may be necessary for the child to be taken from the school to a Children's Social Care Office. Teachers should be advised not to transport children alone in their own cars and may wish to consider taking the child by taxi or mini cab |
| 2.5 | If a school building is due to be locked up whilst staff are waiting for someone to arrive to collect the child, a public building should be sought as an alternative place for the child to wait, with a professional person. |
| 2.6 | A child should never be sent to an After School Club / Play Centre if the parent(s) / carer(s) have not arrived. It is the responsibility of the school to follow these procedures in order to contact the parent. After School Clubs / Play Centres have their own procedures for uncollected children. |
| 2.7 | Once the child is with Children's Social Care, they will take the responsibility for tracing the parent(s) / carer(s). It is anticipated that these guidelines will be used infrequently. However, on the occasions when they are necessary, it is anticipated that they will enable a school to deal effectively with a not collected child in co-operation with Children's Social Care. |
3. Protocol - for Children's Social Care
| 3.1 | On receipt of a call from a school at or after 5.00 pm, the Social Care EDT Officer will need to be provided with relevant information about the child(ren) and their circumstances. It is important that accurate information is provided by the school to EDT including all relevant names, addresses and telephone numbers - a copy of the school's record sheet for the child would provide a helpful basis for this. If the child has mentioned any recent changes in family circumstances or if there has been other occasions on which a child has not been collected from school, this information should also be conveyed to the duty social worker. |
| 3.2 | In most cases, parent(s) / carer(s) do arrive to collect their child - in less than 1% of all cases is it necessary for another agency to be contacted by the school. The duty social worker will therefore want to discuss with the referring teacher how long the child can remain at the school since this is the place to which the parent / carer will go first if they have been delayed in collecting their child(ren). If there has been a pattern of failure to collect, if there is information to suggest that the parent may be delayed by a significant period or the child is unable to remain with a member of staff in the school, then arrangements will be made for the child to go to a Children's Social Care office. |
| 3.3 | EDT will identify a local foster carer who is able to look after a primary school aged child on an emergency basis where s/he has not been collected from school. The child will be placed with that carer on a temporary basis as soon as possible. This placement will be treated as an informal arrangement if the child is collected before 10pm. After that time, since the child will then be likely to remain overnight, s/he will be formally accommodated under Section 20 of the Children Act 1989. |
| 3.4 | If a child is to be removed from school premises in these circumstances, then arrangements should be made for a note to be left for the attention of the parent / carer should they subsequently arrive at the school asking them to contact Children's Social Care on 020-8239-4200 up to 4.45 and 020-8686-4433 thereafter. |
| 3.5 | At such point as Children's Social Care is making arrangements for a child to be placed with a foster carer then the police child protection team will be advised of the details of the child (Police CPU will need to be informed by a 87A). No action should be taken by the police child protection team at this stage other than to note the details, complete relevant checks and to advise Children's Social Care whether or not the police are aware of any reason why the parent / carer has failed to collect their child. Should the parent / carer not contact any agency by 10pm and the child be Accommodated, then the police will again be informed since the child will be regarded as having been abandoned necessitating consideration of a police criminal investigation. |
| 3.6 | At each stage, it will be the intention of Children's Social Care to seek to return the child to the care of his or her parent(s) / carer(s) unless there is evidence of a risk of Significant Harm. |
Nothing in this protocol changes the responsibilities of each agency as set out in 'Working Together to Safeguard Children' and 'The London Child Protection Procedures'.
4. Key Contacts
Key Contact - EDT Duty Social Worker
Tel: 020-8686-4433
End