Critical Incident
At Rocketeers Childcare we acknowledge the need to plan for all eventualities to ensure the health, safety and welfare of all the children we care for and that of our staff. With this in mind, we have a critical incident policy in place to ensure that we are able to operate effectively in the case of any critical incident.
A ’critical incident’ may be defined as any event which threatens to disrupt severely, the functioning of the club or which carries the risk of significant adverse publicity (or both). This definition is inevitably vague, and it is probably impossible to identify in advance all types of events which would constitute critical incidents. A critical incident would, however, normally have the following features:
- there are substantial threats to the safety of individuals or the reputation of the club and
- the incident is likely to lead to the suspension of normal operations and
- it could potentially require calling out of the emergency services or the senior management team.
All incidents will be managed by the senior management team and all staff will co-operate with any emergency services on the scene. An incident that requires evacuation will follow the fire safety plan. Other than the incidents identified below, all other incidents will be dealt with on an individual basis taking into account the effect on the safety, health and welfare of the children and staff at the setting.
The key point is that the management team should be informed immediately of any critical incident and of any potentially critical incident.
Specific Incidents
We have identified a number of specific critical incidents and how we would respond to them if they should arise. These include:
- Flood
- Burglary
- Abduction or threatened abduction of a child
- Fire – please refer to the fire safety plan
- Schools lock down policy being triggered
- Extreme weather
- Extended enforced closure
- Serious injury – please see the accident and illness policy
Flood
If a member of staff discovers a flood on the school premises prior to the opening of the breakfast club sessions they will contact senior management and the school premises manager or a member of the senior management team for the school. They will then conduct a risk assessment as to whether the space where the club runs from is safe to admit children. Things to consider include but are not limited too – access to and from the building where the club takes place, proximity to appliances and main facilities for the school, the ability to prepare and serve food safely and the ability to set up activities for the children safely. The findings will be reported to the senior management team and a decision will be taken as to whether to open club. If club cannot be run safely due to the flood parents of children due to attend the breakfast session will be informed immediately. If the school make a decision that the school day will not be run due to the flood Rocketeers will not open and parents of children due to attend any session that day will be informed immediately. If there is a flood during the school day and school is closed then Rocketeers will not be opened for the afternoon session and parents will be informed. Rocketeers relies on the school office informing them of any closures of the school during the school day.
Burglary
If Rocketeers staff have to lock up the school or any part of the school at the end of an afternoon session they follow the lock up procedure set by the school’s management team and if they hold keys to the premises they will have signed a security of premises agreement. If a member of staff discovers that there has been a burglary on the school premises prior to the opening of the breakfast club sessions they will contact senior management and the school premises manager or a member of the senior management team for the school. They will relay as many details as possible ie. Name, location, what they found. The next stage will then be to contact the police and they will follow guidance from either the school staff or the senior management team as to who should do that. Senior management will support staff with being available to support the police with their enquiries in any way necessary. They will contain the area to ensure that no-one enters until the police arrive. This will mean that they are likely to have to turn children away. Parents of children due to attend the breakfast session will be informed of the situation immediately. If there is an incident of burglary during the school day and therefore Rocketeers cannot open in the afternoon parents of children due to attend the afternoon session that day will be informed immediately. Rocketeers relies on the school office informing them of any incidents in the school during the school day.
Abduction or Threatened Abduction of a child
We take the safety and welfare of the children in our care extremely seriously. As such we have procedures in place to ensure the children are safe whilst within our care, this includes safety from abduction. Staff must be vigilant at all times and report any persons lingering on school property or property near to the school to senior management (and school staff if possible) immediately. All the doors and gates to the areas of the school which are used by club are checked, locked if possible and monitored by staff at all times and this is recorded on the daily risk assessment – as is the presence of any workmen on site during session times. Visitors and general security are covered in more detail in the visitors policy and all visitors are supervised at all times while they are visiting the club.
Children will only be released into the care of a designated adult, see the Arrivals and Departures policy for more detail. Parents are asked to inform the club of any issues such as potential custody battles or family concerns so that staff at the club can support the child. We will not take sides in relation to any family disputes and will remain neutral for the child. If an absent parent arrives to collect their child, staff cannot restrict access unless a court order is in place.
If a member of staff witnesses an actual or potential abduction the following procedure will be followed:
- The staff member will inform the club manager immediately and the senior management on call number will be called.
- The police must be contacted immediately.
- The parents will be contacted immediately.
- A member of the school management team should be informed as soon as is possible.
- All other children must be take to a safe space and kept calm as needed.
- The police will be given as many details as possible including details of the child, description of the abductor, car registration number is possible, time and direction of travel if seen and any family situations that may have had an impact on this situation.
Schools lock down policy being triggered
If the school triggers their partial lock down policy while Rocketeers is in session then the staff must:
- Bring all the children inside (and into the main room if Rocketeers accesses more than 1 space at the site.
- Conduct a headcount against the live register immediately.
- The manager on site must liaise with a member of school staff if at all possible to check whether there is any specific action which needs to be taken and to confirm the process for parent collection in case this has been effected.
- Shut all doors into the room and check that the windows are locked.
- Keep all the children inside the main room where possible and have staff monitor exits and entrances, accompanying children to the toilet if necessary.
- In the event of air pollution, chemical, biological or radiological contaminants issue, air vents, fans, heating and air conditioning systems must be closed or turned off.
- Use anything to hand to seal up all the cracks around doors and any vents into the room – your aim is to minimise possible ingress of pollutants.
- Keep the children calm and engaged in activities as much as is possible.
- Await further instructions from the school
· The manager on site should contact the senior management on call number to inform them of the situation when every step has been followed.
If the school triggers their full lock down policy while Rocketeers is in session then the staff must:
- Bring all the children inside (and into the main room if Rocketeers accesses more than 1 space at the site.
- Conduct a headcount against the live register immediately.
- The manager on site must liaise with a member of school staff if at all possible to check whether there is any specific action which needs to be taken and to confirm the process for parent collection in case this has been effected.
- Shut all doors into the room and check that the windows are locked.
- Keep all the children inside the main room where possible and have staff monitor exits and entrances, accompanying children to the toilet if necessary.
- In the event of air pollution, chemical, biological or radiological contaminants issue, air vents, fans, heating and air conditioning systems must be closed or turned off.
- Use anything to hand to seal up all the cracks around doors and any vents into the room – your aim is to minimise possible ingress of pollutants.
- Make sure children and staff are sitting quietly out of sight and where possible in a location that would protect them from gunfire, bullets can go through glass, brick, wood and metal.
- Make sure lights, smartboards and computer monitors turned off;
- Await further instructions from school staff.
- The manager on site should contact the senior management on call number to inform them of the situation when every step has been followed.
If either school lock down policy is triggered staff need to acknowledge this with parents as they come to collect, reassuring them that Rocketeers have worked with the school and that children have been kept safe in the space Rocketeers use. If parents have any specific questions about the incident then they need to be referred back to the school.
Extreme Weather
Snow, ice or extreme heat can have an adverse effect on children’s safety and on the safe running of the club. In extreme heat staff must seek shade for the children when outside, encourage the children to wear hats, ensure that water is offered on a regular basis, discourage any strenuous exercise and apply suncream on all children. If there is no permission for administering suncream then those children must be kept inside. All the risks should be recorded on the daily risk assessment.
If it is snowy/icy at the start of the day then the staff of the club must check all access routes used by Rocketeers and assess whether they are safe for use by children, parents and staff. If they are not gritted Rocketeers staff are not permitted to grit these walkways but must ask the school to do this. If this leaves access routes unsafe then this must be recorded on the daily risk assessment and the senior management on call number must be called to ask advice and get information to parents. If possible an alternative route into Rocketeers and then the school should be found.
If cold weather poses a risk at the end of the school day then the staff must follow the same procedures as for the morning and then continually monitor whether the risk is increasing. If it becomes unsafe for children to remain on the site or the route to collect them is becoming increasingly dangerous then parents will be contacted to request that children are collected early. The on call senior management number should be called in this instance to get confirmation that this is the correct course of action. If necessary the children should be moved to an alternative space in consultation with the school and back office staff will inform parents as to where to collect.
Extended enforced closure
Any situation which requires enforced closure – such as serious illness or school closures, especially extended closure such as the Covid-19 pandemic 2020, Rocketeers will work closely with each school they run from and be guided by their choices, as well as local and central government directive. Parents will be informed of the situation with each Rocketeers setting by text or by email and kept up to date with any changes in the same way. Rocketeers also reserves the right to temporarily close any setting independently of the school they are serving if there is an issue with extended staff absence, rising directly from the situation. If the case of extended and enforced closure parents will be asked to pay 20% of any invoices due over the period to retain their child’s space and this payment will be non-refundable as per our terms and conditions.
Related policies
See also: Fire Safety Plan, Illness and Accident policy, Arrivals and departures policy, Safeguarding policy, Understanding emergencies for staff, Snow and Adverse Weather Policy
Policy Adopted:
01/09/2022
Policy Review: 01/09/2024
By: Tanya Parker, Rocketeers Childcare
Written in accordance with the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage (2017): Safeguarding and Welfare Requirements: Complaints [3.74-3.75].
