Parent Handbook
Staffing
All staff are trained to the highest standards and are continually developing their training with the benefit of courses ran from CEYS Childcare and Early Service, The Jersey Child Care Trust, Education and Highlands College. All staff attend relevant courses and seminars on a regular basis.
Although we do have designated Key Workers for a variety of cases at The Kids’ Club and The Little Kids’ Club, our staff team are always on hand at the start and end of the day to discuss your child’s day and any queries you may have. We encourage the staff and children to form natural relstionships with each other. If your child has formed a close relationship with a particular member of staff, they will be introduced to you in order to give you first hand what kind of day your child has had.
The Kids’ Club
The ratio of staff for The Kids’ Club is minimum 1 staff member per 10 children.
The Kids’ Club have built excellent relations with good, reliable and qualified temporary staff who are able to work after school and during the holiday periods, encouraging the continuity of care. We have up to 12 staff working over the year, many of whom have worked with us for a long time, both permanent and temporary staff and all with extensive and varied experience and qualifications, from early years trained through to school age trained; including specialist training, management and playwork trained, some of which from Level 3 to Degree level. You can learn more about our staff by navigating to the ‘Our Team’ section of our website.
The Little Kids’ Club
The ratio of staff for The Little Kids’ Club is minimum 1 staff member per 8 children.
We have two main members of staff who run The Little Kids’ Club who have varied and extensive experience, from early years training through to specialist school aged training. We also have staff who are management and playwork trained who work within the setting, who are likely to interact with your child/ren in some way across their time at club. We have also built excellent relations with good, reliable and qualified temporary staff who are able to work during the holiday periods, encouraging the continuity of care. You can learn more about our staff by navigating to the ‘Our Team’ section of our website.
Absence and Illness
It is important that you inform us via telephone, 07797 832771, if your child/ren will not be attending either After School or Holiday Club. Please try to avoid emailing as we may not see the message in time.
If your child has any contagious illness or infection, please let the management know so that all parents/carers and staff can be informed. It may be necessary for us to complete extra precautions, such as unplanned cleaning of equipment, etc, in order to prevent others from becoming ill.
If a child shows signs of diarrhoea and/or vomiting then he/she will be sent home and they must not return to club until their stools are normal or they’ve stopped vomiting, for at least 48 hours, and all other symptoms are cleared.
Club Closures due to Unforeseen Circumstances
In the event of school closure, due to bad weather or other unforeseen circumstances, The Kids’ Club – After School Club – will also be closed.
If we need to close during our session times due to severe weather or other unforeseen circumstances, we will contact parents/carers to arrange collection of the children.
Accidents
Although we do everything to prevent accidents from happening, they do still occur.
Should your child/ren injure themselves, a qualified First Aider will deal with the incident and the staff member who witnessed the accident will record the incident in our accident book, if necessary, which is then reviewed and counter-signed by a member of management. If we feel your child needs to be taken to accident and emergency, we shall contact you immediately. We may also contact just to make you aware of certain incidents.
Due to this, it is essential, that you keep us up to date with your contact details, i.e. change of address, contact numbers, medication, etc.
Medication
If your child/ren require any medication whilst at our clubs, staff must be informed and you must fill in our required medication form.
Any medication administered on the premises can only be those prescribed by a doctor and be clearly labelled with the child/ren’s name and correct dosage. Prescribed anti-biotics will be stored in the fridge if necessary and are to be taken home each day, not to be left at the club.
In the case of inhalers and epi-pens, they will be stored in our medical drawers in the kitchen, away from the children but still accessible. These medicines need to be checked regularly. Please ensure that your children’s medication is in date and they need to be replaced by the parents/carers as and when they expire.
You must complete the medication authorisation form. This routine will be followed for each new course of medication.
Children over the age of 8 may take responsibility for administering their own medication on a regular basis such as inhalers. Parents/carers must however, provide a written letter authorising their child to do so.
Please also ensure we are made aware of any allergies your child may have and that this information is recorded when registering your child/ren.
'Way of Being'
Children have the right to relax, play and enjoy their time at our Clubs, without fear of intimidation, harassment, physical or verbal abuse.
We want the children to enjoy themselves during their time with The Kids’ Club and have as much fun as possible. However, we do have clear guidelines which will be discussed with the children, which are also displayed around the Club. The Kids’ Club recognises the importance of positive and effective behaviour management strategies in promoting all children and young people’s welfare and enjoyment. (Please see our ‘Way of Being’ Policy)
The aims of our ‘Way of Being’ Policy are to help all children and young people to:
- Develop a sense of caring and respect for one another
- Build caring and co-operative relationships with other children, young people and adults
- Develop a range of social skills and help them learn what constitutes as acceptable behaviour
- Develop confidence, self-discipline and self-esteem in an atmosphere of mutual respect and encouragement
Please do not hesitate to speak with the Management if you ever have concerns about your child/ren’s behaviour. Always remember we are here to support you and your child/ren.
Policies
The Club has various policies that outline our practice and procedures. We strongly advise our parents/carers to read them. Some of our policies can be found on the website. Copies of all of our policies are available on request.
If you wish for copies to retain yourself to or to refer to, please do ask.
Safeguarding and Child Protection
The welfare of the children is paramount. Through ongoing training we have appropriate procedures in place at our all of our clubs. The staff retain the right to protect any child from any form of danger they may perceive. (Please see our Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy).
Grievance Procedure
We strive to build a partnership between parents/carers and ourselves. If you have any grievances please speak with the management who will endeavour to resolve this as quickly as possible, in order to maintain a positive relationship between those involved.
If however, you do not consider the problem to be resolved, please write a letter to the Club Co-ordinator, St Mary’s Youth and Community Centre, Rue du Pont, St Mary, JE3 3AS.
Alternatively, you can contact CEYS, Childcare and Early Years’ Service, who are our regulatory body, on 01534 449387, or email at [email protected]
If you have any questions or would like more information, please do not hesitate to contact Nia Percy, Manager, on 07797 832771 – or alternatively via email at – [email protected]
E-Safety
We no longer allow electronic devices into the setting for casual use. Until recently, the children were unable to access the internet unless they had the password held by the management of the Club, enabling us to be in full control of it’s use, as only the adults could access it. However, many devices are able to access the internet through the use of 3G and 4G. We had a strict rule that 4G, or access to the internet of any type, was disabled whilst at club, to ensure the safety of the children and to decrease/eliminate the risk of accessing inappropriate material. We have recently observed an increase in the above not being followed consistently. Due to us not being able to monitor children’s device-use sufficiently, to ensure the standard of safety, we have made the decision to no longer allow children to bring in their own devices to club. There is of course, on occasion, a legitimate reason as to why a child may need to bring a device into the setting – please see our updated E-Safety Policy on the use of electronic devices. Management are available to discuss this policy, so please do get in touch with any questions or concerns.