Collecting Children from School.

As part of our safeguarding procedures:

• Children can only go home with those adults identified on Bromcom as a contact. 
• Children must be collected by someone over the age of 14 years.  If staff are unsure of a young person’s age, they will ask for proof before sending the child home. 

Making changes to the usual collection arrangements

• If someone different is collecting, the class teacher/Copse Manager should be informed beforehand by the child’s parent, preferably in writing. When informing the class teacher, parents should indicate if this is an ongoing arrangement or a one-off situation.  If the arrangement is likely to be frequent, the information will be added to Bromcom so that all staff can be made aware of the arrangement. 
   
• Last minute changes can be given to the admin team during the day, but it may not be possible for the message to be given to the class teacher before it is time to go home.  In these circumstances, class teachers will bring the child and the person collecting them to the school office (once all the other children have been dismissed) for clarification of this before sending the child home.  In order to avoid any difficult situations, please make sure the adult collecting your child is made aware of this important safeguarding procedure.
   
• If someone different is collecting a child, and the teacher does not already know this person, staff will ask for a password as a way of being able to identify them.  This information is collected as part of the admissions process and/or as part of the annual data update/collection process.  If the person collecting does not know the password, we will not send the child home with them without the school receiving at least verbal permission from a person with parental responsibility, even if we know the person (e.g. an aunt or another parent). 

Collection From School During School Hours:

In order to minimise the impact on the children’s learning, parents/carers should ensure that routine appointments, e.g. to see the dentist or doctor, are made during the school holidays or after school.  If your child needs to attend appointments during the school day, evidence of the appointment/s should be provided to the school office prior to the appointment day wherever possible so that this can be recorded. 

Access to the school site during the school day is via the Ashridge Way entrance only.

When coming to collect your child to attend an appointment, parents/carers who have not provided evidence beforehand will be asked for evidence to validate the reason for the child to be collected from school during the day.  Evidence could include a hospital letter, an appointment card or a text confirmation/reminder.  If no evidence can be provided parents/carers may be asked to speak to a member of the Senior Leadership Team.