Guidelines for parents
The
Saints ‘After School Club and Holiday Club’, (known as The Saints) exists to
provide a caring and secure environment within which children can enjoy
socialising and play. The Club is run by the Governing Body of St. Johns School
and the day to day running carried out under the supervision of Jodie Shorrock,
NNEB, the club supervisor.
Aims
and Objectives.
Aim:
To
provide a caring and secure environment within which children can enjoy
recreation.
Objectives:
to
provide the necessary facilities for the daily care and recreation of children
out of school hours and during the school holidays.
Mission Statement.
Everyone matters in God's world.
Membership
Membership is open to all parents or guardians on the
attendance register of The Saints (and to other persons who are interested in
forwarding the work of the club primarily but not exclusively from those in
contact with St John’s School). Membership will be on written application or
election by the AGM.
The Committee shall have the right:
·
to approve or reject applications for membership;
·
to terminate any membership, for good and sufficient reason,
provided that the member concerned shall have the right to be heard by the
committee before the final decision is made.
Every member shall subscribe to
The Saints such annual sum, for the next financial year, as shall be determined
at the Annual General Meeting. The financial year is the period August 1st
to July 31st inclusive.
Members will be entitled to vote at the AGM.
CONDITIONS OF MEMBERSHIP
The Saints offers childcare services for members. All users
must join the membership scheme, with the exception of referred users. Places
are open to all children age 4-11 but priority is given to those who attend St
John’s primary school and whose parent/carer
is working or in training.
Application for membership must be made to the school
governing body. The school governing body has the right to refuse or cancel
membership if the applicant does not meet the criteria or does not adhere to the
conditions of membership. In this event the applicant has the right of appeal to
the school governing body.
A condition of membership is that members actively
contribute and participate in support of the club. Members may be asked to pay
an annual subscription and to join in fundraising activities to subsidise costs
rather than automatically increase the fees.
Members must abide by the criteria and all guidelines
issued regarding membership and use of the club. Members will have the right,
and be encouraged to pass any ideas, complaints or concerns to the school
governing body. All members will be invited to attend the AGM and have the right
to vote on agenda items.
All members must attempt to support the parental support
group meetings organised by the school governing body.
All members must pay an annual membership fee of £ 4.50 per
family running from 1st Sept. each year. ‘Membership Commitment’
will be monitored and recorded by the Management Committee and members will be
notified on meeting their commitment.
Bookings
and Payments
All bookings and subsequent payments (currently £4 per
daily session for the After School Club and £15 for Holiday periods) should be
made at least a week in advance. A receipt will be provided with each payment,
and this will be regarded as confirmation of a booking made.
Advance booking is essential with payment to ensure that
The Saints reserves a child care place for your child. After School users must
ensure that bookings are made in advance so that the Playcare Team can make the
necessary arrangements and will know to expect your child. If an advance booking
has not been made The Club cannot be held responsible for ensuring your child
can be accommodated.
For emergency cancellations and sickness please refer to
"Sickness, Emergencies and Appointments". (See below)
Collection of Children
On collecting children parents/carers are asked to knock
and wait at the kitchen window before being let in to the premises, and sign out
on leaving. Any adult (minimum age 16) identified on the registration form will
be allowed to collect children from The Club. For emergencies arising during
club hours, the phone number is 07960
363386. To protect the children, unregistered and unannounced adults will not be
allowed access to The Club.
Parents/carers must adhere to the opening times and strive
to collect their child/children on time. The Club has the right to make an
additional charge in the event of users persistently failing to collect their
child within the specified times (£5 for the first 10 minutes or part thereof,
£5 for each subsequent 5 minutes or part thereof). This charge will be in line
with the payment for additional staffing cover. Constant lateness or failure to
pay the resulting charge will result in the school governing body reviewing the
offer of a place to The Saints.
After
School/Holiday Service
After school: Children for
The Saints will assemble in the infant hall (children from Class C and Class R
are collected by a named member of staff from their class) and will be marked as
attending in the register.
At The Saints the children will have a snack and will be
given the opportunity to join a wide range of play and child centred activities,
do their homework with playworker supervision, or relax in a quiet area.
Children attending the Holiday Club must bring a packed
lunch.
Children are then collected by their parents/carers no
later than 5.30pm.
Weekly bookings and payments should be made, at the latest,
by Thursday of the previous week.
In an emergency it may be necessary for a child to attend
even though no booking has been made. In these circumstances the Supervisor MUST
be contacted as soon as possible so that ‘emergency arrangements’ can be
made for the child to attend the club, subject to a place being available within
our legal limits.
·
In no circumstances must a child be left with no
warning.
·
The parent/carer must be a member of The Club.
Admissions Criteria
·
Membership of the saints is open to all children between the ages
of 4 and 11
·
Priority for places will be given in order to
1. children from St.
John’s Church of England day school.
2. children whose
parents/carers are working or training out of school hours.
3. Siblings of children
already on the books
4. Those on the waiting
list and emergency cases.
·
All parents/carers must sign and agree the contract outlining the
terms and conditions.
·
All children must be registered with The Club.
Registration
Before attending The Saints all children must be registered
and all users will be given a registration form to complete. To ensure the
health and safety of your child please provide all essential information, for
example: any health conditions, and details of the named adults who are entitled
to collect the child. It is the responsibility of the parent/carer to return the
fully completed form before the child starts.
If a child is taking medication, has a restricted diet or
displays behaviour which may need additional care or support whilst in The
Saints, this must be drawn to the attention of the Supervisor as a more detailed
form may need to be completed.
If there are adults who are legally barred from having
contact with the child, a copy of the court order must be produced for the
Saints.
Unforeseen Closure
In the unlikely event that the school and After School Club
have to close, parents will be informed and payments made for the day will be
either refunded or carried forward.
If a child is not a member of St. John’s school and their
school closes early then it is essential that the club be contacted as soon as
possible.
Sickness, Emergency and Appointments
We respectfully request the children who are obviously
poorly do not attend The Club. If a child is becomes poorly whilst at The Club
we will contact the parebt or the emergency number supplied so that the child
can be collected. It is unfair to subject all the children to any kind of
contagious infection eg. Mumps Measles or Chicken pox, contagious skin
complaints, gastro-enteritis and ‘flu etc.
If your child has a medical or other appointment please
inform The Club as soon as possible.
Once a booking has been made refunds cannot be given
because of a child’s illness unless a child on the waiting list can take the
child’s place. Unfortunately staffing costs still have to be met.
If an accident or incident occurs whilst a child is at The
Club, parent/carers will be informed as soon as possible and the matter will be
recorded and signed by the supervisor and the parent/carer.
Care and Control
A team of qualified and
experienced playcare workers cares for the children. In the event of persistent
misbehaviour the worker operates a Time Out system of discipline. This involves
giving the child some time in a quiet space to calm down and talk about their
behaviour with a member of staff. If the unacceptable behaviour continues the
child may be excluded from an activity. In extreme circumstances where the
child’s behaviour is seen as a danger to themselves, other children or a
member of staff, the Supervisor has the right to exclude the child from the
scheme immediately. This process involves contacting a member of the school
governing body for advice and to sanction the decision. The parent/care will
then be contacted to collect the child. If the user is not satisfied with the
decision made an appeal can be made to the school governing body. In extreme or
persistent cases the school governing body has the right to exclude the child
permanently.
Valuing Children
The Club is a child centred organisation and values all
children on an equal basis regardless of differences in race, religion, ability
or gender. The Club strives to meet the needs of the individual child within the
group and provide equal opportunities for all children attending. Discrimination
or offensive behaviour towards a child, member of staff or parent/care is
unacceptable.
The
Club aims to provide a high quality, efficient and accessible service to parents
and children.
Our
working practices are reviewed regularly. However from time to time a parent or
child may feel that they have a complaint against some aspect of the club, or an
individual member of staff. Usually it should be possible to resolve any
problems as they occur. If not, then you should follow the formal complaints
procedure set out below.
Stage 1
First
- the complaint must be put in writing to The Saints supervisor. Full details of
the complaint together with names and dates should be included.
Second
- the complaint will be acknowledged as soon as possible and investigated within
fourteen working days. The complainant will be kept up to date during the
process and be given a full reply.
The
response will be copied to the staff member(s) concerned, with recommendations
for any action to be taken, and the matter reported to the school governing
body. Normally the problem can be resolved amicably at this stage, but if the
complainant wishes to take the matter further it will be referred to the next
stage.
Stage 2
The
supervisor will refer the complaint and response to the school governing body,
who will investigate the complaint and response at a specially convened meeting
of the appropriate committee.
The
Chair of the committee will send a reply within four weeks outlining how the
complaint was investigated and detailing the outcome.
At
any stage in the above procedure individual members of staff have the right to
reply to any complaint at any stage. The decision of the School Governring Body
is final.
The
staff has the right to expect the backing of the school governing body in all
matters of procedure and discipline, however this does not mean that justified
complaints will not be upheld.
At
any time in the above procedure the complainant has the right to refer the
matter to OFSTED, Early Years Ofsted,3rd. Floor North, Royal Exchange
Buildings, St Ann’s Square M2 7:LA Tel: 0161 2554804
The Club’s Pledge to Parents
You
will always be welcome to discuss our work, have a chat or take part in our
activities.
We Will
·
Keep you
informed of opening times, fees and charges, programmes of activities, menus and
procedures.
·
Be consistent
and reliable to enable you to plan with confidence and peace of mind.
·
Share and
discuss your child’s achievements, experiences, progress and friendships.
·
Organise
regular parents meetings to involve you in the decisions about running the club.
·
Ask your
permission for outings and special events.
·
Listen to your
views and concerns to ensure that we continue to meet your needs.
·
Keep fees as
low as possible.
The
term parent includes guardians, foster parents and others who have care
responsibilities for children.