It is the policy in Rosemont Afterschool to protect the safety of the children in our care by ensuring they are only released to appropriate adults named on the application form or others notified in person or writing by the parents / guardians.

This policy is made available and communicated to all staff, parents and relevant stakeholders. A digital version will be made available through a members only login portal on the website: www.rosemontafterschool.com.
Child Collection Procedure

Pick Up

Children are collected from six local primary schools in the area and are brought to Rosemont School. Staff members greet the children in each school and take them onto the bus. There is a collection sheet drawn up daily. Each staff member carries a recognisable blue folder containing the collection sheet and a pen/pencil to mark off the children once in our care. Staff members communicate with each other through walkie-talkies (to those on the same bus) and Whatsapp of any changes or issues that may arise.

If a child is on the collection list but is not present at the school, the After School Manager will be contacted, who will contact the Parents. If the parents cannot be contacted, the Manager will contact the Class teacher. The bus will only leave once the absence has been confirmed.

If there is every any doubt and no appropriate adult can be reached, Rosemont will err on the side of caution and take the child to Rosemont. Attempts to contact will continue to be made until the issue is resolved.

On occasion, children may need to be booked into the service last-minute. Rosemont after school can accept bookings subject to availability and at the discretion of management. If it is feasible to safely take the child from school, contact will be made with the relevant staff member to include a child on the list.

In rare cases, the manager/assistant manager may be required to transport the children in his/her personal vehicle. This vehicle is insured with Business Class insurance. For child protection, no child will be alone in the car with the manager. Either 1 other adult or child is required in the car at all times.

Children are supervised according to regulations – 1 staff member to every 12 children. Children are never left unattended with a bus driver, if there is insufficient staff, the children will disembark the bus with the staff member at the second school.

Children arriving late to Rosemont from After School Activities or extra-circulars must have parental consent to arrive either by foot or another mode of transport. The Manager has a window of time as to when the child is expected to arrive and if the child does not arrive within the window, the parents will be contacted. On arrival, the child must check in with the Manager who records the arrival time in the attendance log.

With written parental consent, 5th and 6th class students will be permitted to arrive to Rosemont either by foot or by bicycle unaccompanied. Parents will acknowledge that the children will not be the responsibility of Rosemont After School until they have entered the after school room.

Collection

Children must be signed out by the adult collecting every day on collection. Children may only be collected by persons named on the registration form unless the After School Manager has been notified in person and/or in writing of another person authorised to collect the child.
This includes text message and e-mail. Any individual previously unseen by Rosemont After School staff will be required to present photo identification which matches the name given in writing by the parent/guardian. Authorised adults are identified in the initial weeks of a child joining the service through preliminary meetings with one parent and subsequent introduction of spouse/relative.

In the case of parental separation, the wishes of both parents will be respected equally. Should agreements not be reached between the parents the After School will abide by any existing arrangements until clarification is received from both parties or a court order.
If it happens that a parent telephones to inform the After School of another person given authorisation and this person is not known to staff members, they will be asked for identification.

With parental consent, 5th and 6th class students will be permitted to leave the service at a specified time unaccompanied. They will be required to sign themselves out at reception and parents will acknowledge that once signed out, they are no longer the responsibility of Rosemont After School.

Children with mobile phones, which must be kept switched off and in school bags until sign out, will be permitted to text parents to advise that they are leaving.

Unusual Circumstances

Children must be collected on time. Lateness will result in additional charges and repeated may lead to the termination of the child’s place in the After School. If an authorised adult is late for collection, a staff member will wait with the child and the parents or guardian will be contacted.

If a child is not collected by close of business, parents will be contacted. A staff member will wait with the child until collection. If an appropriate parent/guardian or other contact cannot be reached, the Child and Family Agency (Tusla) will be contacted on what to do and their advice followed. If a child is not collected the manager will wait with the child until 7pm. If after 7.30pm no contact is made and the child is still in the care of the after school, the Gardai will be contacted on 01 6665600.

In the event of an attempted unauthorised collection the child will not be released, and the parents/guardians will be contacted. If when contacted, parents provide consent, photo identification will be required to confirm the identity of the newly authorised collector. If parents cannot be contacted, the child will not be released.


Children will not be released to anyone under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or to anyone in an unfit state. If an adult arrives for collection in an unfit state, the child will not be released and the next available person on the authorised list will be contacted.

Insurance

During transportation to the service, the children and staff are insured by the bus company’s insurance, currently Finnegan’s Bray.