Missing child Procedure
In the event of a missing child or emergency the staff should immediately report it to the supervisor by using the code “we have a message from Adam at Clubland” (*), keeping the situation as calm as possible.
An immediate search of the premises will commence, all staff will need to be informed. The best way is to instigate a ‘fire drill’ therefore all children will be in one place, staff can then be deployed to search other areas and the child will reappear when hearing the fire drill.
The staff will use walkie-talkies to communicate with each other during the search.
If the child is not located within 5 minutes, the manager must contact the police and provide them with the following information:
- The address of the setting, or the address from where the child went missing
- A detailed description of the child including age, gender, what they are wearing
- The circumstances of the incident, including anything that may have triggered the disappearance, how long they have been missing, where they were last seen and whether there was an argument with another child
- Who is currently looking for the child, where they are looking, and the mobile number to contact them on?
- The next of kin of the child
In the case of a child going missing on an outing or in an open access area, the police must be contacted as soon as a search of the immediate surrounding area has been done. There must ne no delay in contacting the police.
The parent/carer/DSL must be informed and kept updated until they arrive on site.
The other children must be kept occupied and relaxed by staff not carrying out the search.
The incident must be documented and include any conversations and advice from the police. A full report of the incident must be recorded on Magicbooking and the ‘Security risk assessment’ to be reviewed to prevent a similar occurrence. This should be completed immediately by the manager in conjunction with the DSL and shared with the rest of the staff before the next session.
Ofsted must be informed if a child goes missing.
(*) ‘Code Adam’ is the code used in the UK, USA and Canada to alert staff of a missing child. We do not wish to use the word ‘code’ to panic parents or children.
