Emergency Closure Policy 2020
Emergency Closure Policy
Policy Statement
It is Play Inclusion Project’s aim to ensure the safety of all staff, volunteers and service users in compliance with the Health & Safety at Work Act (1974). Whilst we endeavour to maintain a full service and cause minimum disruption to our provision there may be circumstances that arise that are beyond Play Inclusion Project’s control and force the activities to be cancelled.
Decisions to cancel sessions will not be made lightly and will be made based on an assessment of a number of factors including weather and travel conditions, access to and conditions of the base premises, outbreaks of infection/illness, lockdown restrictions imposed by government and availability of appropriate levels of qualified staff.
The decision to cancel sessions will be made by the Charity Manager after discussion with the Activity Coordinator. Every effort will be made to contact parents/carers as soon as possible.
Emergency Closure Procedure
The following procedure will be followed wherever possible:
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If a decision to cancel is made prior to the session’s start time all parents/carers and staff will be contacted at the time of the decision.
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If a decision to close is made during the session parents/carers will be contacted and asked to collect their child/children
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Two members of staff will stay with the children/young people if it is safe to do so until they have all been collected and signed out
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Reasons for closure will be explained to parents/carers and an estimate of when the group is likely to re-open given where possible
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A record of emergency contact details for each child and staff member will be kept in the group file, on Google Drive, in the office and with Activity Coordinators.
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Should severe weather conditions or weather warnings occur during a session the Activity Coordinator will contact parents/carers and ask them to collect their child
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Should you wake up to severe weather conditions or weather warnings, please contact your Activity Coordinator who will advise as to whether the group is going ahead
It is vital that Play Inclusion Project has up to date contact numbers for parents/carers and emergency contact numbers for children, young people and all staff and volunteers.
Contingency Planning for Emergency Staff Cover
In the event of unforeseen staff shortages, the Activity Coordinator will attempt to cover absences by contacting other support staff who are not rostered to work that day. If support staff are unavailable volunteers may be called on to cover absences. If the Activity Coordinator is unable to secure adequate cover the above procedure will be implemented.