Lost Child Policy

In the unlikely event of a child going missing or becoming ‘lost’ whilst in our care we will take the following steps:

• We will immediately raise the alarm to all around me that I have lost a child and enlist the help of everyone to look for them

• If it is a secure area such as a shopping center, we will quickly alert the security staff so they can assist me in looking for the child / check the CCTV.

• We will provide everyone involved in the search with a description of the child.

• We will reassure the other children with me, as they may be distressed. If possible we will leave the children with a responsible person that we know has been DBS checked, for example, another registered childminder, while we continue to look for the missing child.

• If the child is not found in the immediate area within 10 minutes, we will then alert the police and provide a full description and look for a recent photograph.

• We will alert the parents of the situation and continue to help on the advice of the police.

We take the following precautions to avoid situations like this from happening:

• Ensuring all exterior doors, safety gates, garden gates and fences are secure in and around our home.

• Ensuring small children hold my hand or the pushchair whilst we are out.

• Avoid going to overcrowded places.

• Teach the children about the dangers of wandering off and of talking to strangers.