Outings Policy

Cuan Bhríde Childcare Centre

Policy

Outings are an important part of the curriculum. Outings allow for children and adults to share in active learning within different learning environments. An outing includes any organized outing where the child leaves the premises/grounds of Cuan Bhríde Childcare Centre. It is the policy of Cuan Bhríde Childcare Centre to ensure the safety and well-being of the children and adults involved in our service when planning and undertaking outings.

Procedures

A risk assessment will be carried out before the outing takes place.
A checklist will be developed based on the risk assessment and the venue of the outing.
Arrangements must be in place to ensure that children are safely escorted on any outing.
Outings can be an opportunity to extend the curriculum and be a response to children’s interests.
Information about proposed outings should be given to the parent/guardian. This information will include the destination, method of travel, times of departure and expected time of arrival back.
Parents are encouraged to take an active part in the planning, preparation and undertaking of outings.
Consent forms must be signed by a parent/guardian for each outing prior to the outing date.
The consent form will contain the number of children going on the outing, the number of staff, parents and other adults going on the outing.
There is always at least one adult to every two children during outings.
All the adults participating in the outing will be made aware of their responsibilities, such as roll call, head counts, dealing with accidents/incidents and co-ordinating responses to any critical incident that may arise.
Children will need to be prepared for the outing, such as having appropriate clothing, sunscreen, or any other items that may be necessary for the outing.
A critical incident plan and a missing child policy will be made available which is to be followed in the event of a child choking, drowning, or going missing.
All policies are to be followed on outings, including the Child Protection Policy which will be made available and followed on the outing.
The person organising the outing must ensure that transportation complies with all safety requirements and insurance cover.
Staff will be familiar with the Critical Incident Plan, Missing Child Policy and Child Protection Policy.
The insurance company is contacted prior to the outing to confirm that the event is covered by the service’s insurance policy.
The adult/child ratio will be adhered to at all times as per the Pre-School regulations. A minimum of two staff must be present at all times. One supervisory staff should attend the outing who is not included in the adult/child ratio.
Before children leave the building to go to an outing, children are to be counted by a minimum of two staff and the roll call is to be counted to ensure the correct number of children.
Upon arrival to the destination, the children are to be counted again by a minimum of two staff and the roll call counted to ensure the correct number of children are present. This is to happen at every transition stage.
Staff are deployed throughout the setting during the session, ensuring that no child is left alone for any period of time without an adult being aware of their location.
During the outing, all children are to be appropriately supervised at all times.
Each adult will know which children they are directly responsible for.
Head counts of the children are to be completed regularly during the outing.
Each outing will have a person certified in first aid.
A fully stocked first aid box will be taken on each outing.
The person in charge will have a mobile phone in case of an emergency.
Medication is made available for any child who may need medication during the outing, such as an epi-pen due to a severe allergic reaction.
Contact numbers and details for all children on the outing will be taken in case of an emergency.
The children are never to be left unsupervised/out of vision of staff members.
A member of staff remains with children at all times, unless all the children and staff are in the outdoor area together.
If all staff and children are outside and a child needs to come inside, a member of staff will accompany them inside.

Updated 12 September 2018