Twilights - St Andrew's After School Provision

 TWILIGHTS’ POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

Our Mission Statement outlines the services that children, parents/carers and the St Andrew’s community can expect from our club.

At our Twilights Afterschool Provision, every child matters. We aim to:

· Be a dedicated and enthusiastic team that provides a safe and welcoming end to the children’s day.
· Offer a relaxed environment where the children can eat together, enjoy planned activities and socialise with their friends after school.
· Help children to develop responsibility for themselves and their actions. To help each child become competent, confident, independent and cooperative individuals
· Encourage children to have a positive attitude and respect for both themselves and others.
· Promote a positive relationship with parents/carers and work in partnership with them to provide high quality play and care for their children.
· Offer inclusive services that are accessible to all children.
· Undergo regular monitoring and evaluation of our services to ensure that the club continues to meet the needs of the children, parents and carers.

Our Club is committed to meeting the needs of parents and carers by:

· Listening and responding to their views and concerns.
· Keeping them informed of our policies and procedures, including: opening times, fees and charges, and programmes of activities.
· Sharing and discussing their child’s achievements, experiences, progress and friendships. Along with any difficulties that may arise.

Our Club is committed to providing:

· Care and activities that put the needs and safety of children first.
· A programme of activities that is interesting, educational, stimulating and fun.
· Activities that promote each child’s social, physical, moral and intellectual development.
· Access to a variety of facilities and equipment under safe and supervised conditions.
· A staff team that is experienced, well trained and properly supported.

Our Twilights’ Rules

· We listen and we wait for our turn to speak.
· We are caring, honest and respectful.
· We are polite; we use good manners.
· We look after our club and everything in it.
· We use gentle hands and kind words.
· We are helpful to others.

Opening Times and Fees

Twilights runs from Monday to Friday - 3:30pm to 6:00pm, term time only.

Sessions are all-inclusive and costs £15.00 per child, per session on a permanent basis, until the end of the academic year. Payments must be made in advance.

Any emergency or ad-hoc sessions required costs £20.00 per child, per session. Should you require such sessions, you must email your request to Twilightsclub11@gmail.com or contact the school office prior to the required date and await confirmation. Payments must also be made prior to your child attending.

Staffing

All staff have Disclosure Barring Service Certificates (DBS), are all first aid trained, have first aid qualifications and follow all the policies and procedures agreed by the school.

Staff: Child Ratios as stated in the Department of Education Statutory Framework: 

'Section 3.40. Where the provision is solely before/after school care or holiday provision for children who normally attend Reception class (or older) during the school day, there must be sufficient staff as for a class of 30 children. It is for providers to determine how many staff are needed to ensure the safety and welfare of children, bearing in mind the type(s) of activity and the age and needs of the children.'

Managers:  Miss Colairo, Mrs Hermanstein and Mrs Mutti

Staff Supervisors: Mrs Hakeem, Miss Blenman, Mrs McDermott, Mrs Yates, Mrs Lesniak

Admin/Finance: Miss Bourne

Attendance/Absences

Please ensure that the Twilights staff and your child are aware of when they are due to attend the club. 

Children need to be booked into the Twilights Afterschool Provision in advance, so an appropriate staff/child ratio can be arranged for each afternoon. Ratios are an Ofsted requirement that we must adhere to.

If your child will not be attending a session and you decide to collect them from school, please ensure the Twilights managers are informed; you can inform us by leaving a message in the Twilights book in the office, via text, email or through our website. If you do not notify us of their absence, there is a possibility that they will be unable to attend Twilights as your child’s whereabouts and safety is of the highest priority.

Please click here for a copy of our detailed Absence and Missing Child Policy

If you require a place for your child/children to attend the club at short notice (emergency cover) please contact the school office or email Twilightsclub11@gmail.com to make the request.

Should you decide to withdraw your child entirely from the provision, 2 weeks’ notice must be given. Please be aware that due to our own financial constraints/commitments, unfortunately, you will still be charged for the sessions your child does not attend, even if your child is absent from school or unwell. There are no refunds for cancellations and date changes are not permitted.

Fire Procedure

In the event of a fire and fire drill, the children will leave the building at the nearest exit and assemble in the front playground, facing away from the building.

Regular fire drills will be carried out.

Health and Safety  

Children will be supervised at all times. A register will be kept of children’s attendance and emergency contact numbers will be kept on file.
A child’s whereabouts will be known at all times eg. going to the toilet or out of the room for any other reason. Outdoor activities will be well supervised and ratios of adults to children will be in accordance with our regulations.

Food

Twilights Afterschool Club recognise the need to encourage healthy eating habits from an early age to help children to reach their full potential in terms of growth and development. 

All managers are trained in Food Hygiene and Safety. Children are not permitted to bring their own food as we have a number of children with food allergies.

Please click here for a detailed copy of our Food and Drink Policy

Accident Procedure

Parents will be informed of any accident involving their child that has been entered into the accident book. Following any head injury a phone call will be made to the parents and a bumped head accident note will be sent home. First aid kits and accident record books are checked regularly and replenished when needed.

All staff members are first aid trained.

If a child needs hospital treatment, parents will be contacted immediately. If parents or other family members cannot be contacted, a member of staff will accompany the child to the hospital and parents will be contacted as soon as possible.

Behaviour Management   

Twilights’s staff will positively manage children’s behaviour and set appropriate boundaries for children. The sanctions applied in the case of unacceptable behaviour must take into account the age and stage of the child’s development. There will always be a conversation with the child in regards to their behaviour choices and the reasons for applying a particular sanction.

Bullying in any form will not be tolerated and any alleged incidents will be dealt with sensitively and should be thoroughly investigated.

Parents will be fully informed by staff, of any incidents of unacceptable behaviour. If a child continues with persistent inappropriate behaviour and becomes a danger to others, racism, serious swearing, serious physical incidents, bullying and inappropriate sexualised behaviour/language the manager will contact parents and may result in your child being excluded from Twilights, with the prospect of them also losing their space at Twilights.

Any significant incidents involving inappropriate behaviour will be recorded and kept on file. If the incidents are also categorised as being a Safeguarding issue, then the incident will be recorded as appropriate. Meeting with parents can be arranged to discuss any incidents or problems if necessary.   

Child Protection and Safeguarding

Twilights is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children. 

The designated safeguarding officer at Twilights is: Danielle Colairo

Twilights adheres to St Andrew's Child Protection Policy at:
 
https://www.st-andrewsrc.lambeth.sch.uk/docs/Policy/CP_Policy_December_2021.pdf

Equalities Obligations:  

Twilights will ensure that we strive to provide the best service for all students. We will not discriminate against families or children as a result of disability, special educational needs, race, nationality, ethnic or national origin, pregnancy, maternity, sex, gender identity, religion or sexual orientation or whether they are looked after children. Prejudice and stereotypes have no place at our Twilights Afterschool Provision.

Staff will maintain a professional approach, valuing and respecting differences and approaching concerns in a sensitive and caring manner.  

Click here for a detailed copy of our Equal Opportunities and Promoting Inclusion Policy

Click here for a copy of our Caring for Children with Additional Needs Policy

Complaints Procedure

If a parent or guardian has any concerns about the service provided by Twilights they should discuss the problem with the club Manager. Confidentiality will be maintained throughout the proceedings. 

If a serious allegation is made against any member of staff, this person will be suspended from the club pending an investigation. Parents will be informed of the investigation and any action which may be taken or propose to take as a result of the complaint.       

Thank you for taking the time to read over this information. For any further information please do not hesitate to contact the Twilights Managers