POLICIES

The Children’s Imagination Academy (CIA) prioritises the wellbeing Hauora of all children and recognise that a student’s wellbeing affects all aspects of their life.

Our concept of wellbeing encompasses the physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual dimensions of health and aligns with Te Whare Tapa Wha.

WELLBEING FIRST
We provide the best possible physical and emotional environment and a positive, inclusive culture which puts collective wellbeing first. This involves a holistic  approach, through our mission, guiding lights, health ans safety policies, and procedures; and collaboration with families, the community, and support services.

The CIA Team maintains a positive learning environments and relationships with students and encourage students to develop the New Zealand Curriculum’s key competencies of managing self and relating to others.

Our policies and procedures help maintain a safe environment and promote wellbeing. We follow:

• guidelines for acting on concerns about students’ physical, emotional, and mental wellbeing.

• guidelines for dealing with bullying and harassment

• behaviour management guidelines

RESPONDING TO CONCERNS
Children may experience increased vulnerability at times, requiring additional support. Challenges to wellbeing may include accidents, illness, health conditions, low self-esteem, bullying, bereavement, family change, trauma, drug use, coping with a natural disaster, global issues, anxiety, depression, self-harming behaviour.

When concerns arise, we identify children’s needs and arrange appropriate support, such as counselling, mentoring, learning support, and referral to health and social services. We keep a readily-accessible list of contacts for referral, including community groups. We monitor the child’s continuing wellbeing and work collaboratively with the child, family, and support services (as appropriate) to provide ongoing support.

We are sensitive to cultural differences in the understanding and expression of wellbeing issues and concerns and seek cultural advice where needed.All staff are aware of the limits of privacy and confidentiality. If dealing with child wellbeing concerns adversely affects staff, they are asked to communicate their wellbeing support needs as required.

The CIA is a supportive space for children that focuses on holistic wellbeing, and we expect a high degree of professionalism  from our team. All interactions are based on care, respect, clear communication and appropriate language. We ensure a safe learning environment  and role model positive behaviour. Unacceptable behaviour, including bullying is dealt with through the Positive Behaviour Management Plan

Child and Programme Guide Interaction 

• When a programme guide is interacting with a child they ensure wherever possible that the space is not closed off from other people.

• Programme guides take particular care with children who express themselves freely and seek close physical contact. When this is a problem, it is always discussed with the child’s parents/care givers.

• Programme guides are aware that children may have particular needs with regards to safety and supervision.

• Corporal punishment is prohibited and staff avoid physical contact with students that could be considered intimate, sexual, threatening, or violent.

• If a programme guide is attacked by a student, they protect themselves without causing injury to the student involved, and immediately report this incident to the principal. If a student cannot be restrained in any other way, the adult physically restrains the student as appropriately as possible, and seeks other adult support.

Out-of-hours contact

• Staff are vigilant about safe and appropriate out-of-school contact with students, including through social media, texting, and emails.
• During education outside the classroom activities and camps, staff ensure safe interactions, sleeping, and travel arrangements for all children.

Concerns about welfare

Programme Guides have a professional responsibility to report any concerns about abuse or neglect, or professional misconduct to the programme director.

Ratios

• At every session there will be at least 2 x qualified programme leaders/teachers/facilitators.
• At every session there will be at least 1 x staff member with a current first aid certifcate that will be present at all times.
• All sessions will operate with an adult : child ratio of 1 : 8
• A minimum of 2 adults will supervise at all times.

Boundaries

• Children will be made aware of the physical boundaries of the CIA before the beginning of each session.
• Safety briefings will be delivered at the beginning of every indoor/outdoor session.
• The safety guidelines will be visibly displayed at all times.

The CIA ethos empowers children to be respectful, responsible and self-managing which is in line with our learning philosophy. For those children who are developing their self management skills, a greater level of facilitation is provided.

Signals

Programme leaders and guides will use a bell or whistle signal to gather children together or get immediate attention, whenever necessary. Both children and adults will be given instruction on what, when and how to use and respond to the signal.
At regular intervals, a roll call and head counts will be done throughout the day.

ADULTS AND CHILDREN MUST FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS AT ALL TIMES.

The Children’s Imagination Academy has a set adult:child ratio of 1:8.

The group will be briefed on additional and relevant safety specific environments for nature expedtions or excursions.
This includes; physical boundaries, safety guidelines and expectations specifc to the session. This will change from time to time and will depend on the weather and learning goals.

On nature expeditions, one adult will always remain at the front of the group and one at the back. The lead and tail end adults will communicate via mobile phones or walkie talkies.

EMERGENCIES

In an emergency situation educators and facilitators will respond in a way that minimises risk of further injury If a situation such as this should arise, communication devices will be used and no child will be left unsupervised.

Parents will be informed immediately if their child is involved in any injuries, accidents, incidents, dangerous behaviour or unsafe use of equipment.

DUTY OF CARE

CIA leaders and facilitators will ensure a Duty of Care at all times.
This means that if any staff member sees any possibility that an activity or area could cause an accident or injury, they will stop this immediately and not allow it to re-start until it can be continued safely.

CIA leaders and facilitators will meet quarterly to review the Health and Safety policy and will make adjustments and improvements as necessary.

An accident book and hazard book will be kept to record any incidents and this will be used as a living document to inform and improve future policies and procedures.

VOLUNTEERS

Volunteers and professional guests will be involved in the programme to provide specialist knowledge and experiences for the children. A CIA leader and facilitator will always be present with the volunteer.

CIA promotes a Values Based Education and aligns with Lyttelton Primary Schools values model of respect, empathy and perserverance. We talk about these values daily and it is an expectation that the children aim to practice these values while they attend CIA, at school, home and other environments.

Our positive learning environment is achieved through the values modelled by the educators. We focus on and emphasise the right behaviours and empowering language.

We have high expectations that the children work on these values while they are here to maintain our philosophy around Values Based Education.

We understand ‘challenging behaviour’ to be something someone does, NOT something someone is or has. This means under the right conditions we can help children develop new coping strategies.

We work together with the child/ren to understand and manage themselves and their emotions . The CIA aims to facilitate and guide children to develop solution based strategies whilst knwoing their unique personality and what strategies may best work for them.

CIA operate from a child-centred view, which means we approach situations and challenging behaviour on an individual basis. We do not have one model that all children must comply with. We are here to help participants work with their feelings and improve their emotional intelligence at whatever stage they are at.

We aim to:

• Build self-esteem, independence, motivation to learn whilst always maintaining a safe environment.
• Promote awareness, respect, care and empathy for other individuals and for the natural environment
  • Reinforce collaborative behaviour
• Develop awareness of acceptable, responsible and kind behaviour
• Develop in children, a pride in their own and others’ achievements

CIA Programme Guides will:

• Create a positive environment which encourages and reinforces caring, nurturing and acceptable behaviour towards one another, the environment and equipment
• Provide opportunities for the children to have autonomy and opportunities to solve problems
• Promote effective relationships in which all are accepted, valued and treated equally
• Be mindful of the need to maintain safety at all times
• Establish collaboratively with the children, clear standards of behaviour
• Be a positive role model for all children and volunteers
• Place the needs of the children, including needs linked to their preferred learning styles, social and behavioural needs at the centre of planning to maximise individual success and raise self-esteem
• Give special verbal feedback to children demonstrating positive values

The children, to the best of their abilities and with or without support will:

• Listen respectfully and carefully and respond to instructions and requests, especially those concerning safety
• Develop and maintain an empathetic and kind attitude towards one another, the environment and all equipment
• Be encouraged to give their peers feedback on appropriate behaviour
• Take ownership and responsibility for their own behaviour and actions
• Ask for help and support when dealing with emotions and conflict

If a problem (behavioural or other) were to arise:

• Programme Guides will observe and allow the child/ren autonomy and an opportunity to deal with the conflict and/or solve the issue without adult assistance
• Gently re-engage the child/ren
• Ask how the child/ren may be able to solve the conflict/issue- allow for some reflection
• Support the child/ren in reflection and then facilitate a discussion
• Ask questions: How could you work together on that? What could be done dfferently?
• Support the child/ren in creating solutions

If a student displays extreme or harmful behaviour which is:

• Deliberately against our philosophy of Values Based Education
• Is unsafe or harmful (verbally, emotionally or physically) towards themselves or others
• Behaves in a way that interferes with another child’s ability to learn or participate in the session
• Prevents the educators from facilitating the session
• Is ongoingly rude and/or refuses to participate in the session

1. You will be promptly notifed by phone or the issue will be discussed at the end of the session. This will then be dealt with on a case by case scenario, in consultation with the parent/caregiver/emergency contact, with special behavioural and learning needs obviously being considered.

2. Where the behaviour is deemed to have been very unsafe, parents will be contacted immediately and the child will be immediately collected from programme. A discussion will be arranged with prgammes guides and the childs parents/carers to decide when the hcild returns to the programme.

3. In all of the above cases, an incident report will be completed by a Programme Guide. This policy is an active living document, it is reviewed every 3 years and is available on request.

The CIA will not provide a refund if an immediate collection of the child is required. In extreme cases, The CIA reserves the right to decline, suspend or terminate any student’s participation or enrolment.

Review schedule: Within 3 years

CHILD SAFETY – REMOVAL/RESTRAINT

Programme Guides may make professional yet prompt decisions to ensure that all children and staff are safe, which may include the removal of a child form the programme.

This includes the safety of a child who may be responding in an extreme, dangerous, aggressive or harmful way towards him/herself, other students, volunteers, visitors and staff.

If a child displays extreme, dangerous, aggressive or harmful behaviour that poses being harmful or at risk to themselves or others; the child may be required to be removed from the vicinity of others to ensure he/she is not able to hurt him/herself and/or other people.

If this situation were to arise, Programme Guides will consult the Programme Leader and/or Director and a collaborative decision will be made as quickly as possible to either: a) Remove the child b) Remove the rest of the group.

If the decision is made that the safest option is to physically remove the child displaying the behaviour; prior consent will be sought by the parents to do so.

If contact with parents or prior consent has not been possible and the child requires restraint or physical removal, to ensure the safety of themselves and others, this decision will be made collaboratively with at least one other professional staff member .

Physical removal or restraint will be done in a calm, non-aggressive and non confrontational way that ensures the safety and care of the child being removed is of utmost priority.

Two staff members will be present at all times and will record notes of the situation, actions, comments, concerns and resolution.

The child’s parents will be called immediately.
The child will be supervised by two staff members at all times.

The CIA will always remain child focused and the welfare of the child is always of paramount importance.

As outlined in the Vulnerable Children Act 2014, Section 18 this policy is an active living document, it is reviewed every 3 years and is available on request.

INTRODUCTION

The CIA is committed to ensuring a safe and supportive learning environment for all children and recognises that the safety and well-being of children is of paramount importance.

The CIA supports the roles of statutory agencies (the Police; Ministry for Vulnerable Children, Ministry of Education) and will consult with them when necessary.

The CIA will not tolerate abusive behaviour of any kind and will promote a culture of child protection by making policies visible to parents and the community – including in enrolment information and online.

 

PURPOSE

This policy outlines The CIA’s commitment to child protection and recognises the important role and responsibility of all our staff and volunteers in the protection of children. It includes The CIA’s expectations when child abuse is reported or suspected by us.

The Children’s Act 2014 requires a rigorous process for screening staff who work with children. The CIA complies with this Act, in order to safeguard the programme from inappropriate persons. This is further outlined in the Staffing Policy.

All staff members (including contractors and volunteers) are expected to be familiar with this policy, its associated procedures and protocols and abide by them.

 

CHILDREN’S ACT 2014

The CIA will:
Improve the wellbeing of vulnerable children (Section 6)

“In relation to the setting of Government priorities under section 7 and the preparation of the vulnerable children’s plan under section 8 , means promoting the best interests of vulnerable children (having regard to the whole of their lives), including (without limitation) taking measures aimed at—

The CIA Child Protection Policy

(a) protecting them from abuse and neglect:
(b)improving their physical and mental health and their cultural and emotional well-being:
(c)improving their education and training and their participation in recreation and cultural activities:
(d)strengthening their connection to their families, wh?nau, hap?, and iwi, or other culturally recognised family group:
(e)increasing their participation in decision making about them, and their contribution to society:
(f)improving their social and economic well-being.”

Complete safety checks of new children’s workers (Section 25)
“A specified organisation must not employ or engage a person as a children’s worker without ensuring that a safety check of the person that complies with section 31 is completed before the employment or engagement commences.”

LINK:
The Children’s Act 2014

 

SAFETY CHECKING

All staff employed by The CIA (including volunteers) will be made familiar with our child protection policy before beginning their role.

All staff members (including volunteers) will be safety checked as outlined in Section 31 of the Vulnerable Children’s Act before starting in their roles at The CIA

The CIA recruitment process includes:
*Confirmation of the identity of the person by obtaining two forms of identification.

*Obtaining a NZ Police Vetting Service Request & Consent Form or if employing staff from overseas (UK) an International Child Protection Certificate will be obtained.

*Carry out a risk assessment to assess the risk the person being employed would pose on children as outlined in The CIA Employee Interview Process: Including an assessment of the potential candidates qualifications and experience and reference checks of current/previous employer and/or character references will be obtained.

* The potential candidate must sign a disclosure statement to confirm that the information that they provide is true and correct.

DEFINITIONS

Child and Young Person – A child is someone under the age of 14 years and a young person is someone aged 14 years and over, but under 17 years who is not or has never been married or in a civil union.

Child abuse – The harming (whether physically, emotionally or sexually), ill treatment, abuse, neglect, or serious deprivation of any child/tamariki, young person/rangatahi (Section 14 Children and Young People’s Wellbeing Act 1989).

Physical abuse – any acts that may result in physical harm of a child or young person.

Sexual abuse – any acts that involve forcing or enticing a child to take part in sexual activities, whether or not they are aware of what is happening.

Emotional abuse – any act or omission that results in adverse or impaired psychological, social, intellectual and emotional functioning or development.

Neglect –– the persistent failure to meet a child’s basic physical or psychological needs, leading to adverse or impaired physical or emotional functioning or development.

Family violence –– may be witnessed/experienced by children and involve physical, sexual and emotional abuse.

TRAINING

The CIA is committed to maintaining and increasing staff awareness of how to prevent, recognise and respond to abuse through appropriate training. Staff are expected to act at all times within their level of experience and training, and to consult with the programme director about any concerns. As part of their induction, new staff are explained:

• the programme policy and commitment to child protection policy
• procedures for supervising children and minimising the risk of an allegation of inappropriate behaviour
• what to do if abusive behaviour is observed
• the process for reporting any concerns
• how to respond to a disclosure of abuse

There will be annual in-house training about the child protection policy and appropriate external training will be accessed whenever possible.

IDENTIFYING CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT

All staff will be made aware of the signs of potential abuse of neglect (see below) and will always consider all available information before taking any action e.g. behavioural concerns may be the result of life events, such as divorce, accidental injury, the arrival of a new sibling etc.

Staff members are not expected to reach any conclusions about whether abuse or neglect is occurring, or what form it may be taking. They are expected to recognise and consult when something is wrong, if a pattern is noticed or several signs together cause concern.

Some signs of potential abuse / neglect

• Physical signs of abuse: unexplained injuries, burns, fractures, unusual or excessive itching, genital injuries, sexually transmitted diseases. Neglect: looking rough and uncared for, dirty, without appropriate clothing, underweight
• Medical neglect (e.g. persistent nappy rash or skin disorders or other untreated medical issues).
• Developmental delays (e.g. small for their age, cognitive delays, falling behind in school, poor speech and social skills).
• Emotional abuse/neglect (e.g. sleep problems, low self-esteem, obsessive behaviour, inability to cope in social situations, sadness/loneliness and evidence of self-harm).
• Behavioural concerns (e.g. age- inappropriate sexual interest or play, fear of a certain person or place, eating disorders/substance abuse, disengagement/neediness, aggression)

• The child talking about things that indicate abuse (sometimes called an allegation or disclosure).
• Neglectful supervision (e.g. out and about unsupervised, left alone, no safe home to return to).

RESPONDING TO CHILD ABUSE

Under sections 15 and 16 of the Children and Young People’s Wellbeing Act 1989, any person who believes that a child has been or is likely to be, harmed physically, emotionally or sexually or ill-treated, abused, neglected or deprived may report the matter to Ministry of Vulnerable Children or the Police and provided the report is made in good faith, no civil, criminal or disciplinary proceedings may be brought against them.

The child’s safety should always be the paramount consideration in the notification process.

No decisions or actions in respect of suspected or actual child abuse are to be made by any staff member in isolation unless there are concerns for the immediate safety of the child.

A consultative approach is essential to ensure the safety of the child and the staff member. Staff must discuss their concerns with the Director nominated person/advocate.

Decisions about informing parents or caregivers should be made after consultation between the school and Oranga Tamariki.

The CIA will act on recommendations made by statutory agencies concerning the reporting of suspected abuse. Staff will only consult with or inform families about any suspected or actual abuse, after consulting with the appropriate statutory agencies.

When notifying the agency, a receipt or acknowledgement of the notification (written or electronic) will be requested. All information or notes concerning the notification will include date, time and name of the person receiving the notification.

Staff will respond to suspected child abuse or any concerning behaviour by writing down observations, impressions and communications in a confidential register. This will be kept separate from other programme records and enrolment information etc.

Information volunteered by a child should be fully and accurately recorded. Staff will not interview children about the suspected, but may engage the child to collect essential information, using open-ended prompts such as “what happened after that?”

No staff member will act alone about suspected child abuse but will consult with the programme management. Where staff and programme management suspect child abuse has occurred and a child is unsafe, immediate contact will be made with the Police or Oranga Tamariki.

Staff who are responding to cases of suspected child abuse are entitled to have support. The programme will maintain knowledge of such individuals or organisations that provide support and will assist staff to access these services as needed.

DISCLOSURE

At times The CIA may be faced with disclosures from children attendees, friends or family members who have concerns about the safety and welfare of a child or young person attending one of our programmes either face to face or via e-mail.

The CIA may also be directly faced with a case (suspected or actual) of abuse or neglect of one of the children attendees, friends or family members.

In either of these cases, The CIA will always endeavour to encourage that person disclosing the information or suspecting the information to pass on their concerns about the child or young person to The CIA Director or Programme Leader as well as to Oranga Tamariki or the Police in the form of a Report of Concern.

Should a situation occur where the informant feels unable to make a Report of Concern to Oranga Tamariki or the Police then The CIA will not keep that information in confidence if they believe doing so will continue to leave the child or young person in a dangerous or harmful situation.

The CIA will always tell the informant of their intention to share that information with Oranga Tamariki or the Police and if requested ensure that the identity of the informant remains anonymous. Advice will be sought through appropriate agencies in all cases of suspected or alleged abuse.

At times The CIA may make contact with the informant to ensure that they have made a Report of Concern if they indicated they felt able to do so at the time of disclosure.

If during that contact it transpires a Report of Concern was not lodged, then The CIA will inform the informant that they are unable to hold onto that information about a risk to a child or young person and that The CIA will then lodge a Report of Concern.

The informant will always be informed that The CIA are intending to lodge a Report of Concern with MVC or the Police and if requested the identity of the informant will remain anonymous.

ALLEGATION

Where it is suspected that child abuse has been carried out by a staff member (paid/ unpaid in any programme role), the matter will be reported promptly to the Director .

Any children involved will be protected from possible risk or trauma. The CIA management may remove the staff member from the programme environment subject to the requirements of the applicable employment contract. All actions will be undertaken with appropriate care to maintain confidentially.

The CIA acknowledges that the use of ‘settlement agreements’, could be contrary to the principles of child protection. Some settlement agreements allow a member of staff to agree to resign provided that no disciplinary action is taken, and a future reference is agreed. Where the conduct at issue concerns the safety or wellbeing of a child, use of such agreements will be avoided.

CONFIDENTIALITY & INFORMATION SHARING

The CIA will seek advice from Oranga Tamariki and/or the Police before information about an allegation is shared with anyone, other than the Director or designated child protection advocate.

In general, when collecting personal information about individuals, privacy and confidentiality will be maintained.

Staff may disclose information under the Privacy Act/Health Information Privacy Code where there is good reason to do so – such as where there is a serious risk to individual health and safety (see privacy principle 11/Code rule 11).

Disclosure about ill-treatment or neglect of a child/young person may also be made to the Police or Oranga Tamariki under sections 15 and 16 of the Children and Young People’s Wellbeing Act 1989.

Parents will be informed about this limitation to confidentiality in the programme enrolment information.

PEER ABUSE

The CIA will ensure that the safety of the child or young person is paramount and no form of physical, sexual or verbal harassment or violence from peers will be accepted or tolerated.

While the situation is being evaluated, the children/young people concerned will be kept separate.

In some cases, where the abuse has occurred at the programme, immediate suspension of a child may be appropriate, as outlined in the Behaviour Policy.

The CIA will keep personal information as private as possible. Parents will also be asked to keep all information confidential to allow proper investigation and resolution.

All parents/caregivers will be kept informed about how The CIA is responding to concerns, including meeting with staff to discuss these concerns. The CIA to discourages interaction between the different parents involved and between parents and other children in the programme, while a concern is being investigated

CHILD AND STAFF SAFETY – SUPERVISION AND CONDUCT GUIDELINES

These specific guidelines are concerned with minimising the risk of allegations of inappropriate conduct. They should be read in conjunction with the Staff Code of Conduct, which outlines a wider range of staff behaviour guidelines.

All staff should be aware of situations where they could be alone with children. These situations will be avoided as much as possible.

An open door policy for all spaces should be used as much as possible (i.e. not for toilets). Staff will be aware of where all children are at all times and check to ensure what they are doing is appropriate.

Staff will watch for situations where children are out of sight together (in outdoor areas, storage areas, toilets, etc.) Staff must intervene if immediately if they suspect anything, to reduce the risk of inappropriate behaviour.

Staff will avoid being alone when transporting a child or young person, unless an emergency requires it.

Except in an emergency (or as specified in the late collection policy), children and young people will not be taken from the programme by staff without parent consent.

Visitors to the centre will be monitored at all times by programme staff.
All volunteers and outside instructors will be monitored by The CIA staff.

As outlined in the Code of Conduct: “Staff will provide physical comfort or reassurance when needed by children, but exercise caution and restraint when initiating physical contact or displaying signs of affection.”

Unless requested by children or parents there is usually no need to assist school aged children with toileting. Except for our students who have special learning/developmental needs and are identified specifically. If the situation arises, staff will ensure that another staff member knows who is assisting the child. Parents will be informed and/or prior consent will be given.

In some situations a child or young person may require more regular physical and or personal care assistance. Advice and assistance will be requested from parents/caregivers and specialist personnel. The CIA will negotiate with all involved regarding appropriate procedures for giving this assistance and appropriate staff will be allocated as the key people to support children that require greater care/assistance. Eg: changing in spare clothes

Links:
CHILDREN’S ACT 2014
MINISTRY OF HEALTH: Is that Child OK?
ORANGA TAMARIKI: Ministry for Children / Children’s Teams

REVIEW SCHEDULE : WITHIN 3 YEARS 

Clear communication channels help programme guides, children, parents and community stay connected and up to date.

We encourage parents to raise any queations or concerns with us directly, so that any issues can be addressed and resolved efficiently.

Contact details

• Parent and caregiver contact information is updated on the CIA database at the beginning of each term. Parents are responsible for letting management know about any changes to their contact details, including details of parents who don’t live with the child but who wish to receive updates.
• Parents can access programme and contact information through the website www.imaginationacademy.nz email hello@imaginationacademy.nz mobile 0226 250 321 and FB & Instagram Pages @ImaginationAcademy and email news and updates.

Everyday communication

• We use a range of methods to communicate general information with parents and community including the website, newsletter, Facebook, and emails.
• If we have concerns about a child’s welfare or behaviour, we will contact parents.
• We protect the privacy of our students and their families in our communications as appropriate.
• Parents are asked to contact the school if their child will be absent or late that day.

Emergency communication

• In the event of an emergency, staff will contacts parents and caregivers asap, using the available communication options.
• If the CIA closes due to govenrment instruction, extreme weather or a local emergency, parents are contacted through available communication options.
• We notify parents if their child suffers a moderate or notifiable injury, or any head or spinal injury.

Reporting to parents

Communicating with parents about their child’s progress and achievement is an important part of school life. Reporting methods may include parent interviews, written reports, and informal conversations.

UNWELL STUDENTS 

1. If a child has recognisable signs of illness, parents will be contacted to collect their child.
2. In an emergency situation an ambulance will be called at all times.
3. In the event of a severe allergic reaction or diabetic emergency, an ambulance will be called and first aid care administered by a qualified designated first-aider.
4. Any child with a temperature over 38°C will be looked after by the staff until parents or caregivers can collect. Parents may be called for a student with a lower temperature who has symptoms that could be contagious such as a heavy cold.
5. Any child sent home must have their parents or caregiver’s permission to leave.

INJURIES 

1. Any injuries that result in significant pain or loss of motion, or wounds that cannot be attended by the designated first aid person, parents will be contacted and advised to take the student to their Doctor or the nearest medical centre for treatment. If parents are unable to be contacted and treatment is required urgently, a staff member will accompany student or an ambulance will be called.
2. If an injury is considered serious an ambulance will be called and parents advised. If no parental contact can be made, an ambulance will still be called if the injury is deemed serious. Students will be accompanied by a staff member to hospital if parents are not able to be contacted.
3. The designated first aid member will be required to determine the extent of an injury and contact the parent or guardian if necessary. Minor injuries – the parents may not be contacted, however the Main office will advise parents if any injury causes concern or feel that the parents need to be informed.
4. The CIA is not responsible for any cost of medical treatment or services provided after an injury at the prorgamme.
5. An incident/accident form is to be completed by staff members if they witness any serious event or injury.
6. Blood must be cleaned up promptly using safe handling procedures.
7. Any hazard within school grounds needs to be reported to the Programme Leader or Director.

STAFF 

1. If a staff member is unwell they need to advise the Programme Leader or Director prior to leaving.
2. If a staff injury is assessed and requires treating, the injury may be registered with ACC.
3. Any injured staff must complete an incident/accident form in a timely manner.
4. Any hazard within CIA grounds needs to be reported to the Programme Leader or Director
5. The CIA is not responsible for any cost of medical treatment or services provided after an injury at school or a school-related activity.

DOCUMENTATION 

It is essential to document all names, complaint, cause of injury, ACC information, treatment given on an incident/accident form. Privacy and confidentiality will be maintained, as necessary. 

Administration of Medicine

The administration of prescribed medication by CIA staff in non-emergency situations: 

1. When parents/caregivers wish a staff member to be responsible for administering prescribed medication they will provide staff with appropriate medical information.
2. The staff member responsible for First Aid shall take primary responsibility for the administration of prescribed medications.
3. The administration of prescribed medication shall follow the directions on the label and each administration shall be recorded.
4. The CIA shall take care to ensure that medication is kept safe and secure at College.
5. Parents/caregivers shall provide information on times, dosage and any other necessary instructions.
6. The staff member responsible for First Aid shall administer the medication. In their absence a Programme Guide or Director shall take responsibility.
7. Whenever medication is administered, the date, time and dosage in the attendance notes register
8. A complete First Aid Emergency kit will be on hand at all times. Staff are to ensure they know the location.

The CIA is required to:

• identify reasonably foreseeable hazards that could give rise to risks to health and safety
• eliminate risks to health and safety so far as is reasonably practicable
• minimise risks to health and safety so far as is reasonably practicable if it is not possible to eliminate the risks.

A hazard is something that is capable of causing harm. This broad definition is often divided into types of hazard:

• physical
• chemical
• biological
• psychological.

Risk is the likelihood that the hazard will cause harm and the severity of the potential harm.

Risk assessments identify hazards and the level of risk each hazard poses. This informs decision-making about what needs to be done to eliminate or minimise risks, so far as is reasonably practicable.

Risks must be eliminated. If it is not reasonably practicable to do so, the school must follow the guidelines below:

1. Minimise the risks using risk-control measures such as:
   • replacing the hazard with something that gives rise to a lesser risk
   • isolating the hazard from any person exposed to it
   • preventing anyone from coming into contact with the hazard
   • implementing engineering controls.
2. If a risk still remains, minimise the remaining risk by implementing administrative controls, such as training.
3. If a risk still remains, minimise the remaining risk by ensuring the provision and use of suitable personal protective equipment.

Hazards are identified by staff as part of their daily activities and, more systematically by regular audits.

Once a hazard has been identified, the risk is assessed and decisions are made about how to manage the risk, following the hierarchy above. New hazards arise regularly, so identification, assessment, reporting, decision making, and implementing control measures form part of staff’s day-to-day tasks.

See  WorkSafe – How to Manage Work Risks for guidance in assessing risk.

Staff use the Hazard Identification form to report a new hazard,if the hazard can’t be easily and immediately eliminated. The form describes the hazard, its level of risk, and the actions taken to eliminate or minimise it. If the hazard can’t be eliminated, it is entered on to the hazard register to be monitored and audited.

All permanent hazards are monitored and audited regularly using the hazard register. This is the responsibility of the principal.

Monitoring and auditing ensures that control measures remain effective, suitable, and fit for purpose, and are installed, set up, and used correctly.

Immediately following any disaster and evacuation procedure the CIA team will:

1. Establish a control centre.
2. Check the attendance record, including all guides, guests, volunteers and visitors.
3. Assign a safe area to handle any injuries.
4. Assess the disaster and decide if evacuation is required, safe areas are defined and used, or if programme closure is deemed necessary. Notify parents as appropriate and possible. If the group is moved to a place of safety offsite, make sure notices are taped in a relevant place advising location to parents or caregivers who turn up.
5. Make sure that children are only released to parents or caregivers, or an assigned adult, and mark each release on the register. If possible, have a reassuring team member (or sign) meet parents/caregivers, to ask them to remain calm and to direct them to the students.
6. Approve any team member’s departure from the school.
7. Begin planning to support any people unable to leave the programme at the end of the day.

After the Event

If anyone has been seriously injured or killed as a result of the disaster, the principal must employ the Emergency Procedure

If a decision was made to close the programme, the team must assess the circumstances and decide when the programme will safely reopen.

Before the programme is reoccupied, the team must check the condition of the buildings. If there is any structural damage, the programme director must arrange for a qualified person to inspect them before reoccupation.

EMERGENCY PROCEDURE

PLANNING & PREPARING
EMERGENCIES & TRAUMATIC INCIDENTS
EARTHQUAKES
FIRE
CHEMICAL SPILL
GAS LEAK
CIVIL EMERGENCY

Coronavirus Outbreak 2020

COVID-19 (novel coronavirus)

In December 2019, COVID-19 was identified in Hubei province, China. It caused respiratory illness with flu-like symptoms including fever, coughing, and difficulty breathing. The virus spread to many countries, and the World Health Organization declared a pandemic.

The New Zealand Government’s four-level alert system specifies the public health and social measures the school and the community need to take. Alert levels can vary throughout the country in response to regional outbreaks.

Infectious Diseases

The community is susceptible to a wide range of bacterial and viral infections throughout the year. To minimise the spread of infections, the CIA encourages basic hygiene practices amongst all adults and children at all times. We use heightened hygiene practices as appropriate when there is a known presence of, or risk of, a highly contagious and debilitating infection (e.g. influenza virus or norovirus).

Basic hygiene measures

The CIA promotes basic hygiene measures to help stop the spread of infectious diseases. This includes key messages such as:

• wash your hands regularly
• avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth
• cover your coughs and sneezes.

Hand hygiene

Hand hygiene is the best way to prevent the spread of infections – this means washing and drying your hands really well. Reminding everyone how to wash and dry their hands effectively will help to keep everyone well.

It is important to wash and dry your hands after you have been to the toilet, whenever your hands feel dirty, and before eating or preparing food.

Follow these steps:

1. Wash your hands under clean running water – warm water is best if you have it.
2. Put soap on your hands and wash for at least 20 seconds.TIP: Singing happy birthday to yourself twice takes about 20 seconds.
3. Rub hands together until the soap makes bubbles, rub on both sides of both hands, and in between fingers and thumbs, and round and round both hands.
4. Rinse all the soap off under clean running water.
5. Dry your hands all over for 20 seconds. Drying your hands is as important as washing them.TIP: Using paper towels is best (or, if at home, a clean, dry towel).

• Ministry of Health: Hand washing  (see High Five for Clean Hands poster)

Coughs and Sneezes

We remind everyone to cover their coughs and sneezes. This means using a tissue (and disposing of it immediately) or using the inside of your elbow (“the Dracula”).

Staying Away

To stop sickness from spreading, students should be kept at home when they are ill. How long they should be at home depends on their illness.

In the case of some illnesses, the decision about whether to exclude students or staff will be made by the Programme Director.

The Ministry of Health gives advice on when individuals should stay away from school when they are unwell with a more serious infection/illness.

More serious illnesses/infections include campylobacter, chickenpox, conjunctivitis, cryptosporidium, gastroenteritis, giardia, glandular fever, hand, foot, and mouth, hepatitis A & B, influenza, measles, meningoccocal disease, mumps, norovirus, pertussis (whooping cough), skin infections (e.g., school sores, ringworm, scabies), and typhoid.

Outbreak or Risk of Outbreak

Heightened hygiene practices

We use heightened hygiene practices when there is a known presence of, or risk of, a serious infection/illness (e.g. influenza virus or measles). This will be signalled by Ministry of Health advisories. Heightened hygiene practices include:

• informing parents about the situation and what they can do, and what action the school is taking
• reiterating basic hygiene measures
• watching out for symptoms
• limiting times when large groups of people are together and encouraging social distancing where possible
• stepping up cleaning practices – this applies particularly to hard surfaces, e.g. sinks, handles and door , railings, table tops:
  • clean surfaces with a neutral detergent, followed by a disinfectant
  • clean surfaces that are touched frequently every day.

If an individual shows symptoms of a serious infection/illness, they are separated from others while waiting to be taken home. Call Healthline on 0800 611 116 for advice.

Anyone with a serious infection/illness should not attend school while they are infectious. Anyone who is not immunised against the relevant infection/illness and has potentially been exposed to it should also stay away from school.

See Unite for the Recovery for current alert levels and possible impact on community

For more information see:

• Ministry of Health for the current status and latest health advice

1. All Programme Guides, Guests and Volunteers are to read and acknowledge understanding of all CIA Health & Safety Policies prior to commencing their time at the programme.
2. All Programme Guides, Guests and Volunteers are to be provide Police Vetting documentation prior to commencing their time at the programme.
3. All Programme Guides, Guests and Volunteers are advised to complete Level 1 First Aid Training prior to commencing their time at the programme.

This sun smart policy will apply during Terms 1 and 4, however due to weather patterns and temperatures being changeable the policy may be applied in Terms 2 and 3 as necessary.

Children and adults participating in outdoor sessions or nature expeditions:

• Will wear a sunhat at all times during Terms 1 and 4
• Are encouraged to eat in a shaded areas if possible
• Will be provided with a spare sunhat if they do not have one
• Will be encouraged to wear suitable clothing that protects the skin from the sun (e.g. t-shirt covering shoulders, not singlets or shoe-string straps).
• Inform parents of the Sun Smart Policy and expectations at enrolment
• Request that parents supply sun cream for their children
• Encourage application of SPF30+ sun cream for outdoor sessions or nature expeditions
• Provide sun cream to all participants and visitors to The CIA

This policy provides a smoke free environment for the community under the Smoke Free Environments Act 1990.

1. Smoking will not be permitted within the confines of the CIA boundary. ?
2. Visitors are expected to comply with this procedure. ?
3. These provisions apply to all during normal CIA hours and at all other CIA events.

One Day Programme

PLEASE ENSURE THAT YOU HAVE READ THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS, PRIOR TO YOUR CHILD ATTENDING THE CIA ONE DAY PROGRAMME. A COPY OF ALL POLICIES ARE AVAILABLE ON REQUEST.

By registering your child at The Children’s Imagination Academy (CIA) you do so in full agreement with these Terms and Conditions and acknowledge that you have read, fully understand and agree to the following:

REGISTRATION AND ENROLMENT

At time of registration you must provide true information that has been requested and not withhold or alter any information that may affect or limit your or another child’s ability to participate safely and fully, or limit or prevent a teacher from being able to undertake his/her roles safely and fully.

FEES & PAYMENTS

One Day School $tbc Incl GST per day

When you enrol your child in the One Day School, a commitment to the full term is required. Your child’s place has been reserved for them every week and cannot be filled by another child if you choose to have them not attend a session. Therefore, you are required to pay for every session of the term once you have committed attendance.

Enrollment fees must be paid in advance each Term. Payment confirms place.

We do not offer casual sessions or fortnightly attendance.

An invoice will be emailed before each term begins. Please read carefully the specific payment details and conditions on the invoice. We accept cash and internet banking. A receipt may be issued on request.

Attendance is once per week during the school term. The number of available days per term can change depending on the length of the term.

RESPECT SESSION HOURS

All children must be dropped off and collected on time. A 15 minute grace period is given once the day has ended but parents will be charged an additional fee of $10 Incl GST per child, per 15 minutes, if they are collected late, unless prior arrangement has been made.

FEE CHANGES

Fees for the One Day Programme are subject to change over time.

CHANGES, ABSENCES AND WITHDRAWALS

Please make sure that when you register your child at The CIA you are 100% committed to your child attending. When enrolled children to not attend there is a significant effect on our entire programme including; children on wait lists, administration, staff ratios and resources. Once you have registered and have accepted our Terms and Conditions, you are agreeing to comply to the following:

CHANGES

Enrolments may be changed before the commencement and during the term of the One Day School by mutual agreement between the Programme Director teachers, school or family requesting the change or transfer.

Changes or transfers to other days are made on a case by case basis and are always made in the best interests of the child/children.

ABSENCES

Please let us know if your child/ren will be absent for the day/art of the day and note on the sign in register.

If your child is absent due to an outside commitment such as school camp, event or family holiday; no refund, make up day or day in lieu will be given. You are still required to pay the full term fees as stated above.

WITHDRAWAL

If you decide to withdraw from the One Day School during the school year you must give 4 weeks notice.

If you fail to give appropriate notice, you are still required to pay the applicable fees following the date that you do give notice.

If you withdraw from the One Day School and have paid the FULL term fees in advance, you will be refunded any remaining term fees, after the 4 week notice period.

PRIORITY PLACES

Current enrolled students will have priority placements for the following term and will be given first choice as to whether they maintain their selected day of attendance, change their day of attendance or select to attend an additional day.

Enrolment places at The CIA will not be held. If the choice is made to have a ‘term out’ of attendance, you do so, at the risk of losing your child’s place altogether. There is no guarantee that a place will still be available the following term.

Siblings of children already in attendance will receive a priority place over a new family joining.

ATTENDANCE ROLL

Attendance of all One Day Programme children is recorded by the sign in register and roll call. This information is available to your child’s other school, for their attendance records, on request.

If your child is absent you must notify The CIA as soon as possible.

Parents/caregivers must personally notify the teacher in charge if someone else will be collecting the child at the end of the day.

CONSENT TO ACTIVITY

At time of enrolment, the Consent to Activity must be read carefully. By completing this, you acknowledge that you consent to your child participating in, and you understand what The CIA provides.

PROGRESS & EVALUATION

There is NO assessment against standards or benchmarks or comparison between students. Our philosophy is that learning is an individual process and progress is vast, varied and depends on each child.

Programme Guides are available every morning and afternoon so that you may speak with them about your child’s progress. We value open, honest, transparent communication, collaboration and partnerships with wh?nau. Progress reports are availiable at the end each term by appointment.

The CIA documents learning experiences in the form of photos and videos on the Children’s Imagination Academy facebook page and Instagram account

Evaluating and reflecting on learning happens collaboratively with the students at the end of the day, and again privately between the prpgramme guides before the day ends. Anecdotal notes are kept to support the ongoing planning and evaluation process of learners, learning and experiences. This is part of our Emergent Curriculum process.

PARENT INVOLVEMENT

We value parent input, community collaboration and sharing of expertise. If you or another family member has a skill, resource or hobby that may be utilised at The CIA, we welcome you sharing this with us.

As part of The CIA wh?nau we ask that each family contributes at least once per year towards a WORKING BEE. These are scheduled on an as-needs basis. We appreciate as much support as we can at these times.

We do not encourage parents to stay during the day. Our aim is that your child builds confidence and independence and to do so, they require the opportunity to observe, explore and become comfortable in their own time. Of course, we appreciate that anxiety is a real thing for many children, especially on their first day. Our staff are extremely capable and experienced to facilitate this transition. They do so in a way that supports each child on an individual basis. Please speak to us if your child may require greater support to transition to The CIA.

Some parents and/or grandparents who have more availability than others are regular parent helpers. We welcome any extra help and support so long as the parents helping, understand that this means supporting all children at The CIA, not only their own child. If you would like to assist regularly, please let be in touch.

WELLBEING AND SAFETY

The safety, wellbeing, and experience that all children have when they attend The CIA is paramount. A duty of care and all reasonable measures have been taken to ensure your child’s safety. In the event of an unexpected injury or if your child becomes unwell, we will contact you and/or the relevant medical authorities promptly. All appropriate steps will be taken to ensure the child is safe. Any medical costs will be solely your responsibility.

Children attending The CIA must come prepared and should be dressed appropriately for the season and weather. This includes: a change of clothing, comfortable shoes, sun hat, sunscreen, insect repellent, waterproof jacket, waterproof pants, appropriate winter layers such as wool or merino, wool hat.

Parents will be notified immediately if children arrive unprepared and it will be the parent’s responsibility to return with the necessary clothing.

Each child must have their own FULL water bottle and plenty of lunch and snacks.

Boundaries, safety guidelines and safety expectations are communicated clearly before any activity takes place. General guidelines are visible on signage. Please become familiar with these.

We regularly review our safety expectations with students. This includes advising/reminding children of boundaries, safe tool use, expectations and routines.

The CIA will take all reasonable measures to ensure your child’s safety. If your child acts outside of the instructions given to them, then they do so at their own risk and they may be instructed to leave the activity.

In the unlikely case that a child becomes aggressive, threatening or violent and staff are concerned for the safety of the child, other children or staff members, the Programme Director will be required to take necessary measures to protect those involved and prevent the situation escalating. This may include: calling parents to collect the child, or removing the child physically from the area/situation.

RISK

We take the health and safety of every child very seriously and are constantly updating our policies and management strategies to achieve our goal; to protect all children at The CIA. The CIA staff are qualified and experienced in the facilitation of all experiences that take place. Although we take all reasonable steps to mitigate accidents, there is an element of risk in some of the activities at The CIA and by consenting to your child participating in activities, acknowledge this.

Participation in all activities at The CIA is voluntary although students are supported and encouraged by their peers and teachers to participate to a level which challenges them. Therefore, we promote ‘challenge by choice’ and encourage children to learn to assess risk safely and take calculated risks.

By enrolling your child at The CIA you understand that there are risks associated with outdoor activities that cannot be reduced to zero. You are aware that you are able to ask any questions to gain a better understanding of the activities and experiences, before deciding whether your child takes part.

The CIA regularly identifies any hazards and removes these as soon as possible.

It is necessary for your child to follow any associated instructions that are given, at all times.

The CIA has a duty of care for your child and will take all reasonable care of his/her property during their session, but will not be held responsible for any accidental injury to the child associated with normal childhood play or loss of or damage to property.

PRIVACY ACT 1993

All personal information collected by The CIA is confidential and will only be used for the purpose of establishing and maintaining records held by The CIA.

Personal information will only be released or made available to another education or health professional with prior consent from the child’s parents.

Held information will be available to you at anytime and you will be given the opportunity to correct it in accordance with the Privacy Act.

CASE STUDIES AND DATA COLLECTION

The CIA reserves the right to gather data and keep case studies in relation to progress and achievement.

The CIA reserves the right to use this material in any publications and/or marketing.

No real student names will be used in any public forums where progress and achievement are shared.

PHOTOS AND INTERNET

The CIA reserves the right to take photos and/or video of activities and children participating in those activities for documentation, data collection, promotional and publicity purposes.

By enrolling at The CIA, you give consent for photos and/or video to be taken of your child, unless otherwise instructed in writing.

If you DO NOT want your child to appear in photos and/or video, you must state this in writing and email to: hello@imaginationacademy.nz

CHILDREN ACT 2014

The CIA has followed the necessary procedures as outlined in the Children’s Act 2014 to ensure that all employees are suitable to be children’s workers and that no child will be put in a vulnerable position or at risk.

In the case of contractors or other personnel being present on site at The CIA, any companies employed to complete any contract work will be required to provide evidence of suitability to work in, on or around a premises which has children present.

Any parent or volunteer who is sharing their specialist knowledge or expertise during one of the sessions, will be requested to comply with The CIA procedures in line with the Children’s Act 2014. If a background check including a police check has not been obtained then volunteers will not be left alone with any child.

DISCLAIMER

By signing the enrolment form you also confirm to have read, understood and agree to these Terms and Conditions.

The CIA reserves the right to cancel or withdraw any child’s enrolment where the Terms and Conditions have not been complied with.

If fees are unpaid/overdue beyond a 4 week period, your child will automatically be withdrawn from the roll. An additional 2 weeks will be charged from the date of withdrawal to cover administration. A payment plan request for unpaid/overdue fees will be considered on a case by case basis. Outstanding fees will be transferred directly to a third party collection agency.

Thank you for reading, understanding and respecting all of our
HEALTH AND SAFETY POLICIES!