Nothing is more important than the safety of your child. When it comes to choosing the right childcare provider, you’ll want to know precisely how each one translates the numerous state and federal regulations into daily practice. Here are a few safety questions you should ask your childcare provider before entrusting them with your child:
Do you have a safety plan in place?
All childcare providers should have a written emergency operation plan, and all staff members should be very familiar with it and trained on it, on a regular basis. A safety plan should include protocols for major events, such as evacuation, shelter-in place, lockdown or medical emergencies. This plan should be updated and easily accessible and understood by staff every day.
How do you keep children safe indoors?
These answers can be dependent on the age of your children but include things such as outlet coverings, cleaning procedures, types of emergency supplies onsite, updated rosters and reunification systems in the event of an evacuation.
How do you keep children safe outdoors?
It’s important to understand how children and staff access outdoor areas and be assured there is no easy access from public spaces. The entire area should be fenced and any gates latched securely, denying easy access to and from outside spaces. There should also be separate spaces for different age groups.
What rules do you have around visitors and sign-out policies?
Your childcare provider should allow you to stop by and visit. With that being said, you should keep unannounced visits to your child at a minimum, in order for them to acclimate to this new environment. There should be very clear rules around pick-ups and drop-offs designed to make sure only your child leaves with you or someone you have designated for pick-up. Many childcare providers now have a two-step verification process, such as a secure pin and a facial recognition feature. Be sure to also ask about their policy on piggybacking, which is the act of keeping the door open for another parent as a gesture of kindness, when it can cause strangers or intruders to enter the building.
How and when are parents notified if there is a safety incident?
You don’t need to be notified every time your child needs a band-aid, but certain things should not wait. Be sure to discuss this with your childcare provider ahead of time. Important topics would include any injury that requires a doctor or visit to the hospital, sick policies and any bumps or bruises that may occur while in their facility.
What accreditation or licensing do you have in place?
Your childcare provider should be licensed. Simply ask what body they received their accreditation or license from.
What kind of safety training do you provide to your staff?
It is important that all staff stay up to date on emergency response plans and the primary protocols that should be followed when an emergency may occur. This training should include shelter-in-place, lockdown, lock-in and evacuation. SEC has worked with hundreds of childcare providers across the country, offering both our onsite site assessments and our critical incident response training to staff employees. If your current or future childcare provider is looking for expert guidance and resources for their facility, SEC is here to help.
Security should be top of mind when shopping for the right childcare provider. After all, you are entrusting your child with their daily care and supervision.