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Childcare at InteractionBy Alice Lawson - Division Head, Services This page contains everything you need to know about our plans for Childcare for children under 10 years old. You will find information here on:
Introduction If you have any questions about our arrangements, please contact us at children@interaction.worldcon.org.uk
IntroductionThe childcare at Interaction is designed for all children aged between 6 weeks and 10 years. There will be three separate groups for children of different ages. These will be run in different rooms with separate activities and carers.
Children under 11 years old are also welcome in the YAFA programme, if accompanied by an adult. Of course discretion will need to be applied as to which activities younger children can sensibly take part in, and safety considerations will always be paramount. As stated previously on the website and in our earlier Progress Reports, because the laws and legislation in Scotland state that childcare must be provided by registered professionals, Interaction childcare will be provided by Happitots. Happitots is a professional childcare company recommended by the Care Commission. They also provide after school activities for older children in some of their areas. The article below shows the type of activity they will provide. We will also be liasing with Happitots on other ideas to entertain the children.
Guidelines for Late or Abandoned ChildrenIn the event that a child is late being collected form the childcare facility we will follow these guidelines: 1. Two staff will remain with the child. 2. Staff will attempt to contact the child’s parents using the numbers available on the registration form. 3. If the parents are unavailable we will try the emergency contact numbers if relevant. 4. If unable to contact parent’s or emergency contacts by telephone a tannoy announcement will be made. 5. A parent or carer arriving late to collect a child will be politely reminded of the collection times and asked to ensure late collection does not occur again. 6. In the event of a second late collection an additional charge will be made. 7. In the event of a third occurrence we would ask the parent not to use the crèche facility. In the very unlikely event that we are absolutely unable to contact a child’s parents or carers, and have waited for more than one hour after closure time, we would treat this as an abandoned child situation. If a child has been abandoned at the crèche facility we would liase with the convention organisers and may in extreme cases have to contact local social services. The social services number will be available at the reception area.
LanguageAlthough children, especially small children, do not usually have difficulty in communicating with each other, we are aware that there may be difficulty in communication between staff and children if your child does not speak English. We recommend that prior to the convention you use picture cards with your child showing some common requests, such as toilet, hungry, thirsty, sad. Your child can show these to the carer as needed. It is also recommended that you write down a few basic words and phrases to give to the carer to use.
SecurityHappitots have a very comprehensive security policy. The first time a child is taken to childcare, a digital photograph of the parents or guardians will be taken. These are for security purposes to ensure the safety of the children and will be deleted at the end of the convention. Your child will not be allowed to be out of the childcare area with anyone who Happitots do not have a photograph of. A copy of emergency procedures will also be issued to all parents and guardians. Each time you take your child to the childcare area you will be required to complete a signing in form, and sign again when you pick your child up. You will also be expected to give contact details in case of any problems.
Food and DrinkHappitots will not be providing food for the children. You can leave sandwiches with the staff to be given to your child at lunchtime. There is a stall right beside the childcare area that sells sandwiches and there are other outlets in the main area including a shop.
Happitots will ensure they always have a staff member who has a food hygiene certificate.
Opening HoursThe Happitots opening hours will be as follows:
How to Register your ChildThe cost for childcare service is £3.00 per hour per child. This equates to approximately US$5.65 or EUR 4.4 per hour at current exchange rates. In order to give Happitots an idea of the number of staff they will need to provide we strongly encourage advance registration. The number of available places for childcare will be also be limited by space and we will allocate on a first-come, first-served basis. Pre-registration before 30 June 2005 will entitle you to 4 hours free childcare. Pre-registration also allows you to specify and reserve blocks of childcare hours before the convention. It will help ensure the best possible care for your children. We cannot guarantee space if children are not pre-registered. Note that the the 4 hours free childcare provision is only available to people with full memberships. Parents with day admissions may still use the Happitots facility subject to availability on the day but may not pre-register. The Childcare Booking form may be downloaded in either PDF or Microsoft Word format by clicking the icons below. You may return your form in one of the following ways:
Evening BabysittingHappitots staff has agreed to provide a limited amount of evening babysitting at the cost of £6 per hour. This equates to approximately US$11.16 or EUR 8.74 at current exchange rates. Please note that each babysitter can look after a maximum of 3 children for reasons of safety and security. This will be a private arrangement between yourself and Happitots staff. You can book your babysitting by mailing Happitots at happitots@interaction.worldcon.org.uk.
© UK 2005 Ltd, 2002-2005. All rights to content reserved to UK 2005 Ltd, unless otherwise indicated.
This page maintained by webmaster@interaction.worldcon.org.uk.
Page last updated 16th June 2005
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