Policy & Procedure No.11(a)
Millfield Pre-school (MPS) will always open for sessions wherever possible. However, this policy and procedure covers incidents of short notice closure due to bad weather, power failure or any other event that makes the building unsuitable for children to attend.
1. When staff arrive at the pre-school, the Lead Practitioner/Manager or Senior Assistant is to assess if the pre-school is suitable to open. If it is deemed unsuitable to open, the following actions will be taken:
a. Parents/carers will be informed as soon as is practical by telephone that the pre-school is to close. As soon as the pre-school is able to re-open, parents/carers will be informed.
b. If the building is suitable for staff to remain but not for children to attend, the Lead Practitioner/Manager or Senior Assistant will advise the staff what duties can be undertaken. If the building is not suitable for staff to remain, they will be sent home with full pay providing approval has been sought from the Chairperson of the Committee.
c. If the closure is due to a maintenance issue, the additional actions will be for a person of the appropriate skilled trade to be contacted and asked to attend pre-school and rectify the situation. The Chairperson is then to be contacted and informed of the situation. If staff require any extra help, the Chairperson is to ask a member of the Committee to attend. If a skilled worker attends pre-school, two members of staff must remain on site, one of them to be the Lead Practitioner/Manager or Senior Assistant.
d. If the closure is due to bad weather, e.g. snow, ice, flood, etc, the Chairperson will be advised of the situation. The Committee and parents/carers will be informed as soon as possible. The Lead Practitioner/Manager or Senior Assistant is to reassess the situation for subsequent days.
e. If a staff member is not able to attend pre-school due to bad weather and the pre-school remains open, they will not receive payment for that shift and another member of staff will be called in to cover.
2. As soon as the pre-school can be re-opened and sessions can be held, parents/carers will be informed. If there are sessions available, children who were due to attend during the unplanned closure period will be offered another session. If this is not achievable, the parents/carers will be reimbursed the fees for the missed session(s). This will be refunded on the next invoice or by cheque. If the child receives funded sessions this will be reported to the appropriate persons by the Lead Practitioner/Manager.