Who is responsible for your child?
When waiting outside with your child before a session starts, or your child has been released to you after a session, they are your responsibility. The information on this page tells you what to look out for and the few things we ask of you whilst you are on our grounds.
Please remember this responsibility and supervise your child appropriately. Teatimers is not responsible if you lose your child or they get hurt because you weren’t supervising them. We will of course do everything we can if something happens and you need our help.
What are the risks?
The front of our building is a safe place – we use it as a place to play with children. With lots of people transiting the area and chatting, there is more chance of something going wrong at pick up or drop off.
Please keep an eye out for what children are up to. Especially make sure they can’t leave without an appropriate adult. Also, is their game safe and are they treating the environment with respect?
We can see what children are up to through the windows, but can’t do much to intervene in time.
If your child has been playing with our toys and loose equipment, please get them to put it away before they come in.
The front gate
The gate is the big risk. If properly closed, someone can be hurt when it is opened. If not properly closed, a child can escape.
- Do not assume it is closed or that it will prevent your child from leaving the area. Don’t base your child’s safety on a heavily used gate that you cant see. When we are supervising children, we lock it from the inside.
- Please shut the gate behind you. When you are leaving, make sure all the children who are with you should be with you. Children can tailgate adults whose minds are elsewhere.
- Please don’t let your child stand or play near the gate. They may be knocked over if they stand behind it or hurt if it shuts on them (especially if it is windy).
- If your child is playing with stones, please don’t let them drop them in the gateway. as the gate jams. If the gate is sticking please let us know.
Beds and borders
The beds are there for education and enjoyment. Children are actively encouraged to play in them but please be aware of the following:
- Raised borders can be fallen into or out of. You need to be watching.
- Contents of the border need to stay there. If your child empties bark all over the path, please assist them to put it back.
- We have a special bed, made of sleepers, specifically for plant growing activities. We protect it as best we can but please don’t let your child pull it apart.
- Flowers and bushes won’t stay nice if the children are allowed to pull bits off them.
Sheds
Please don’t let your child enter our sheds. These are not set up for children and they must not enter unless a member of staff takes them in.
The gates between the sheds should always be closed and are hard to open. They are there to prevent children getting behind the sheds – an area that is not safe for children.
Trolley and tables
The lunch trolley and picnic tables aren’t climbing frames, and arent located in a safe place for a fall.
Don’t let your child climb the lunch trolley.
If you are supervising your child and you feel their game is safe on / around a picnic table then that’s fine but be aware that games can change and quickly become unsafe.