Overview
The Langara Child Development Centre, also known as the day care centre, is a part of Langara College and the larger child care community. Aside from our primary function, providing child care to our day care population, the centre serves many other functions both within and outside of the college. The centre is used to provide a variety of learning experiences, practicum placements, and research opportunities to many of the college’s programs as well as programs from other colleges and universities. Visitors from other Early Childhood Education settings and the community come to observe our program and practices. Therapists and professionals from a variety of community resource services come to the centre to provide support to individual children, families, and staff. To ensure the children’s safety, all visitors must be authorized by the child care staff prior to entering the centre.
Any individual accessing the Langara day care centre must behave in a way that supports a safe and secure environment. Actions that in any way jeopardize the physical and/or emotional well being of children or adults in the centre will result in the immediate removal of the person responsible and the generation of a security report.
Visitor Access Protocol
Protocol for Visitor Access to Langara Day Care Centre
The Langara day care centre is a part of Langara College and the larger child care community. Aside from our primary function, providing child care to our day care population, the centre serves many other functions both within and outside of the college. The centre is used to provide a variety of learning experiences, practicum placements, and research opportunities to many of the college’s programs as well as programs from other colleges and universities. Visitors from other Early Childhood Education settings and the community come to observe our program and practices. Therapists and professionals from a variety of community resource services come to the centre to provide support to individual children, families, and staff. To ensure the children’s safety, all visitors must be authorized by the child care staff prior to entering the centre. Any individual accessing the Langara day care centre must behave in a way that supports a safe and secure environment. Actions that in any way jeopardize the physical and/or emotional wellbeing of children or adults in the centre will result in the immediate removal of the person responsible and the generation of a security report. The single entrance to the day care centre is always kept locked. Day care staff, parents, ECE practicum students, and other authorized persons are able to enter the centre by punching in a security code. All other visitors who seek entrance must ring the doorbell and be allowed in by a day care member who establishes their identity. In compliance with Child Care Facilities Licensing requirements, all day care staff, substitutes, ECE practicum students, and volunteers must complete a Criminal Records Search to work in the day care centre.
Visitor Access at Langara Day Care Centre
There are various types of situations in which visitor access to the day care centre may occur.
There are three visitor categories:
- Family visitors
- Langara College visitors
- External visitors
- Family Visitors
Family visitors include:
- Families seeking information about the day care centre for the purpose of enrolling their children;
- Persons authorized to spend time at the day care centre during gradual entry or other occasions;
- Persons authorized to drop off and pick up children.
Family members or friends may not visit the child at the day care centre unless they are accompanied by the parent or have been authorized by the parent to visit the child. - Langara College Visitors
Langara College visitors include:
- Langara ECE students who do their practicum placements in the day care centre;
- Langara students and faculty from various departments who interact with the children and staff in a variety of ways appropriate to their areas of study, e.g. observations of children, interviews with staff or parents, activities with groups of children, research projects;
- Volunteers who work the pre-requisite hours to qualify for entry into the Langara Early Childhood Education Program;
- Service personnel who provide the services required to maintain the facility, e.g. maintenance workers, repair workers;
- College administrators responsible for day care services.
- External Visitors
The primary purpose of the day care centre is to provide excellent child care and this purpose will be not be compromised to accommodate visitors. External visitors who are not known to day care staff will be asked to produce identification to verify their identity.
For the following group of external visitors, some of whom may not be known to day care staff, identification to verify their identity must be produced:
- Therapists and professionals from a variety of community resource services who come to the centre to provide support to individual children with special needs, their families and staff, e.g. Community Health Nurse, Speech and Language Pathologist, Physiotherapist, Occupational Therapist, Psychologist, Psychiatrist, Supported Child Care Consultant, Licensing personnel, Ministry staff;
- ECE students from other colleges who come to the day care centre to do practicum placements or observations.
- Observers from other Early Childhood Education settings and from the community who come to observe our program and practices;
- Researchers from other colleges and universities who come to conduct studies in ECE practices, child development, and related topics.
- A request in writing which includes a copy of photo i.d. will be required;
- A letter granting permission for the visit will be sent back from the day care;
- On arrival the visitor must produce picture i.d. and the permission letter;
No child will be included in any research project or study until their parents or guardians have provided informed consent as indicated by their signature on the consent forms provided by the individuals requesting permission. If a parent or guardian does not give permission, that child will be accommodated away from the activity.
The process for conducting research in the day care centre will require that the individual or group complete the External Visitor Request to Conduct Research at Langara day care centre (Appendix 1). They must provide:
- Their name(s), address(es), telephone number(s), fax number(s), and e-mail address(es);
- A complete written proposal or description of the project to be reviewed by the Head teacher and the Dean of Student and Education Support Services;
- Agreement to abide by the requests made by Langara College including provision of reference and credential checks.
Following approval by the Head Teacher and Dean of Student and Education Support Services, consent forms must be completed by each parent or guardian whose child may be included. Consent forms must be signed by all signators to the Parent Contract. Parents or guardians are to receive consent forms three to five days in advance of the research date. Consent forms must include:
- Name(s) and contact number(s) of the person(s) requesting permission;
- Intended use of the research;
- Method of dissemination;
- A complete description of the project including such information as dates, times, number of children involved, number of people on site, children and staff involvement, procedures, expected outcomes of the project, how confidentiality will be assured, and how the project will benefit the day care centre;
- Space for parents or guardians to fill in the date, the name of their child, their name(s), their signature(s) indicating their consent.
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Image-taking of Children at Langara Day Care Centre
Image-Taking Protocol
*Image-taking refers to the taking of photographs, videotaping, filming or any other electronic means of capturing children’s images.
There are various types of situations in which image-taking of the children in the Langara day care centre may occur. These situations fall into two categories:
- Internal (within Langara College); and
- External (outside of Langara College).
When people take images of the children in the day care centre, they must agree to the following conditions:
- Image-taking of the children for any commercial purpose, e.g. advertising or promoting the sale or trade of any property or service, is strictly forbidden;
- Images of the children will not be used in any way that has not been approved. Images of the children will not be used on the Internet, e.g. e-mail, web sites;
- The identity of children and families may not be disclosed by those who are taking the images. Children and families’ confidentiality must be protected;
- Image-taking of children in a state of distress or incomplete attire is prohibited;
- The final decision to permit image-taking will be made by the senior day care staff based on the interest of the children;
- All images taken by people who are not parents or day care staff will become the property of the Langara day care centre.
The following describes the various types of situations in which image-taking of children in the Langara day care centre may occur and the types of consents and forms that are required from parents or guardians as well as image-takers.
1. Internal Image-taking
Families are informed in the Parent Contract that occasionally, day care staff take images of the children as they participate in the program. These images are used in the day care centre or for instructional purposes. They may be used on posters or charts, in scrapbooks and learning materials, or on cubbies and placemats as identification, to help children know where their places are.
Families are informed in the Parent Contract that parents or guardians sometimes take children’s images at birthday parties and special events.
Sometimes faculty or students from Langara College come into our centre to do activities with the children, for example Early Childhood Education (ECE) students may put on puppet shows and holiday workshops. Human Performance and Recreation students may do gym times with the children. Faculty and students may take images of the activities as a way to review and evaluate the experience. These images can only be used for instructional purposes and within the college. Faculty and students who wish to take images of the children will complete the Request for Image-Taking at Langara day care centre by Langara Students and Faculty/Staff (Appendix 1) a minimum of 10 working days in advance of the activity.
When images are taken by day care staff for children’s learning purposes only and to be used within the day care only, we require parent or guardian permission as indicated by the parent or guardian’s signature on the Langara day care centre Image-Taking Permission Form (Appendix 2). If a parent or guardian does not give permission, that child will be accommodated away from those activities. Parents who give permission may revoke that permission at any time in writing.
2. External Image-Taking
Individuals or groups from outside Langara College may request permission to take images of the children for educational purposes only. Children will only be included when their parents or guardians have provided informed consent as indicated by their signature on a consent form provided by the individuals requesting permission.
The primary purpose of the day care centre is to provide excellent child care and this purpose will not be compromised to accommodate individuals requesting permission to take images. Requests must be received a minimum of 10 working days in advance of the requested dates of the project.
The process for requesting permission for the image-taking of children in the day care centre will require that the individual or group complete the External Request for Taking of Images at Langara day care centre (Appendix 3). These requests must provide:
- Name(s), address(es), telephone number(s), fax number(s) and e-mail address(es);
- A complete written proposal or description of the project;
- Agreement to abide by the requests made by Langara College including provision of reference and credential checks;
- Consent forms to be completed by each parent or guardian whose child may be included;
- Consent forms must be signed by all signators to the Parent Contract.
Consent forms must include:
- Name(s) and contact numbers of the person(s) requesting permission;
- Intended use;
- Method of dissemination;
- Complete description of the project including such information as dates, times, number of children involved, number of people on site, children and staff involvement, expected outcomes of the project, how confidentiality will be assured, how the project will benefit the day care;
- Space for parents or guardians to fill in the date, the name of their child, their name(s), and their signature(s) indicating their consent.
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