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This is a suck-in-advance, but kinda allows me some time to reflect on the past school holidays I've worked at.
Background: I work for an after-school program that runs at multiple schools, so on any given day I can be at 2 different schools. During the school holidays, I will align myself with up to 3 different schools (out of a total of 12) as I've worked with the kids who will be attending those days.
So with that in mind, here's some of the suck.
Clothing:
Parents, if you are going to send your kid to a holiday care program, PLEASE send them in appropriate clothing. We don't have a huge dress code during the holidays, just that shoulders and midriff are covered and that your kid isn't wearing thongs or shoes that are labelled "sandals" but are actually thongs. While we do provide sunscreen, we are a SUN SAFE COMPANY, meaning: SEND YOUR KID TO THE PROGRAM IN AT LEAST A T-SHIRT AND SKIRT/SHORTS!
On the other end of the spectrum, if it's cold or you think it's going to be cold, please send a jacket and/or umbrella with your kid. Especially if they are under 10. God knows the number of kids I've had shivering on excursions....
Electronic Devices:
This one is site-specific and only applies to one of my sites. The rule is that the kids cannot have any electronic devices beyond ones for medical use (ie insulin pumps or glucose meters are OK if they're diabetic). This extends to phones.
Therefore parents, if you are going to send your kid to the program, PLEASE check their bag for any iPods, iPhones, iPads, tablets, smartphones etc. We WILL confiscate them until the end of the day.
We aren't completely heartless though: if your kid needs an electronic device for obvious communication purposes, we'll allow it under the condition that said device is only used for that.
Special needs children:
OK, long background time: when we have a kid with moderate-severe special needs** at the service, we also have an "aide" there with them. The aide is there to support the kid as much as they can, try and include him/her in activities and just be their source of "calm" if need be. The aide is NOT there to shadow the kid, particularly if they're older.
Aides at the sites are funded outside of the regular staffing ratio*-that is, they are there from the moment the kid arrives to the moment the kid is picked up. So if that kid is the last kid at the service, he gets TWO staff members to play with! (the aide and the site leader)
One of my coworkers and a parent however, misinterpreted my "special needs" background to mean "I will know exactly what needs this kid has and what to do" and basically dumped a kid with somewhat moderate special needs on me...when I was an assistant, NOT an aide. It was worse on excursions.
This kid was the brother of one of our regulars, so we knew the mother. But oh dear sweet frakking deity, over the four weeks we had him there, I was nearly ready to tell BossMan that I wouldn't be coming back! The kid attended a special class at another school and he was dumped on us with zero warning***. The kid:
-Had no idea of "full". He'd have HUGE helpings of breakfast and still complain that he was hungry. (this was later found out to be due to the medication he was on, he was a skinny little thing to boot)
-Was a frequent absconder. While on-site he kept himself to the gardens mostly, on excursions it was worse. He'd frequently stray away from his group leader (and we'd ask him who he wanted as a group leader first so the staff member who had him was aware of it) and in one case, decided to bolt down two flights of stairs and was nearly out the door. Guess who got stuck chasing him? (and he wasn't in my group)
-Picked fights with his brother and on a few occasions, with other children. The fights against his brother were NOT justified, while the incidents with the other children were usually the result of bullying [he was the victim]. It got to the point where he bit another child on the butt (not enough to draw blood) and the throwing of lego at his brother was a daily occurrence. His mothers reaction? "Oh, they're like that at home."
In the case of the biting of the kid on the butt, I spoke to both kids and informed the bossman. Neither kid got into a heap of trouble as it was a case of being provoked, but it did highlight the fact that we were ill-equipped to handle his needs and we needed someone for HIM specifically.
-The scary thing though, was his slightly destructive tendency. He'd rip/break anything he could get his hands on and it was merely a game to him. He'd be SMILING while he did it.
Oh and he was capable of playing normally too.
Thankfully the mother is NOT enrolling him in the upcoming school holiday program, but seriously...
Finally: lunches
I am waiting for the day a kid gets burned and a parent blames us. We do try and supervise this as best as we can, but we do allow the kids to bring along 2 minute noodles and toast their sandwiches. In the case of the noodles, I will try and avoid it boiling over.
Having said that though, parents, when we go on excursions, we may not get back in time to make lunches. So PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE send along something that can be eaten at the excursion site!!!
**-To give you an idea of who needs an "aide", we have four kids [that are confirmed] at my main site who do not need an aide. One has ADHD and anger issues, one has ADHD period, one is autistic (albeit minor) and the other is Aspergers (confirmed prior to the DSM-V). We also have one kid with sensory processing disorder. None of these kids need an aide.
We have two kids at DistantSite with various issues, one has behavioural issues, the other is high-functioning autistic. These two kids have an aide [which is me one day a week]. We have 3 kids at one of my other sites who have INCREDIBLY complex special needs and we have one aide between the three of them. One has Downs, the other two are non-verbal and autistic.
*-regular staffing ratio is 1 adult per 15 children, except if it's just the coordinator there, it's 1 adult to 10 children. Excursions that number is 1 adult per 8 children and we divide the kids up accordingly so they each have a staff member to "report" to.
***-To put this into perspective, we have a kid at my Main Site's "sister" site (that is, we share everything-staff, advice etc.) who went through trauma and is very anger-prone. We also suspect that he's possibly autistic. When he first came to the school holiday program, we were given at LEAST 4 weeks warning by the manager of the main site and from the manager of sister site. The issues we had with him were minor compared to this kid and the major tantrums/meltdowns were at pickup time.
Background: I work for an after-school program that runs at multiple schools, so on any given day I can be at 2 different schools. During the school holidays, I will align myself with up to 3 different schools (out of a total of 12) as I've worked with the kids who will be attending those days.
So with that in mind, here's some of the suck.
Clothing:
Parents, if you are going to send your kid to a holiday care program, PLEASE send them in appropriate clothing. We don't have a huge dress code during the holidays, just that shoulders and midriff are covered and that your kid isn't wearing thongs or shoes that are labelled "sandals" but are actually thongs. While we do provide sunscreen, we are a SUN SAFE COMPANY, meaning: SEND YOUR KID TO THE PROGRAM IN AT LEAST A T-SHIRT AND SKIRT/SHORTS!
On the other end of the spectrum, if it's cold or you think it's going to be cold, please send a jacket and/or umbrella with your kid. Especially if they are under 10. God knows the number of kids I've had shivering on excursions....
Electronic Devices:
This one is site-specific and only applies to one of my sites. The rule is that the kids cannot have any electronic devices beyond ones for medical use (ie insulin pumps or glucose meters are OK if they're diabetic). This extends to phones.
Therefore parents, if you are going to send your kid to the program, PLEASE check their bag for any iPods, iPhones, iPads, tablets, smartphones etc. We WILL confiscate them until the end of the day.
We aren't completely heartless though: if your kid needs an electronic device for obvious communication purposes, we'll allow it under the condition that said device is only used for that.
Special needs children:
OK, long background time: when we have a kid with moderate-severe special needs** at the service, we also have an "aide" there with them. The aide is there to support the kid as much as they can, try and include him/her in activities and just be their source of "calm" if need be. The aide is NOT there to shadow the kid, particularly if they're older.
Aides at the sites are funded outside of the regular staffing ratio*-that is, they are there from the moment the kid arrives to the moment the kid is picked up. So if that kid is the last kid at the service, he gets TWO staff members to play with! (the aide and the site leader)
One of my coworkers and a parent however, misinterpreted my "special needs" background to mean "I will know exactly what needs this kid has and what to do" and basically dumped a kid with somewhat moderate special needs on me...when I was an assistant, NOT an aide. It was worse on excursions.
This kid was the brother of one of our regulars, so we knew the mother. But oh dear sweet frakking deity, over the four weeks we had him there, I was nearly ready to tell BossMan that I wouldn't be coming back! The kid attended a special class at another school and he was dumped on us with zero warning***. The kid:
-Had no idea of "full". He'd have HUGE helpings of breakfast and still complain that he was hungry. (this was later found out to be due to the medication he was on, he was a skinny little thing to boot)
-Was a frequent absconder. While on-site he kept himself to the gardens mostly, on excursions it was worse. He'd frequently stray away from his group leader (and we'd ask him who he wanted as a group leader first so the staff member who had him was aware of it) and in one case, decided to bolt down two flights of stairs and was nearly out the door. Guess who got stuck chasing him? (and he wasn't in my group)
-Picked fights with his brother and on a few occasions, with other children. The fights against his brother were NOT justified, while the incidents with the other children were usually the result of bullying [he was the victim]. It got to the point where he bit another child on the butt (not enough to draw blood) and the throwing of lego at his brother was a daily occurrence. His mothers reaction? "Oh, they're like that at home."
In the case of the biting of the kid on the butt, I spoke to both kids and informed the bossman. Neither kid got into a heap of trouble as it was a case of being provoked, but it did highlight the fact that we were ill-equipped to handle his needs and we needed someone for HIM specifically.-The scary thing though, was his slightly destructive tendency. He'd rip/break anything he could get his hands on and it was merely a game to him. He'd be SMILING while he did it.
Oh and he was capable of playing normally too. Thankfully the mother is NOT enrolling him in the upcoming school holiday program, but seriously...
Finally: lunches
I am waiting for the day a kid gets burned and a parent blames us. We do try and supervise this as best as we can, but we do allow the kids to bring along 2 minute noodles and toast their sandwiches. In the case of the noodles, I will try and avoid it boiling over.
Having said that though, parents, when we go on excursions, we may not get back in time to make lunches. So PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE send along something that can be eaten at the excursion site!!!
**-To give you an idea of who needs an "aide", we have four kids [that are confirmed] at my main site who do not need an aide. One has ADHD and anger issues, one has ADHD period, one is autistic (albeit minor) and the other is Aspergers (confirmed prior to the DSM-V). We also have one kid with sensory processing disorder. None of these kids need an aide.
We have two kids at DistantSite with various issues, one has behavioural issues, the other is high-functioning autistic. These two kids have an aide [which is me one day a week]. We have 3 kids at one of my other sites who have INCREDIBLY complex special needs and we have one aide between the three of them. One has Downs, the other two are non-verbal and autistic.
*-regular staffing ratio is 1 adult per 15 children, except if it's just the coordinator there, it's 1 adult to 10 children. Excursions that number is 1 adult per 8 children and we divide the kids up accordingly so they each have a staff member to "report" to.
***-To put this into perspective, we have a kid at my Main Site's "sister" site (that is, we share everything-staff, advice etc.) who went through trauma and is very anger-prone. We also suspect that he's possibly autistic. When he first came to the school holiday program, we were given at LEAST 4 weeks warning by the manager of the main site and from the manager of sister site. The issues we had with him were minor compared to this kid and the major tantrums/meltdowns were at pickup time.
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