PURPOSE
Kids Come First welcomes both placement students and volunteers into the various programs offered in our childcare programs. It is a valuable part in gaining experience in a childcare environment, volunteers and students also play an important role in supporting staff in the daily operation of childcare programs.
This policy will provide supervising staff, students and volunteers with a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities as set out under Ontario regulation 137/15.
POLICY
It is the policy of Kids Come First (the Centre) that only employees will have direct unsupervised access to children. Under the Child Care and Early Years Act, (the “Act”), volunteers and students are not counted in the staffing ratios requirements for Kids Come First while in operation. Further, the Act provides that no child, in a childcare centre, can be supervised by a person under 18 years of age. As such, volunteers, students and persons under 18 years of age will never left be alone with the children at Kids Come First unless there are an employee of the Centre. Effective January 1, 2024, employees who are completing an educational placement with Kids Come First may continue to be counted as staff members during their placement.
Kids Come First will work in conjunction with Educational Institutes looking for placements for their Early Childhood Educator students when considering placing students. Volunteers will need to contact the Executive Director or her designate to discuss a placement.
Volunteers and Students:
- Volunteers and students are not considered part of the ratios and must never be left alone with the children.
- The Executive Director or the designate is responsible for the recruitment, orientation and training of volunteers and students.
- The Executive Director or the designate is responsible for the ongoing supervision of the volunteers. For students, the Executive Director designates a Registered Early Childhood Educator (RECE) who is responsible for the ongoing supervision of the student.
- All volunteers and students must have a vulnerable sector check (VSC.) The VSC must be completed prior to their involvement with the children at the Centre. Co-op students under the age of 18 are exempted from this requirement. Kids Come First may require 2 reference letters from the school the volunteer under the age of 18 attends.
Volunteers:
- All persons expressing a willingness to become a volunteer must be screened, interviewed and placed within the Centre by the Executive Director or the designate.
- All volunteers must complete a standard application form in order to establish suitability for placement within the Centre. Every effort will be made to place the volunteer in a setting that best utilizes his or her interests and experience.
- The length of commitment will be mutually agreed upon by the volunteer and the Executive Director/Designate. Prior to volunteering at the Centre, the volunteer must sign an agreement outlining the expectations of the Centre, as well as the role of the volunteer.
- The Executive Director/Designate, may, at any time, ask the volunteer to leave provided there is written documentation on file indicating the reasons for the request.
- All volunteers will receive a description outlining their duties and expectations.