emergency preparedness

updated march 24, 2020

At our center, we of course work with several potentially vulnerable demographics and as a result, understand and put great emphasis on the fact that we must take extra precautions when considering how we care for them, and what protocols we put into place to ensure their safety. 

While this website and re-branding have been a labour of love for our center put forth over a number of months, some of those months did also happen to overlap with the COVID-19 pandemic. During this time, we were overcome not only by immense support from our community, reminding us just how grateful we are to call Didsbury home, but also by an even further desire to make our dedication to our emergency preparedness procedures particularly clear. We have had countless solid systems in place for over three decades and have adjusted them as we became aware of safer and better ways to enact them throughout those decades as well, but it was during this particular time of hardship that we were made especially grateful for them, as well as to know that we were well prepared for a test of some of them when the time came with the challenges this virus brought. 

With that said, here are just a few of the precautionary measures that we hold ourselves accountable to in order to keep our facility, and by extension the precious family members you entrust within it, as safe as possible:

We discuss and practice emergency scenarios, such as fire drills, on a consistent basis and in all kinds of weather and surroundings with our staff and children to keep them familiarized with the procedures, and keep detailed records of when these drills occurred.  During these drills, the Director will be responsible for sounding the alarm, as well as for recording and posting the drill dates and times on the wall beside the fire extinguisher, and for inspecting the fire extinguishers as required. There is also an emergency evacuation plan that is reviewed, practiced, and documented on a regular basis.

In the event of an emergency, the person in charge shall assign staff to help with the infants, if necessary, and is also responsible to take the file box and then monitor the main exit. The other staff members shall work together to organize the children into pairs and proceed to the nearest exit. If possible, the lights will be shut off and doors closed behind everyone after being checked to ensure they are vacant. Once outside, staff will check the daily sign-in list and complete a roll call, making sure the head count is accurate. All staff and children will then proceed to the designated meetup point across the street from the facility, which our staff and children have all been made aware of and are reminded of periodically, the Didsbury Memorial Complex located at 1702 21 Ave. If it is deemed not possible to return to the center following these procedures, parents will then be notified. No one, for any reason, may re-enter the center once emergency procedures have begun. Only when and if the Director has declared it safe to return to the center may re-entry begin to take place.

The safety of everyone at our facility is our number one priority. Staff are well trained and equipped to handle any threat that may compromise the safety or security of the children or others within the facility. To ensure an effective response, the center has differentiated between several levels of risk and the response required for each level. There are many possible reasons for the daycare to initiate safety procedures, and staff will use their discretion in responding to each situation. The levels of risk considered include:

- Lockdown: A “Lockdown” is to be used when there is a major incident or threat of violence within the daycare, or in relation to the daycare. When information is received regarding a situation requiring a “Lockdown”, whoever receives that information will immediately alert all persons within the premises, including those outside on daycare grounds, loudly and clearly. There should be no hesitation in announcing the “Lockdown”, and the decision to call the “Lockdown” should be made without delay. All occupants are then to be directed to the most secure location away from doors and windows, lights shall be turned off by the Person in Charge, and attendance will be taken. During this time, no one other than law enforcement is permitted access to the building. Once the police have given the “all-clear”, staff can commence to de-escalate the situation according to protocol.

- Hold and Secure: A “Hold and Secure” response should be used when it is desirable to secure the building due to an ongoing situation outside and not related to the daycare. In this situation, the daycare will continue to function normally, with the exterior doors being locked until such time as the situation near the premise is resolved. When a “Hold and Secure” situation occurs while staff and children are outside the building, re-entry must take place prior to the exterior doors being locked.

- Shelter in Place: A “Shelter in Place” should be used for environmental or weather-related situations, where it is necessary to keep all occupants within the daycare, to protect from external situations, such as chemical spills, blackouts, explosions, tornados, or other extreme weather conditions. All occupants are to be directed to the most secure location away from doors and windows, lights shall be turned off by the Person in Charge, and attendance will be taken.

Our staff are all trained on detail-oriented cleaning procedures that focus on high traffic areas in particular, but are sure not to neglect any areas of the center that require attention. Toys, play areas, games, and books are sanitized with safe, industrial strength products thoroughly and often to ensure that the children are receiving stimulating but safe experiences at all times. 

We keep detailed files on all of the children who attend our center and in the name of emergency preparedness, these files include all important information including allergies and any other health concerns, and the contact names and phone numbers for both their guardian(s) and emergency contact(s) in the event that their guardian(s) cannot be reached in emergency circumstances. 

Certain chemicals used to sanitize objects within the center fall into the Hazardous Materials category, and as such require Material Safety Data Sheets, or MSDS’. These products are all properly labeled as required by law and their MSDS’ are readily available on site to all of our staff. A requirement of working at Kidsbury is also to be fully trained in the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) and by extension, MSDS’, which all employees are. 

Our center is always well-equipped with first aid supplies that are replaced as they are used and checked/stocked up on periodically. Staff members are also all required to have their certification in first aid and to have it currently updated at all times, should the need for such skills ever arise. 

There is a posted list in our center’s office of all of the local emergency phone numbers for our staff to access at any time, including the local police, poison control, and district health services, should they ever be required. 

The above listed are just a sampling of the many protocols that we have put in place at Kidsbury Daycare to provide the best care possible for your children and family. If at any time you find that you have further questions, comments, or concerns about any of our policies or what we are doing on a day-to-day basis to keep our children safe, please don’t hesitate to reach out via telephone at 403-335-3228, or through the form on our contact us page.