Your Sunday school classroom is just like any other institution that has children on its premises when it comes to the issue of safety and security. It is of the upmost importance and needs to be discussed openly. The first thing to do is take a good long look at the risks and threats that potentially pose a risk to the children so that they can be minimized or even prevented.First begin with the classroom when looking at safety and security in Sunday school. Windows and doors should be left open and if at all possible locate the class in a high traffic area of the church. Inform children of the location of the emergency exits on a regular basis (once a month). Perform a few practice fire drills throughout the year to keep children informed of the safety plan.
Make sure all the things inside the classroom including furniture are safe for children. This means that bookcases need to be bolted to the walls, desks are smooth and splinter-free, and chairs are sturdy. Finally, to keep children from giving themselves an electric shock, use safety plugs in all the outlets in the classroom and the ones in the hallway. Check the plugs often because they easily become lost.
Having done everything to make the building and its furnishings safe and secure the next area of safety concerns cutting down on the number of accidents. Use common sense if you can harm yourself with an item a child most certainly will. Make sure that all craft materials including scissors and glue are safe for children. Have adult volunteers or older children help the young children with cutting and gluing to avoid injury.
Food Allergies are becoming more and more common with children so this is the next area you should look at. Food allergies are extremely important to be aware of since many can be life threatening if not properly treated. Check with each parent about their child and any possible food allergies. This may be something that develops so it is important to make regular checks (once a year via an update your details form is one idea.) When serving snacks to the children, avoid snacks with peanuts or other nuts.
Also where snack time is concerned, never serve hot beverages and supervise children closely while they are eating. First Aid course designed with children in mind are quite cheap to arrange or find out if there are nurses or doctors in the parish that wouldn’t mind teaching valuable, life-saving skills.
Finally, when approaching Sunday school security it’s important to remember that some people may pose a threat to children, even in the setting of a church. All volunteers, especially those who work closely with children should be vigorously screened and interviewed. It may even be advisable to have a criminal background check done to keep sexual predators out. Remember that while background checks are one way to eliminate potential abusers, use common sense as well since many abusers have a clean criminal record because they’re never been caught.
The best way to protect children from an unfortunate situation is to make sure children are never left alone with an adult, even in counselling situations or bathroom breaks. Also, implement a check-in and check-out policy with clear drop-off and pick-up times at the beginning and end of the sessions to ensure no child is left unattended.
Craft activities and lessons for Sunday school
