Participant Safety Policy

General Statement

 

We have developed these policies and procedures to ensure the health and safety of all program participants and staff. We appreciate the trust you have placed in us by enrolling your child(ren) in our education programs.

 

Guidelines, protocols, and procedures outlined in this document may change quickly, without notice, due to updated guidance and notices from local, state, and federal agencies. Sparknify will make every effort to quickly notify caregivers of any changes or updates.

 

By enrolling a program participant in a program at Sparknify, the caregiver is certifying that they have read this document in full and that they and the program participant will be able to comply with all requirements contained therein.

 

For the safety of all the program participants, Sparknify staff, and volunteers, if a program participant fails to comply with all personal safety protocols during the program, the caregiver will be called to pick up their child.

 

To ensure the safety of all program participants, program staff receive Mandated Reporter, First Aid/CPR/AED, Inclusion and Accessibility, and Safety & Emergency Protocol Training.

 

Staff : Program Participant Ratios

 

Sparknify recognizes the gravity of caregivers trusting us with their program participant’s safety and has systems in place to protect them. For the maximum benefit for program participants, we plan programs to operate with a low staff to program participant ratio and find program participants learn best in small groups.

 

All eligible Sparknify staff and adult volunteers undergo a LiveScan background check.

 

At no time during Sparknify’s programs will a child be alone with a staff member or volunteer.

 

All staff and volunteers are trained not to be alone with a child.

 

Sparknify has several administrative staff “on call” to be present to make sure that a child is never alone with a staff member or volunteer.

 

Sparknify staff never go into the bathroom stalls or single-user bathrooms with program participants.

 

Program Participant Behavior Expectations

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In order to ensure that Sparknify programs are safe spaces for participants, a participant may be removed from a program under certain circumstances.

 

This decision will be made by the Sparknify Lead Staff.

 

Each case is unique, and each decision will balance program participants’ sense of safety with the severity of behavior(s), the context around the behavior(s), the individual participants involved, and all other relevant information available at the time.

 

In each case, that decision will evaluate these factors through a lens inclusive of physical, neurological, and cultural diversity.

 

Except for egregious circumstances, this decision will be made only after Sparknify staff have engaged in interventions to prevent or manage the behavior(s).

 

Any behaviors that would constitute grounds for removing a participant from a program must be communicated to that participant’s caregivers.

 

Behaviors that may constitute reasonable grounds to remove a program participant from a program include:

 

• Intentionally causing physical or emotional harm to another participant and/or staff

• Threatening violence against another participant and/or staff

• Extremely physical play/horseplay that is not safe in a group setting

• A pattern of careless or reckless behavior that puts other participants and/or staff at unnecessary and nontypical risk, including, but not limited to, disregarding safety guidelines

• A pattern of behavior imitating violence toward other participants and/or staff Continuous bullying, of either a physical or psychological/verbal nature

• Consistent self-separation/isolation from the group such that a safe staff-to-student ratio is not able to be maintained

 

Potential Program Participant Risks

 

Sparknify programs may take place at third party partners’ sites and at Sparknify’s office. Programs have reserved program spaces only available to program participants and Sparknify staff and volunteers, and participants also utilize any site’s public eating area, offices, studios, or spaces. Third party partner site may be a public place with other program participants not related to Sparknify’s program or staff belonging to the third party partner. Where possible, Sparknify staff provide program participants with guidelines and resources to mitigate risks associated with our setting, other students, and activities. These resources are:

 

• Guidelines for how we expect program participants to interact with one another.

• Guidelines for how to engage in specific behaviors safely.

• Training for how to use tools safely.

• Safety equipment relevant to specific activities.

• Guidelines for safely exploring third party partner’s sites.

• Water breaks and access to water refill stations.

• Sparknify does not assume the responsibility of providing sun protection or applying sunscreen to program participants. 

• Air Quality: If air quality reaches 101 or above, all camp groups will move inside. If air quality reaches 151 or above, Sparknify will close, and we will request immediate pickup. We monitor air quality using Purple Air, applying the AQandU conversion.

• Wind Conditions: If both the wind speed and wind gusts are over 25 mph or if the wind gusts are higher than 32 mph, all camp groups will move inside. If wind speed reaches 32 mph or higher and/or wind gusts reach 35 mph or higher, Sparknify will close, and we will request immediate pickup.

 

COVID-19 and Injury

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• Sparknify staff are instructed to stay home if they feel sick. Sparknify has built flexibility into the program's schedule so that staff do not feel obligated to come to work sick.

• Program participants should not come to Sparknify programs if they are sick or show signs of illness.

• If a program participant shows signs of illness during a program, that program participant will be escorted away from the program, and a caregiver will be called to pick up the program participant.

• The staff will carry a complete first-aid kit. If a program participant becomes injured and requires more care than an ice pack and/or band-aid, the caregiver will be contacted.

• In the event of a major injury, emergency services will be contacted.

 

No refunds will be issued if the program ends early to ensure participant safety under the stated conditions.

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