A lot goes into running a daycare center and a big part of that is transporting children to and from. Whether it be a field trip or a small bus route the main goal is always transporting the children safely and efficiently. After all, there are a lot of potential risks associated with childcare transportation.
To ensure the safest transportation at any childcare facility the following guidelines should be followed. It is also important to establish a relationship with a trustworthy & reliable mechanic. Should the childcare center have any issues with their vehicles it is important that any auto repair issues be taken care of immediately.
Maintaining Safe Childcare Transportation
Vehicle Type-
It is highly advised that you look for a vehicle created with school bus standards in mind. Large vans 15 seat plus vans are often thought to be good vehicles for childcare transportation. However, these types of vans have a higher chance of rolling than a vehicle built with school bus standards.
Adequate Supervision-
While supervision doesn’t count as vehicle mechanics it is extremely important that you have enough supervision and that it abides by the state-mandated child to the adult ratio on child care transportation. More supervision than just the driver is required and should be appropriate depending on age levels. The driver is not considered a supervisor because their main job is to pay attention to the road.
Drop-off/Pick-up Locations-
Ensuring that you have a well-marked drop-off and pick-up location is extremely important as well. When arriving at the daycare facility the onboarding & offboarding zone should be well marked and supervised as well. There should also be an organized and structured onboarding & off-boarding protocol.
Back-Up Plans-
It is important to have back up plans for various situations or circumstances. Should your vehicle break down while in transit with children, it is important that you know what to do and the best and safest way to take action immediately?
Proper Equipment/Restraints-
the right child restraints should be in the vehicle for all of the various age levels that you will be transporting. It is important to make sure that every child is restrained properly according to the federal child restraint guidelines that are to be followed by law.
Drivers-
The drivers that will be operating any of the childcare center vehicles should not only be properly licensed and over the age of 18 years old. They should also have a clean background check and show no criminal past.