Strengthening Child Safe Practices

Ignite Minds is very upset about the news. We have cried for the kids and families who are hurting.  Our thoughts and prayers are with all survivors of child abuse.

No matter how hard we work to keep children safe we know we must always do more.  We can never think the job is done.

Ignite Minds already has strong plans to keep kids safe. This includes:

  • Hiring and Training: We check who we hire and teach them how to keep kids safe.
  • Rules for Everyone: We have clear rules for how adults should act with children.
  • Background Checks: We do police and other checks on our staff.
  • Checking on Care: We visit our care homes regularly to:
    • Watch how children and teachers talk to each other.
    • Listen to what kids say and let them help make choices.
    • Make sure teachers follow our rules.
    • Look at each child's learning plan.
  • Reminders and Stops: If teachers don't follow rules on time, we send reminders or stop their work.

We are trying to find more ways to help our community know about safety, practice good safety, and be safe.

Many news stories have been about big daycare centers and quick changes government is making. We will follow all new suggestions. We also want to think about what needs to be done in Family Day Care (FDC) differently.

FDC is not just a smaller version of a big daycare center. It's a very different way of caring for kids. It's about teaching and caring for small groups in a home. It's built on strong relationships, staying with the same caregiver, and really knowing each child well.

Families pick FDC because they like these things. Children do well in FDC because of them.

Trust your gut feelings.  A big part of this good relationship is your gut feeling as a parent. If you have any small worries or concerns, you must tell Ignite Minds directly. Your teacher doesn't need to know you talked to us. We can do a surprise check, which we already do, and tell you what we find. Nothing is too small to tell when it comes to keeping children safe.

Ignite Minds have published more information about what good practices look like, based on what we know from studies. You can find it here.

Here are some of the safety plans we are always working on:

  • Teaching Kids to Be Safe: We teach children about protective behaviors in their daily talks.
  • Better Training for Teachers: We are giving teachers more training on child safety and how to help kids who have had hard times.
  • Clearer Ways to Report: We are making it easier to report problems.
  • Helping Teachers Connect: We are helping FDC teachers talk to each other and get support.
  • Teaching Families and Communities: We are developing tools for teaching families and communities about their part in keeping children safe.