Advice From the Experts – Safety, Part 2
The best VBS leaders are learners, and the best learners enjoy sharing with others what they have learned through trial and error. Following are words of advice that have been collected through the years from great leader-learners just like you.
- Do not allow adults not working in VBS to roam the building.
- Check the playground each day for cleanliness and the safety of equipment.
- Once the VBS session has begun, do not allow parents to walk the campus unescorted to locate their children.
- Create a security team. Have team members wear t-shirts bearing “Security” in bold letters.
- Use crossing guards in parking lots and where kids must cross streets between buildings.
- Distribute written information outlying safety and security procedures to parents at registration.
JOIN THE CONVERSATION: What advice do you have concerning safety and security during VBS?
We give security cards to the person dropping off the child. If the person does not have a security card, then we use the emergency info on the registration form to confirm who can pick up the child. This gives us and the parents peace that the child will only go home with an approved adult.
It also provides some sanity in the could-be-chaotic dismissal time. We have someone with a cordless microphone who gets the security card from the adult and reads out the name of the child. This is broadcast in the sanctuary, and the child is escorted out to the car.