Besser Elementary ECC

R 400.8170 · R 400.8170 1 Outdoor play area. (7) The outdoor play area must be in a safe location. ........................

On 11/10/2020 I completed an onsite inspection at Besser ECC child care center. I interviewed program director Ms. Holly Jore. She stated the children play on the approved outdoor play area that I approved prior to the start of the school year. When asked if there were any issues with the area location or issues with children running into the parking lot or service driveway she stated there were no issues other than it was far away from the storage building. The staff have to go out before school and carry equipment back and forth to the large grassy area. When asked if there had been any parent concerns, Ms. Jore reported that on 11/09/2020 a parent expressed concerns that the children were only allowed to play in the large grassy area and not on the school's playground equipment. Ms. Jore did her best to explain to the parent that the school's outdoor play equipment was not safe for the preschool aged children and was not approved for their use. Ms. Jore and I went out to the outdoor play area. There is a posted sign at the right hand side at the end of the staff only parking lot that states "No vehicles beyond this point". There is also a chain that can be put in place to block the service driveway that runs parallel to the outdoor grassy area. The sign is 25 feet past the closest parking space to the grassy outdoor play area. The grassy outdoor play area is another 30 feet past the sign for a total of 55 feet from the closest parking space. 2 The service driveway is used to deliver supplies to the school's kitchen and to pick up trash. These times rarely coincide with the outdoor play time of children. It has happened a couple times and the teachers simply gather the children into a group close to the three child care staff members while the vehicles use the drive. There have never been any issues with this procedure. Ms. Jore and I discussed the possibility of using a smaller grassy area closer to the storage unit to make it easier for staff with regards to carrying toys from the storage unit. The smaller grassy area is approvable along with the basketball cement area for riding toys, and I approved the use of it at the time of this onsite. I did express my concerns that the area is much smaller, so they are limited to one class at a time for outdoor play. In addition, it is right next to the school's playground equipment so staff will need to be sure children do not go on or near the playground equipment which is not approved for use by preschool aged children due to safety concerns. One piece of equipment on the playground had been previously approved however, there were multiple injuries to preschool aged children from that piece of equipment. On 11/11/2020 I completed a second onsite inspection and observed outdoor play. Program director Ms. Jamie Snyder was outside with 11 children and an additional child care staff member. Ms. Snyder stated they usually have three staff members but one was not there that day. The children were playing on the smaller grassy area I approved the previous day. I observed the children playing. The child care staff members were happy with the change so they don't have to carry play equipment as far. I reminded them that because the area is much smaller there can only be one preschool class out at a time. If the school age children are outside the preschool children wouldn't be able to be outside unless the school age children were in a separate area due to the limited space and ratio requirements. When asked if there were issues with children running into the parking lot or service driveway, Ms. Snyder responded no, the children were very good about following the rules. The staff always set up orange cones to mark the area and children know not to go beyond the cones. The small orange cones were set up at the time and I observed multiple children get close to the cones and turn back around. It was apparent the children were well aware of the cones and what they meant.

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