Child Safety

Church is more than just a place to receive a spiritual message; it’s an opportunity to connect with other Christians and see familiar faces. While we want our church to be a warm, welcoming environment, we do not want that feeling of safety to make us complacent in regards to our safety, especially our children’s. Collegedale Community Church has been blessed through the years, and we feel convicted to do our part to keep our church safe.

Things to Think About

On average, 450 children come to CCC every Saturday, with a total of 1500-1700 attendees.
Other organizations that deal with this number of children (i.e., schools) have much more stringent monitoring and safety procedures than we do currently.
Of the 1500-1700 attendees, how many do you actually know? How would you recognize a stranger – regardless of their intentions?
CCC has 15 exits, all of them virtually un-monitored at present.

Our new safety policies outlined in this brochure may sometimes seem inconvenient. It may take more time to pick your child up from Sabbath School, or provide Sabbath School leaders with needed information; we know this can be frustrating when you are in a hurry to get where you need to go. However, addressing these vulnerable areas will help keep your child safe – and that is our number one priority. We welcome suggestions for improvement! Please contact the church office at 423.396.5464 with any ideas.

Volunteer Screening

All volunteers who work with children in our church undergo a routine background check. They also read and agree to our volunteer guidelines and attend an orientation session where the guidelines are presented.

ID Badges

All Children’s Ministry Leaders and Assistants who routinely work with the children wear a name tag so parents can easily identify with whom they are leaving their children.

Sign-in/out

Cradle Roll I & II, Pre-K 1 & II

In these classes, record keepers are responsible for ensuring that a parent/ guardian accompanies each child arriving to and departing from Sabbath School. During Sabbath School, the record keeper prevents any toddlers from leaving the room without their parent/guardian. At the end of Sabbath School, the record keeper ensures that no child leaves without their parent/ guardian by standing at the door and handing out an Our Little Friend magazine to each child on their way out.

Kindergarten I & II, Primary I & II, Juniors

When a parent/guardian drops a child off at one of these classes, the parent/guardian is to check in their children at a kisok and print name tags. These name tags show allergies and which classroom they are assigned. When the parent/guardian returns at the end of Sabbath School, they must show the security tag with the child’s number on it in order to leave the classroom with the child.

Restroom Procedures

Cradel Roll and Pre-Kindergarten

These classrooms have their own bathrooms so children do not need to leave the room.

Kindergarten I & II, Primary I & Primary II

One child at a time may leave the classroom to go to the restroom. A Sabbath School volunteer of the same gender as the child escorts any child needing to go to the restroom. The volunteer then waits outside of the restroom with the door cracked, enabling them to hear any calls of distress. The volunteer pays special attention if there is another person in the restroom at the same time as the child. At no time is a signed-in child left unattended in the hallway or bathroom. We strive for a student-teacher ratio of seven to one. An acceptable ratio is ten to one.