Fourways Partnership
Extended Services for the New Forest
Safeguarding and Extended Services
Latest guidance on safeguarding signposting is in the form of 2 documents issued by HCC Extended Services in May 2010 - Covering letter and Guidance to ESCOs
Other useful guidance on safeguarding includes:
School communication from Anna Jones (EPS) Reference: SC005461
Date: 21 January 2010
Title: Guidance on Safeguarding Practices - working with external organisations and individuals
Aide Memoir from HCC Allegations Officer Barbara Piddington - Confirmed as current guidance by HCC Extended Services November 2009
Extended Schools & Safeguarding Children
Aide - Memoir
This aide-memoir must be read in line with Section.175 of the Education Act (2002) and in conjunction with 'Safeguarding Children & Safer Recruitment in Education' (DfES, 2007). Its aim is to supplement the DfES guidance with additional information pertaining to safeguarding children within extended schools and community provision. The aide-memoir covers:-
Core Services
- Roles & Responsibilities
- Responsible Employment
- Inter-School Activities
- Before, During & After Activities
- The Role of the Local Authority
Extended Schools - Core Services
- High quality "wraparound care" provided on the school site or through other local providers, with supervised transfer arrangements where appropriate, available 8am - 6pm all year round
- A varied menu of activities to be on offer such as homework clubs and study supports, sport (at least two hours per week beyond the school day for those who want it), music tuition, dance and drama, arts and crafts, special interest clubs such as chess and first aid courses, visits to museums and galleries and learning a foreign language, volunteering, business and enterprise activities.
- Parenting support including information sessions for parents at key transition points, parenting programmes run with the support of other children's services and family learning sessions to allow children to learn with their parents.
- Swift and easy access to a wide range of specialist support services such as speech therapy, child and adolescent mental health services, family support services, intensive behaviour support, and (for young people) sexual health services. Some may be delivered on school sites
- Providing wider community access to ICT, sports and arts facilities, including adult learning.
Roles
The school will have varying roles within this extended provision:-
- Providers of the site
- Facilitators of school resources
- Promoters of activities
- Hosts of other organisations on the site, offering services.
- Providers of services offsite in community settings
Responsibilities
Within these roles the school will be responsible for:-
- What the children do
- Who has access to the children (Including adults who use community facilities)
- Where the children are sent and how they are transferred
- Who takes them there
- What happens to them when they get there
Within this are overall responsibilities:-
- Schools liability to visitors and community users engaged in activities
- Common law duty of care to children of the school
- Section 175 of the Education Act 2002. "The governing body of a maintained school shall make arrangements for ensuring that their functions relating to the conduct of the school are exercised with a view to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children who are pupils at the school....". "They will also have regard to any guidance issued by the secretary of state in making those arrangements"
- If a charge is made - contractual obligations including implied terms (e.g. a safe learning environment)
- Negligence if dispatching children to an activity elsewhere; or promoting or recommending it; without reasonable (or professional) care
Responsible Employment
If staff are employed by the school, all safe recruitment and employment policies must apply including:-
- Appointment
- Induction
- Training
- Suitability to work with children
- Reporting incidents
- Supervision to ensure that procedures are followed
Other Providers On Site
If they are a community or voluntary organisation the school must:-
- Ensure their personnel are CRB checked
- Ensure that they are appropriately qualified for the activities
- Ensure that any agreement to use school premises includes a commitment to work within the school's child protection policy and procedures
- Ensure there is a communication route to the school through which concerns can be reported, by children, parents or staff.
If they are commercial providers and employing staff (e.g. a privately run fitness club) the school must:-
- Ensure that enhanced CRB checks are part of their employment policy
- Ensure that a statement is made to the school on the currency of such checks
- Ensure that they are appropriately qualified - to include managers and workers
- Ensure that they have a child protection policy that has been seen by the school, noted and approved.
- Ensure that the agreement includes a commitment to report any incidents or concerns to the school
- Record compliance/non compliance
Inter-School Activities
If the school is organising or running inter-school activities, the school should:-
- Attempt to reach a common protocol between all schools involved, including a common child protection policy.
- An agreement to exchange information on participating children who may be at risk
- Ensure that there are opportunities for inter-school checks to be made to satisfy each school that what is being offered is safe and appropriate
- Ensure there are compatible procedures for reporting and recording incidents, including reporting to Governors.
Before, After & During Activities
In general schools are responsible for children permitted, or invited on its site , as follows:
- There needs to be arrangements for children to be supported and looked after if an incident occurs during a session, e.g. between a breakfast club and the start of school and after an evening session is over. (i.e. ensure adequate leader/children ratios)
- This includes situations involving the late return of buses or delays in pick-ups by parents
- This implies a member of staff with that responsibility
- It also implies a system of registration
- If an open access provision is running, e.g. a playscheme, parents need to be aware of, and sign up to, the open agreement
- There should be written agreement with parents which may include a statement that children will only be allowed to participate if parents pick up children on time (with allowance for emergencies)
The Role of the Local Authority
Schools should seek the support of the LA to:-
- Provide legal support
- Clarify their legal position for governors and teachers
- Facilitate the negotiation of protocols between schools
- Develop safe working practice guidelines
Useful Links
Every Child Matterswww.everychildmatters.gov.uk
Education Act 2002 www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts2002/20020032.htm
Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment in Education (2007) www.teachernet.gov.uk/wholeschool/familyandcommunity/childprotection/goodpractice/saferrecruitment
Working Together to Safeguard Children (2006)www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/workingtogether
HCC guidance: Dealing with Allegations Against Staff / Safer Recruitment (2006) www.hants.gov.uk/education/eps
Schools Communication 002510 20th March 2007 Agreement with third parties wishing to use school premises.