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Extended Schools, Legal
If the children involved in the after-school provision are registered pupils at the school, they do not need to register with NHSSB, regardless of the hours staying.
If the after-school provision is being offered to children who are not pupils of the school and the children are staying for longer than 1 hour 50 minutes, then the after-school provision must be registered with NHSSB.
Extended Schools provision is likely to result in increased levels of access to school premises by adults, either as users of services or as providers as part of a partnership arrangement between the school and other agencies.
Governors will need to understand and review the schools’ Child Protection policy in relation to their ‘extended’ responsibilities.
Duties - DE Circular 2003/13 - Welfare and Protection of Pupils Education and Libraries (Northern Ireland) Order 2003
Duties - DE Circular 2003/13 - Welfare and Protection of Pupils Education and Libraries (Northern Ireland) Order 2003
- Article 17 - duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of pupils
- Article 18 - requirement to ensure a written policy sets out what measures will be taken by all persons associated with the school to protect pupils from abuse
- Article 19 - requirement to ensure the prevention of bullying is specifically addressed.
Duties - Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults (NI) Order POCVA
- POCVA came into effect 1 April 2005
- practices - in particular consider:
- Persons on whom checks should be requested
- Contracted-out services
- Contractors employed directly
- Reporting of convictions of staff during employment
- Risk Management - School Governors/Principals need to identify new areas of risk in relation to their safeguarding/child protection duties
- Pastoral Care Policies need to be updated as a priority to cover the eventualities of all the activities within the school and the implication these may have for school/partners
- Adequate staffing arrangements must be in situ to ensure that children and young people are not unsupervised
- Protocols for ‘in school hours’ and ‘out of school hours’ child protection arrangements need to be clearly documented and disseminated
- Partnership agreements should be drawn up with all Third Party Service providers clearly setting out the responsibilities of each party - documented and signed
- Partnership Agreements and should include for example:
- Type of activity involved
- Who’s Who
- Staffing requirements eg ratio
- Protocols for using shared space - ie where people can and cannot go
- Evidence of recruiting and vetting of all staff
- Child Protection policy of partner and arrangements for reporting to school
- Arrangements for emergency events eg if they are left with a child not collected
- Process of Development
- Ensure your schools CP Training is up to date in relation to your DT and governors
- Use your cluster groups
- Use the ELB Staff
- Research previous experience - good info on http://www.teachernet.gov.uk http://www.government.co.uk re extended schools
- Good practice to consult with your parents and ensure you ultimately let all parents know what is happening
Further advice may be sought from:
Child Protection Support Service for Schools - Telephone 028 9448 2223.
Related Documents
Recruitment of People to work with Children and Young People in Educational Settings. Guidance for employers on pre-employment checking and safer recruitment practices.
