Volunteers in School Guidance

Volunteers in School Guidance

Tidcombe Primary School

2016-2017

Tidcombe School- empathy, aspiration, resilience, confidence and enquiry.

Welcome to our school. We are a happy and caring school with a focus on achieving high academic standards and achieving high levels of wellbeing and happiness.

This guidance contains much of the essential information that you need to take part in the smooth day to day running of the school. It also contains a summary of much of the key Health and Safety information that you will need.

There will always be some questions that can’t be answered by a book of this kind. Many of the answers you will already know. Consider asking yourself these questions…

Am I enabling the children to achieve their best?

If I say/do this will it help the child/children?

Is my rationale morally and ethically sound?

If I am in doubt, have I consulted a colleague?

Depending on your level of confidence and experience you will have different questions to other people. By asking your questions and discussing with colleagues you will make sound judgements and enjoy working here.

Confidentiality is of great importance in school. If there is anything that may be of a confidential nature then please treat it as confidential. If in doubt please seek advice from a more senior member of staff.

Please do take the time to read this document and keep it filed safely for future reference.

Finally, if there are any inadvertent discrepancies between this document and any county or nationally held policies (e.g Pay and Conditions, Safeguarding, etc) then it is the National/ County policy that has precedence.

Simon Green

TidcombePrimary School

A code of conduct for all staff and volunteers, including guidance on Use of Force and ICT Safety and Security.

The purpose of this code is to make clear the expectations of behaviour of adults in our school, to minimise the risk of misunderstandings and to safeguard children.

• Treat all children and young people with respect.
• Provide an example of good conduct that you wish others to follow.
• Ensure that whenever possible there is more than one adult present during activities with children and young people or at least that you are within sight or hearing of others. This is often not practical in our school in lesson times, and so we welcome one another to visit in class or other work spaces without notice.
• Alert a colleague if it is strictly necessary to speak to a child on their own. This should not be in a secluded area of the school, and you should ensure visual access and/or an open door. The Head’s office is a suitable venue if the door is open and the admin’ office is staffed. Alternatively the library, computer suite, or classroom may be suitable, but do remember to alert a colleague and accept that they may well just look in on you- this ensures safeguarding for everyone. There will however be times when an adult is working alone in a room and a child returns to retrieve something. If this could be misconstrued then discuss the situation with a senior colleague immediately.
• A ‘no touch’ approach is impractical for most staff and may in some circumstances be inappropriate When physical contact is made, this should be in response to a child’s needs at the time, of limited duration and appropriate given their age, gender, stage of development, ethnicity and background. Appropriate physical contact in school may occur most often with younger pupils, but in public areas and not alone. Again, if this could be misconstrued then discuss the situation with a senior colleague.
• Physical contact, which occurs regularly with an individual child or young person, is likely to raise questions unless the justification for this is part of a formally agreed plan (for example in relation to pupils with SEN or physical disabilities). Any such contact should be the subject of an agreed and open school policy and subject to review.
• Be aware that physical contact with a child or young person may be misinterpreted.
• Adults should never touch a child in any way that could be considered indecent, nor indulge in horseplay, tickling or fun fights.
• Dress code- Do please ensure that you are appropriately dressed when coming into school to promote a professional image (e.g. please keep tattoos covered when wearing shorter sleeves or if wearing sandals. Gentlemen- shirts and ties please unless agreed with me on the hottest of days, et cetera. (Employee Code of Conduct section 12: "Employees must dress in a manner that is appropriate to a professional role and promotes a professional image".)
• During school activities that take place off the school site or out of school hours, a more relaxed discipline or informal dress and language code may be acceptable. However, staff remain in a position of trust and need to ensure that their behaviour cannot be interpreted as seeking to establish an inappropriate relationship or friendship. Adults are still the responsible adults in these situations.
• If physical contact is necessary (e.g. to demonstrate a piece of equipment or racket stroke) the pupil should be informed in advance, and if they say ‘no’ or indicate discomfort this must be respected.
• Respect a child’s right to personal privacy. If a child requires assistance with intimate care (e.g. help with toileting) staff should ensure another appropriate adult is in the vicinity and is aware of the task to be undertaken.
• If you have to intervene in a fight to prevent harm, you should use the minimum force possible. Physical intervention must always be a last resort and used rarely- ask yourself “will my intervention be likely to reduce risk or make matters worse?” and be guided by this rather than your emotion to “want to do something”. If you have had to intervene physically then you must discuss the situation as soon as possible and before the end of the school day with the head/ deputy head or another member of the senior leadership team(if the head/ deputy head is not available.)
• Recognise that special caution is required in moments when you are discussing sensitive issues, such as sex education, with children or young people. You may wish to take guidance from a senior member of staff in these situations.
• Confidential information about a child should never be disclosed without good reason (refer to data protection legislation), or used to intimidate or embarrass the pupil.
• The use of humour can help to defuse a situation. The use of sarcasm, demeaning or insensitive comments towards pupils is not acceptable in any situation. This is a fine balance and best intended actions can be misinterpreted. If this happens discuss the situation with a colleague and seek advice if needed.
• Volunteers should ensure they are dressed decently, safely and appropriately for the tasks they undertake e.g. jeans or tracksuits are not suitable for normal teaching, but would be for art days or PE lessons.
• You should not accept or giveexpensive gifts from children or parents. Occasionally children or parents may give tokens of appreciation (for example at Christmas, Easter or at the end of the year). These may be accepted if they are not of significant value. Please consult the Head or Deputy Head if you have a concern. Please be aware that the giving of gifts, especially if done “secretly” can be interpreted as grooming.
• You should not seek to establish or establish social contact with any pupil. This includes not giving out personal details such as your address, phone number or personal email to pupils. Further guidance exists on the use of social media, e.g. Facebook, but the rule of thumb is that it would be inappropriate and might seriously compromise you to make social contact with pupils. Social media sites are public places, and be aware that you are a representative of the school on these sites and must do nothing do bring the school into disrepute.
• The use of school ICT facilities and internet for teaching and personal use must be in accord with the SWGfL Safety and Security book
• Any sexual behaviour by a volunteerwith or towards a child is inappropriate and illegal. It is a criminal offence for any person in a position of trust to engage in sexual activity with a pupil under 18.
• Under no circumstances should adults access inappropriate or indecent images in schools.
• Wherever possible, transport should not be undertaken in private vehicles. When private vehicles are used there should be at least one adult additional to the driver to act as an escort and/or the parents of the pupil should know which adults will be travelling with their child and have the opportunity to request alternative travel arrangements. For events out of school hours parents will organise their own transport arrangements for their children.
• All adults in school should challenge unacceptable behaviour by another member of staff and bring this to the immediate attention of the designated senior person, or another senior manager. Currently Simon Green, Helen Edwards, Hannah Clarke and Sara Smith trained in Child Protection and you may speak to any of them.
• Currently all adults (with some exceptions) must be DBS checked to work or volunteer in school or out of school with children

Safeguarding report forms are to be completed by the adult "holding the information" and passed to the class teacher to be logged on chronologies and filed with each child's chronology so that there is a written record and auditable trailof evidence before speaking to a CP SDO (Helen, Sara, Hannah, Simon or MASH.) They must be completed in pen.

Reporting alone may not be enough… we need a culture of safeguarding so you must also act if behaviour is in your opinion inappropriate. The need to protect children outweighs the risk of slightly upsetting someone by challenging inappropriate behaviour.

Based upon: Guidance for Safe Working Practice for the Protection of Children and Staff in Education Settings. February 2005 The National Network of Investigation and Referral Support

Co-ordinators and DfES (now DfE).

In addition to the DfE advice:

• Data security is of increasing importance. Do ensure that you follow current guidance in logging off machines/ having and keeping secure passwords/ ensuring that portable data storage devices (e.g. USB sticks) are encrypted.
• Social networking sites might seem to have nothing to do with school. However, they are places where you, as a member of staff, are in a “public place” and it is really important not to do anything that might bring the school into disrepute. Latest Guidance on this can be found on the County’s website or by calling HR on 01392 384567. Please also be aware that Teacher Standards 2012 now specifically refer to professional behaviour in school and out of school.This is the link to teachers standards
• Use of motor vehicles for any school purpose, including attending courses or visiting schools, requires you to have business class cover on you car insurance. Please check with your insurer for details and please show your insurance documents to the office staff. Business use is not about transporting pupils, it is about any use of your vehicle linked to work.

YOU ARE NOT INSURED FOR ANY USE FOR WORK IF YOU DO NOT HAVE BUSINESS USE. COMMUTING ONLY COVERS YOUR NORMAL PLACE OF WORK.

• You should not have your phone switchedon in class or use it to take photos. Innocent as this may be it might be misconstrued and in the wake of the 2009 Little Teds nursery in Plymouth we insist that you do not use your phone to take photos. We have a school phone so that photos can be taken and uploaded to the school Facebook page whilst on trips, etc.

Health and Safety.

Please see the school’s Health and safety policy (Attached). Should you have any concerns about health or safety issues please raise them immediately with a senior colleague or the Head and ask that they be recorded in the risk assessment file. Weekly staff meetings are an opportunity to raise any non urgent concerns.

This booklet forms the basis of your annual health and safety induction and training. Ask about any points that may be unclear to you.

Fire. If you hear the alarm then always treat it as a real fire. The assembly point is on the playground adjacent to the field. A register will be taken and the Head or Deputy Head (Mrs Edwards) will make necessary decisions with Jill or Sara taking charge if Simon or Helen are out.

Office staff will call 999 or 112 and will need to sweep the building to ensure that there has been full evaluation and to provide the location of the fire to emergency services.

Now that we have electronic registers you will need to have numbers on the board every day so that you can head count and ensure that all have evacuated. Please have pupil numbers on the board next to the date every day.

In case of fire our priority is to preserve life. A secondary aim is to preserve property. An instant decision will need to be made on what to do if you discover a fire…

1. Raise the alarm and call 999
2. If trained to do so and the fire is small you may choose to tackle the fire.
3. If the fire is larger or you do not feel confident to tackle the fire then evacuate the building.

BE GUIDED BY OUR PRINCIPLE AIM OF SAVING LIVES.

To reduce the risk of fire please use fire retardant spray on display and please keep all combustible displays (paper!) away from sources of ignition such as heaters, interactive boards, computers, et cetera.

Hall capacity is 220 persons for fire evacuation purposes… please bear this in mind when planning plays, performances, etc.

Other Emergencies. There is both gas and flood risk. If the site needs to be evacuated we will initially follow the fire procedure. The senior teacher or head will then make a risk assessment and decision on further action depending on the nature of the emergency. If the main gate is blocked then the alternative evacuation route is through the gate by the pond into the garden of number 22 Marina Way courtesy of Mr Ian Smith. Our place of safe refuge is Wilcombe Primary School Hall.

First Aid. A list of first aid trained staff is in the office and staffroom. First aid kits are in each classroom and in the staff room. See Yvonne if your training is out of date.

We have arranged Maria to attend First Aid at Work course which will run on the 22nd June for three days at Two Moors. Maria is one of our few staff here during all hours 9-4, and so it is great that she can attend. This is a first aid at work course... it is still for staff to deal with bumps, grazes, sickness themselves; Maria is on call for major incidents that are "do we call an ambulance?" type of incidents, not day to day minor injuries.

The "Disabled room" is currently neither a first aid room (because it's not sterile) or a disabled loo. We

tend to use it as a store room, so that's what it is. We will reinstate it as Disabled Loo at point of need.

The accident book is a confidential document so must be in a locked space, i.e within the locked zone

of the office and not in the main school.

Any accidents that require a hospital visit must, by law, be reported to H&S at county.If you are the person who first dealt with an accident or incident then it is your duty to advise Yvonne and make that referral,even if someone else later made the call to parents or hospital.

Finally, all head injuries must be phoned through to parents, again by the person who first dealt with the injury. If they do not answer their home phone, leave a message and then try their mobile.

Children who are ill. You must not let children phone themselves home sick and please don’t phone home for anything other than a head injury, sickness, or urgent medical treatment, e.g. suspected broken arm, without first checking with Simon, Helen for sickness or Maria in case of accidental injury requiring probable medical treatment.

Accidents. Minor accidents should be recorded in the accident book in the staffroom. Head injuries are always potentially very serious, although symptoms can often be delayed. Parents/ carers must always be informed of head injuries and a note made in the accident book. Hospital visits following an accident must be recorded on PO3*, as must all staff injuries of three days or over.

Play Equipment. The monkey bars do represent a greater hazard than the other equipment. Do please check that the safety matting is in fair condition and please do not allow the children to use the bars if wet. The other equipment is safe if used correctly, but of course they are not to go atop the monkey bars, stand on the handrails of the bridge, etc. Do please monitor this when outdoors.

Working Conditions. The classrooms are maintained at 18°C or greater.

Drawing Pins. As we use pins around the school it's essential that we all wear shoes to and from the hall. We also need to ensure that no pins are used in the hall.