MY POPPLET ON EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY

                                CONFIDENTIALITY  IN  SCHOOLS

                            

KEY INFORMATION ON PROTECTING CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLES PERSONAL INFORMATION:

Finding the right balance when dealing with a child's privacy as well as promoting positive values with their parents and carers is a rather difficult task for most teachers and staff. It is a thin line between confidentiality and safety when a child is at risk. 
It’s always best to make sure that children, young people and families involved with your organisation know where they stand on issues around confidentiality and information sharing before any specific problem or situation arises that could test your relationship with them. You can do

 this by producing a simple statement of principles that underpins your approach, and by sharing this with those who need to know about it at the outset of your relationship with them, and at any key decision making points. Parents, carers, children and young people who have concerns about confidentiality should always be given the opportunity to talk through their concerns, and to be advised on what could happen to information they disclose.

INCLUSION AND ANTI-DISCRIMINATORY PRACTICES

Inclusive education means that all students attend and are welcomed by their neighbourhood schools in age-appropriate, regular classes and are supported to learn, contribute and participate in all aspects of the life of the school.

Inclusive education is about how we develop and design our schools, classrooms, programs and activities so that all students learn and participate together.

It’s important because we value our diverse communities. These communities start at school, where all students learn to live alongside peers. They learn together; they play together; they grow and are nurtured together.

I have included here a video on inclusion in a school in Hertfordshire. It's a shining example of how  effort and hard work can work wonders on children! 

                            EQUALITY ACT 2010

The Equality Act 2010 has been drawn up to tackle inequality and prevent discrimination against people on the basis of ‘protected characteristics’.  It brings together several existing laws and aims to make understanding the law simpler.  It also introduces a new single public sector equality duty, which requires public bodies to actively advance equality.These provisions protect pupils at the school and in the case of admissions, those applying or wishing to apply for admission.  Former pupils are also protected from discrimination or harassment.

‘Protected characteristics’

The Equality Act lists a number of characteristics which must not be used as a reason to treat some people worse than others.  These are:

• age;
• disability;
• race;
• sex;
• pregnancy, maternity and breastfeeding;
• gender reassignment;
• religion or belief;
• sexual orientation.

 A person can experience direct discrimination because of a protected characteristic, even if the person does not have the characteristic himself/herself:

• Discrimination because of perception takes place where someone is treated worse than others because they have been perceived to have a characteristic. 
• Discrimination because of association takes place when a person is treated worse than another person because they associate with a person with a protected characteristic.

 Exceptions:

There are some limited exceptions to the general requirement not to treat anyone worse than someone else because of a protected characteristic. 

Exceptions that apply to all protected characteristics:

• Positive action – encouraging people with a protected characteristic from groups with different needs or a past record of disadvantage or low participation to access education e.g. if a school council is made up mainly of girls, despite there being a fairly even balance of boys and girls in the school, the school can encourage boys to stand as class reps (but the pupils still vote to decide who is elected).
• Statutory provisions – this only applies where there is no other choice but to discriminate or break another law (but does not apply to race discrimination).
• National security. 
• There are also some exceptions that relate to particular protected characteristics:
  • Disability – it is not discrimination against a non-disabled person to treat a disabled person more favourably or make reasonable adjustments for the disabled person.
  • Age – not relevant to schools.

Duties for schools:

As a school, you must not: ·         discriminate against a pupil or prospective pupil because of their disability, race, sex, gender reassignment, religion or belief, or sexual orientation; ·         harass or victimise a pupil or prospective pupil. You must not discriminate against a person in relation to the following activities: ·         admission to your school; ·         the provision of education to pupils; ·         access to any benefit, facility or service; ·         exclusion from school; ·         by subjecting a pupil to any other detriment.

   POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR STAFF RECRUITMENT

The school or college should have written recruitment and selection policies and procedures in place. This ensures the safety of the children and is instrumental in avoiding children being harmed.

Many schools now ask for a couple of references plus a DBS check before hiring any staff. The schools follow up on the references to make sure they are genuine.

            
This padlet covers DBS checks and different policies schools have in place for a safer environment for schools.         

Created with Padlet

                             DATA PROTECTION ACT

 

D

https://youtu.be/RlHF-NdaD3Y?list=PLTuwAoiuSb1GLEjqKGLxaXabsvR87sd4w

Here is a link to a video that explains the act comprehensively. Click on the link and it will open in a new window. 

THE NEED FOR THE DATA PROTECTION ACT:

During the second half of the 20th century, businesses, organisations and the government began using computers to store information about their customers, clients and staff in databases. For example:

1. names
2. addresses
3. contact information
4. employment history
5. medical conditions
6. convictions
7. credit history

Databases are easily accessed, searched and edited. It’s also far easier to cross reference information stored in two or more databases than if the records were paper-based. The computers on which databases resided were often networked. This allowed for organisation-wide access to databases and offered an easy way to share information with other organisations.

With more and more organisations using computers to store and process personal information there was a danger the information could be misused or get into the wrong hands. A number of concerns arose:
Who could access this information?
How accurate was the information?
Could it be easily copied?
Was it possible to store information about a person without the individual’s knowledge or permission?
Was a record kept of any changes made to information?

The purpose of the Data Protection Act:

The 1998 Data Protection Act was passed by Parliament to control the way information is handled and to give legal rights to people who have information stored about them.

Other European Union countries have passed similar laws as often information is held in more than one country.

                         A GUIDE FOR TEACHING ASSISTANTS

INTRODUCTION:
I have endeavoured to put together a concise and handy tool for all new teaching assistants. It will deal with many of the common and not so common topics, TA's need to be aware of. 
I hope this tool is of use to all my fellow TA's ; new ones and ones who are inclined towards this profession.

LEGISLATION AND LAWS:

There are a number of Laws and Acts that TA's need to be aware of.
These form the basis of our workplace setting. All schools and institutions have to follow them to ensure the safety of the children and staff. Here is a compilation of the Acts along with their relevant dates.

Childrens Act--1989

RoSPA--Royal Society for Prevention of Accidents (1917)

BTHA--British Toy And Hobby Association (1944)

HASAWA--Health And Safety At Work Act (1974)

COSHH--Control Of Substances Hazardous to Health (2002)

RIDDOR--Reporting of Injuries,Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulation

PPE--Personal Protective Equipment

RPE--Respiratory protective Equipment

BATR--British Association of Toy Retailers.

First Aid

Fire Precaution

Food Handling

RESPONSIBILITY OF SCHOOLS:

The school is responsible for the safety and well being of the child during school hours and on any school trips or outing. It is the duty of the employer to provide training to the staff. In case of any major incident the HSE is to be contacted. All schools are required to provide first aid and support medical needs of pupils. Testing fire alarms, evacuation procedures should be undertaken on a regular basis. 

Among other safety procedures; e safety, PE safety and safety while using equipment in science laboratories is mandatory.A sensible approach to health and safety in schools means focusing on how the real risks are managed.Schools have to ensure that all staff are DBS checked and practice inclusion and equality at all times. Many schools ask for references to again make sure only responsible and safe adults are allowed around the young.

The national Government is responsible for devising policies and ensuring they are implemented. The department of education’s responsibilities are to work with children up to the age of 19. They cover the areas from child protection to education. They aim to make sure every child receives the same quality education.The other department is the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. They are responsible for further and higher education. The role of schools is to not only provide education to children and young people but under new policies to provide more services that are accessible for children, young people and families. The local government is responsible for many areas of the education system in their own region. The are tasked with the planning of the education service as a whole, and considering on how the budget should be divided to gain full potential from it. Sure start: Providing integrated education with childcare, family support and health services. Connexions:Aimed at young people aged between 13 & 19 and up to 25 for people with learning difficulties or disabilities. This service gives free information, advice and guidance on learning, living and working. Ofsted:Independent and impartial service, reporting directly to the Parliament.They inspect and regulate services which care for children and young people, and those providing education and skills for learners of all ages.