|
|
|
|
1. The rationale
Links with education authority/school guidelines (principles, policies and procedures) for Child Protection (eg Restraint; Confidentiality; Allegations against staff; Complaints procedure)
Links with other school policies (eg PSD [self-awareness; self-esteem; inter-personal relationships; independence and inter-dependence]; health education including sex education; field trips and residential experiences)
The need for a consistent, whole-school approach in partnership with pupils' homes
2. Aims
To provide guidance and reassurance to staff
To safeguard the rights and well-being of pupils
To assure parents that all staff are knowledgeable about intimate care and that their individual concerns are taken into account.
3. The school in context
Audit/review of the school's current practices
Ethos and culture
Unique features
The range and nature of pupils' special needs
Parental expectations
4. Partnership with parents
Survey of parental views
School Board/PTA views
Links with parents
Religious and/or cultural aspects
Parental rights and responsibilities
Communication with parents - emergency procedures
5. Defining the roles and responsibilities of all school staff
Agreed school aims and objectives - are management and staff in accord?
Ownership of whole-school Intimate Care policy and approaches
Designated staff
Staff training needs/updates
Recording procedures
Risk assessment
Staff induction
Staff supervision
Visitors/Students/Volunteers - sharing school's code of good practice
Procedures at the start and end of the school day
Internal and lunchtime procedures
Pupils' Individual Educational Programmes (IEPs) - integral care programme
6. Administration of medicines
Staff development needs
Contractual obligations
Education authority indemnity
Logging procedures
7. Taking account of pupils' views
Developing relationships with pupils
Gender issues
Religious and/or cultural aspects
privacy/personal space/time alone
Appropriate activities
Appropriate relationships
The Children (Scotland) Act 1995 - relevant issues regarding consent to medical examination/treatment
Personal passport
8. Links with other agencies
Liaison with medical services
Links with social work
Links with the police
Links with careers service and community education
Links with churches and voluntary organisations
9. Pupil records
What is recorded and where
Access
Confidentiality
10. Transport
Vetting/supervision/training of escorts
Emergency medical procedures whilst on journey to/from school
11. Resources
Staff library
Space for pupil privacy
Toileting expectations
Key contacts eg health and social work personnel
12. Emergency procedures
Contacts and telephone numbers
Safe keeping of medicines and location
13. Health and Safety at Work Regulations
Manual handling of pupils
Safe disposal of waste
Safe practices in First Aid - HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis B
14. Specific considerations
Field trips
Residential experiences
Public behaviour of pupils - strategies for dealing with inappropriate behaviour
Managing a seizure, challenging behaviour etc in public
Photography/Video Cameras - consent/purpose/appropriateness
15. Curriculum links
Teaching and learning - effective strategies and approaches
School's personal safety programme
School's sex education/health education/PSD programme
16. Links with other schools
Taking account of pre-school placement procedures/practices
Ensuring receiving schools/agency is fully conversant with procedures/practices the child/young person is used to/requires
17. Keeping the policy under review
Creating a system to monitor and evaluate practice
Recognising key strengths - identifying those areas where good quality needs to be maintained
Identifying areas where improvement is desirable
Identifying and responding to staff development needs
Knowing how relevant publications and national advice can be accessed, disseminated and used
Drawing up an action plan as part of the school's development plan to review policy and procedures (detail staff and resource implications, target dates and measurable success criteria)
NB This list is by no means exhaustive. Headteachers and school staff, in consultation with School Board/parents, should complement and adjust the given policy framework as appropriate to meet the particular needs of the school. The policy should be shared with parents as a matter of good practice.
|
|
|