health and safety in education
The Health and Safety Executive has issued a safety alert regarding platform lifts (vertical lifting platforms or lifts for people with impaired mobility) identifying a risk of falls from height to employees/workers and members of the public.
If your school has this type of equipment, please take the time to read the alert to consider any implications and take the appropriate action necessary as outlined in the attached communication.
Please ensure this information is communicated to relevant staff in school.
Dear Colleagues
We are delighted to announce the launch of Solihull’s quality assurance framework for alternative provision. It is designed to support schools, and other commissioners, in monitoring consistency and quality in off-site alternative provision for school-age pupils. It sets out the high expectations that Solihull has in relation to the quality of education that we seek and expect for our children and young people in alternative provision.
Schools, as the commissioners, are responsible for the pupils on their roll that they place in any alternative provision. It is, therefore, their responsibility to undertake the initial and subsequent regular checks to ensure that the provision is safe and suitable – including for each individual pupil.
Where the local authority (LA) is the commissioner and is responsible for the pupil, the LA will undertake the initial checks and continuous monitoring.
We expect any provider offering placements for Solihull pupils to meet the quality assurance expectations within this document. Providers, therefore, should expect regular monitoring, including visits.
This framework provides us all with a consistent approach to ensuring that our pupils in AP are safe, learning well, making good progress and having their needs met.
Please do contact us with any feedback about the framework: alternativeprovision@solihull.gov.uk
We will review the document regularly in light of your observations and comments so that the framework is consistently robust and helpful.
Thank you.
Solihull Council supports schools with learning outside the classroom opportunities and arranging a wide range of out of school activities, e.g. visits to museums, trips to the countryside, taking part in adventurous activities and residential trips, etc.
In preparation for summer trips or new visits in the autumn term, we wanted to take the opportunity of reminding schools of the information, guidance, and support which is available to ensure that educational trips and visits are safely managed and continue to be successful learning opportunities.
The guidance includes some changes to the approval of visits from 1 September 2019 to help streamline the process in the planning of educational trips. Please ensure all relevant staff including senior leaders and educational visit coordinators are aware of this information.
The annual DSL conference days (8.30 am – 4 pm) are to be held at Sans Souci on Monday 30 September 2019, Monday 7 October 2019, and at Grace Academy on Thursday 24 October 2019.
The annual governor safeguarding conference is at Solihull School on Wednesday 9 October 2019 at 6.30 pm.
Please confirm which day you wish to attend to inset@solihull.gov.uk.
Thank you.
Lorraine Lord, Senior Education Safeguarding Officer
Dear Headteacher
KSCIE 2019
Please find attached the link to the revised KCSIE (2019). https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education–2
The detail on the substantive changes is listed in Appendix H, page 108 of KCSIE (2019).
Key points are:-
- Upskirting (page 10 paragraph 27 and page 89).
- Changes to new local arrangements under the new local safeguarding children partnership. An update on this will take place at the Designated Education Safeguarding Lead’s conferences.
The revised model child protection policy is available at https://www.solgrid.org.uk/education/safeguarding/child-protection/.
The revised model safeguarding policy is available at https://www.solgrid.org.uk/education/safeguarding/.
Lorraine Lord
Senior Education Safeguarding Officer
