Explore the New Additions to the Handsam Library
New Quick Guides and Policies
Handsam would like to make you aware of the new or updated Quick Guides you can now access through our Quick Guide Library. We respond to the needs of our customers, through safety issues we encounter on audits or direct requests for content on particular subjects when expanding our resources. This allows us to continue to grow our library around the direct compliance needs of our clients.
UPDATED: AB08 Specimen Letter to an Employees' Doctor
Use this Quick Guide as a basis for composing a letter to an employee's GP outlining the information required to proceed following the employee's prolonged absence.
NEW: RAS76 Risk Assessment Template: Attending to an out of hours alarm call
Keyholding is the responsibility of looking after keys for a business or organisation. Often this is a senior employee or a chosen rota of employees. The keyholder is also the first point of contact in the case of an emergency. When an alarm is triggered, they are the first people to respond. Because they are required to respond quickly should an alarm be triggered, they should also live close by. As they are accountable for correctly locking up and setting alarm systems, characteristics that would make for a good keyholder include being highly conscientious, responsible and dependable.
UPDATED: FE07 Funding for Partnerships
This Quick Guide offers financial advice for schools who are becoming federations. There are many ways to approach partnerships and participating schools will need to consider carefully whether budgets and financial management are combined fully or partially.
UPDATED: FE08 Voluntary Funds and Fundraising
Many schools use fundraising and voluntary contributions to bolster budgets for special trips or improvements. However gaining additional capital in this way is subject to regulation. Use this Quick Guide to find out more about legislation, expenses and best practice around fundraising.
UPDATED: FE09 School Budgeting
This Quick Guide outlines the timescales for budget composition. It discusses key considerations when writing a budget for the long and short term, such as the principal expense categories and variables like pupil numbers, in addition to best practice around managing accounts and financial efficiency.
NEW: DA23 CCTV Footage Request Record Form
This checklist can be used to record any requests for CCTV footage, received by a school or college. A person should provide all the necessary information to assist the school in locating the CCTV recorded data, such as the date, time and location of the recording. If the image is of such poor quality as not to clearly identify an individual, that image may not be considered to be personal data and may not be handed over by the school or college.
UPDATED: LA01 Leave of Absence: Points of Law
All employees in all types of school and college are entitled to statutory time off for specific purposes. Use this Quick Guide to find out the different situations in which statutory time off can be granted, including for union duties and jury service.
NEW: T-POL-GM13 Example Workplace Menopause Policy
This policy is written as a guide for workplace representatives. It should be agreed through proper consultation with recognised trade unions, stakeholders and modified to suit individual workplaces and employees. Menopause is a normal stage of life that usually occurs around the age of 50 whereby menstrual periods stop and the production of oestrogen decreases. An estimated 13 million people are living with menopause in the UK, including women, trans people and intersex people. People from these communities may have experiences that differ due to a variety of factors, but ‘people who menstruate’ also require consideration in this policy.
NEW: RAS77 Risk Assessment Template: Long Covid
According to the World Health Organisation (2020) COVID-19 is a mild disease for most people and some people may have no symptoms at all. Some are troubled by persistent symptoms, and this is more commonly seen in those who have had a severe illness and those who have required hospital treatment with intensive care. The collective term for persistent symptoms is “Long Covid”. The longer-term consequences of this illness are not yet fully understood and new information is emerging as the pandemic continues.
Find out more about our Quick Guides and Policies
The Handsam Quick Guides Library contains over 900 documents with all the relevant information, exemplars, checklists and guidance notes you need to ensure you're up to date, including all the DfE, HSE and other formal resources all in one place. It's unique!
Handsam also offers various different policies packages, including providing you with easy-to-use templates for you to tailor yourselves, reviewing your existing policies, or working with you to deliver fully bespoke policies for your school, college or MAT.
If you're not a Handsam client, or you don't buy our Quick Guides or one of our Policies packages, please contact us to discuss how we can help to keep your organisation compliant.