A Snapshot of Client Queries
We’ve picked a few of the most interesting questions we’ve dealt with since our last issue, which may be useful if you ever find yourself in a similar situation at your school.
QUESTION: “A teacher has requested to utilise sixth formers as ‘supervisors/guardians’ for a trip. I have checked our insurance and there is no clear guidance. The trust position is that this should not happen and adds significant risk to the trip – but I am looking for some actual guidance if it exists?”
Currently, there is no specific government guidance on this issue. If the supervisor was a young adult (18+) and brought into the group as a qualified and experienced and vetted supervisor/trainer with a full risk assessment of the supervision and the competence of the person then such a person could be employed or used as a volunteer. But if the same adult happens to be a pupil at that school, then in common with all other pupils, regardless of age, they themselves must be supervised.
It is not uncommon for post-16 students to supervise younger members of groups but under strict controls. For example:
- There must be a specific policy signed off by the employer - with clear guidelines on who can and cannot supervise;
- The parents of the volunteers and parents of the members of the group must be consulted and their views taken into account and no pupil should be required to accept the supervision of anyone who has not been agreed by his/her/their parents;
- The sixth-form volunteers must be risk assessed and the activities of the group must be risk assessed and no supervisor should be used in that capacity where there is the slightest suggestion that they are unsuitable;
- The volunteer should only be supervising a small group (size depending on age, aptitude and ability and nature of the risk-assessed activity); and
- The volunteer must NEVER be out of sight and control of one of the group's trained leaders, who retains ultimate responsibility.
Schools should take note that despite the obvious dangers and risks, factually and legally, there have been very few serious injuries on school trips as compared with the number that have happened on school premises. It comes down to each school's balancing of giving all students the very best of experiences against the legal and physical risks - hence the need for rigorous risk assessment of leaders, volunteers and the nature of the groups and the intended activities and the environment of the activities.
QUESTION: “Our Duke of Edinburgh Lead has asked me a question about a student who has an auto-injector pen, due to anaphylaxis. The student will be in a group (about 6) and could be about 30 minutes away from a member of staff. If the student needs to use their auto-injector pen but can’t, we are asking whether the other students can be trained up? They are aged 14 or 15.”
The Human Medicines Regulations 2012 means that a lay person cannot normally administer a prescription medication to another person. However Regulation 238 states:
Regulation 214(2) does not apply to the administration of a prescription only medicine specified in Schedule 19 where this is for the purpose of saving life in an emergency.
Adrenaline is one of the drugs listed in Schedule 19.
It would be best practice for the members of the group which includes the student with the auto-injector pen to be trained in what to do in the event of a life-threatening anaphylactic reaction. It will also give them the confidence to act promptly in administering treatment – positive actions need to be taken whilst the casualty’s EpiPen is being located and what to do once they are in possession of the medicine – time is of the essence and these skills will certainly be improved by attending a training course.
Care must be taken when choosing a course to ensure that the focus is on dealing with an emergency rather than basic awareness of allergies. Parental consent should also be sought.
QUESTION: “I am starting a risk assessment to try and address the latest TikTok social media challenge of a large number of students starting a fight in school and recording the outcome. Just enquiring to see if you have any information or guidance on this.”
Handsam would recommend that the school should hold assemblies or tutor-time sessions where the behaviour policy is reiterated to all students and the consequences of this sort of behaviour are made clear. There is no DfE/government advice on dealing with a mass brawl, but there is some good advice below, which could be incorporated into a risk assessment:
Gov.uk: Use of reasonable force in schools: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/444051/Use_of_reasonable_force_advice_Reviewed_July_2015.pdf
DfE: Behaviour in schools:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1101597/Behaviour_in_schools_guidance_sept_22.pdf
TES Magazine: Classroom fights: https://www.tes.com/magazine/archive/behaviour-taking-sting-out-classroom-fights
Child Law Advice: Discipline within schools: https://childlawadvice.org.uk/information-pages/discipline-within-school/
QUESTION: “What is a safe fall height for infant school children including early years children? What fall height means that we have to have special flooring or additional adult supervision?”
According to British Standards EN 1177:2008 all play equipment with a free fall height above 0.6m requires a critical fall height certified flooring around the play equipment (this is the maximum platform height from which a child can fall from). It is also worth noting that the maximal fall height should not be greater than 3m. This means that the free fall height shouldn’t exceed 3m.