GEM/SMC GRASS ROOTS PROJECT
Guidance Notes - Education related Policies
Guidelines and policies can help to clarify the activities which you are doing
within your museum. Specific guidelines, such as child protection and risk
assessment, help to protect the participant, museum, staff and volunteers
participating in activities. There are a number of different policies/guidelines
which you should have in place before starting a learning programme. The
following lists the different types and gives some suggestion on how to develop
these.
CONTENTS
• Education Policy
• Child Protection
• Risk Assessment and Health and Safety
• Disability Discrimination Act
• SMC's Learning and Access Strategy
• Further Information/Links
EDUCATION POLICY
An education policy can help to:
• clarify what you are doing
• asses what you need to do to achieve your aims
• deliver activities and achieve targets
• evaluate your activities against defined targets
• complete funding applications
• make all staff in the museum aware of your aims so that they all work towards
a common goal
Your policy does not need to be overly complicated or lengthy! A simple 2 page
document outlining your goals and how you hope to achieve them will often
suffice.
Your policy will stem from and take into account the museum’s collections and
the aim of your museum as a whole. It will need to address the significance of
your collections, e.g. “to preserve and interpret the town’s shared history and
make it available to the widest possible audience.”
Think about:
• Your current activities – what you do, who you aim your work at, who is
involved (staff, resources, etc)
• Defining the difference between formal learning(schools, universities, etc)
and informal learning (community groups, specialist groups, individual interest)
• Aims – What would you like to do and who would you aim to work with?
• Objectives – How will you do this? Include the service you will provide,
staff, resources and marketing.
• What is your policy on outreach?
• What will you do to evaluate your activities?
Remember to include thought for regular visitors, such as families and senior
citizens, who might not necessarily be part of an educational group as such.
It is worthwhile putting a short definition of what comprises each group or
activity such as, “Outreach: determines work carried out by volunteer guides
with groups outside the museum. This will be in the form of workshops and talks
using the portable handling collection.”
Complete by stating that all information contained in the policy will be subject
to regular review, monitoring and evaluation to deliver the policy aims and
objectives. It is worthwhile rereading it every six months to a year to review
the activities with staff and update it with any new information.
CHILD PROTECTION
The Protection of Children (Scotland) Act 2003
New laws to strengthen the safeguards for children came into force on 10 January
2005. The Protection of Children (Scotland) Act 2003 applies to your
organisation if you employ (paid or unpaid) people to work in child care
positions.
The PoCSA offers guidance notes and is a practical guide to help organisations
to understand the new Act and to put in place the procedures they will need to
follow in order to comply with the law and help improve child protection. Click
here to download the Protection of Children Scotland Act (2003)
www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/education/pcagfo.pdf
In Scotland, child protection applies to children up to 18 years of age.
Voluntary Arts Scotland has excellent guidelines on writing a Child Protection
Policy. Please visit
http://www.voluntaryarts.org/uploaded/map1548.pdf for an introductory guide
to child protection, followed by
http://www.voluntaryarts.org/uploaded/map1549.pdf for information on putting
child protection into practice.
Disclosure
Disclosure Scotland is a service designed to enhance public safety by providing
potential employers and the voluntary sector with criminal history information
on individuals applying for posts. Disclosure Scotland issues certificates -
known as "Disclosures" - which give details of an individual's criminal
convictions or state that they have none.
There are three levels of Disclosure offered: Basic, Standard and Enhanced. The
Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) has implemented the disclosure service to provide
criminal record checks for all persons who come into contact through their work
with children, the elderly or other vulnerable people. Disclosure Scotland is
the umbrella body responsible for disclosures in Scotland. They explain the
different levels of disclosure as:
Basic Disclosure
A Basic Disclosure contains details of convictions considered unspent under the
Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. They are available to anyone for any
purpose, on payment of an appropriate fee. This type of Disclosure is only
issued to the applicant. It is not job-specific and may be used more than once.
Standard Disclosure
The intermediate level of disclosure is the Standard Disclosure. This contains
convictions held on central records but includes both spent and unspent
convictions. This means that even minor convictions, perhaps dating from years
ago, are included on the disclosure. The Standard Disclosure is available on
payment of the appropriate fee, subject to the application first being
countersigned by a registered person (usually the potential employer or
voluntary organisation).
The main categories of occupations etc for which a Standard Disclosure may be
required are:
• those involving regular contact with children and vulnerable adults
• those checked in the interests of national security
• those involved in the administration of law
• those applying for firearms; explosives and gaming licences
• professional groups in health, pharmacy and law
• senior managers in banking and financial services
A Standard Disclosure is sent to the applicant, and a copy sent to the relevant
registered body.
Enhanced Disclosure
In addition to the details included in a Standard Disclosures, an Enhanced
Disclosure may contain non conviction information which a chief constable may
choose to disclose, which he feels is relevant to the job or voluntary work
sought. This type of Disclosure is available to -
• those who apply for work that regularly involves caring for, training,
supervising or being in sole charge of children or vulnerable adults;
• applicants for various gaming and lottery licences;
• those seeking judicial appointment;
• applicants for registration for child minding or day care or to act as foster
parents or carers.
If you or another member of staff/volunteer is in a position which involves
regular contact with children/vulnerable adults as a major part of your day to
day activities, you should have an enhanced disclosure carried out. If a staff
member has no direct contact with children/vulnerable adults as part of their
day to day activities, they should not have an enhanced disclosure done. A
common misconception is that it is easier just to have everyone fully checked,
but you are not actually allowed to do this!
Further information and details regarding the disclosure process can be found on
www.disclosurescotland.co.uk
Photography Permission
If you are taking photographs of people involved in activities in your museum,
whether they are for documentation purposes or for publishing, you must gain
permission from the participant first. If the participant is under 18 years of
age or a vulnerable adult, you should get written permission from a parent or
carer. You can easily produce a single page form with information detailing the
purpose and planned use of the pictures for signature by the responsible adult.
If you want to use the pictures again in the future for a purpose other than the
one stated, you will need to obtain fresh permission.
RISK ASSESSMENT AND HEALTH AND SAFETY
Depending on the size of your organisation, you may have a member of staff
responsible for health and safety issues and/or risk assessment. If you are in a
smaller organisation, you might find yourself responsible for this! Don’t panic
– these things can be done reasonably simply and in the long run will make
planning and running activities easier and safer for both the museum and the
participants.
A risk assessment is an assessment of the risk involved in a particular
activity. This assessment of risk will allow you to make a decision about what
steps, if any, are necessary to reduce that risk.
For full straightforward guidelines on why and how to carry out a simple risk
assessment, see the Voluntary Arts guidelines ‘Risk Assessment for Events
Organisers’,
www.voluntaryarts.org/uploaded/map55.pdf
For information about managing health and safety in accordance with rules and
regulations, and how to go about putting a health and safety policy together,
see Voluntary Arts briefing ‘Just How Safe Are You?’
http://www.voluntaryarts.org/uploaded/map167.pdf
DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION ACT
The Disability Discrimination Act came into full effect in October 2004. It
covers not only physical, but also intellectual access issues. For up-to-date
advice on the Disability Discrimination Act, including downloadable fact sheets,
see the Learning and Access section on the SMC website
www.scottishmuseums.org.uk/members_services/learning_and_access/DDA_intro.asp
SMC'S LEARNING AND ACCESS STRATEGY
The SMC’s National Learning and Access Strategy was published in July 2005. It
promotes the positive role that museums have to play in the fabric of everyday
Scottish life providing a three-year framework for realising their vision for
access and learning in the future. The vision is that museums should:
• make learning and access integral to service delivery
• involve everyone
• work in partnership
• become sustainable
For more detailed information, including a download of the strategy, look at
www.scottishmuseums.org.uk/members_services/learning_and_access/A__L_Strategy_intro.asp
It is worth reading this document and taking its implications into
consideration when writing your own museum’s education policy.
If you have any questions or comments about the development of the strategy,
please contact:
Helena Gillis, Acting Senior Policy Officer (Learning and Access)
Tel: 0131 476 8591
helenag@scottishmuseums.org.uk
FURTHER INFORMATION/LINKS
Scottish Criminal Record Office
www.scro.police.uk
Central Registered Body in Scotland (CRBS) was established by the Scottish
Executive to provide free Disclosures for volunteers in the voluntary sector
working with children, young people and vulnerable adults. CRBS is part of
Volunteer Development Scotland.
www.crbs.org.uk
The Scottish Arts Council publication “Creating Safety” – Guidelines for Child
protection in the Arts, was written in Partnership with Children in Scotland.
The guidelines encourage good practice in a safe and supportive environment and
highlight positive actions to help protect young people participating in the
arts. It can be downloaded from their website.
www.scottisharts.org.uk/1/information/publications/1000293.aspx
The Youth Scotland pack “Safe and Sound - Building a safer Youth Work
Environment” will support you through writing a child protection policy.
Tel: 0131 554 2561
www.youthscotland.org.uk
Create Scotland has produced child protection guidelines on their website in
conjunction with Youth Scotland.
http://www.create-scotland.co.uk/advice/childprotection
Organisations such as Sport Scotland
www.sportscotland.org.uk and the Scout Association
www.scoutbase.org.uk/hq/child-protection/index.htm have good examples of
child and vulnerable adult policies in place.
NSPCC Inform is the online child protection resource.
www.nspcc.org.uk/inform
You can also get information from the NSPCC booklet called “STOPCHECK” from
publications@nspcc.org.uk
or by writing to;
NSPCC Publications,
Weston House,
42 Curtain Road,
London
EC2A 3NH
Tel: 020 7825 7422
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) produces a wide range of information and
resources. They also run an information line for queries.
Tel: 08701 545 500.
In particular, further information on constructing risk assessments is available
in the following document, free of charge, from the HSE
Order code: 0717615804
HSE books
PO Box 1999
Sudbury
Suffolk
CO10 2WA
Tel: 01787 881165
hsebooks@prolog.uk.com
http://www.hsebooks.co.uk