zigzag Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 (edited) Just a quick question, my new assistant also works in after school club at another school, she is a level 2 and training to be a level 3 and is quite inexperienced. She is the only person working at any one time and has as many as 8 children. Is this illegal? I know nothing about ratios for this but it really worrys me that she is on her own. We have talked about it and it worries her as well but she lacks confidence to speak out. I just wanted to get my facts straight before I go any further to help her. :1b Edited October 5, 2012 by zigzag Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeany Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 Pretty certain there should always be at least 2 members of staff. Ratio is 1-8 for children over 3 in after school clubs same as in early years and should be at least 1 level 3. What I think can be a loophole is if the club is sited in a school and there are still Teachers presents in the building. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stargrower Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 it doesn't seem right. What happens if she has to leave the room? Can she not go to the toilet for the whole session? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 Settings based in schools seem to have their own rules unless you stand up and say no it should be like this. They should have due regard to the child care register requirements at least and if OFSTED visited I am sure they would not the set up. We are a club based in school and I am the exec manager. We work to ratios of 1 to 8, always a level 3 present, first aider and 2 staff as minimum. Having teachers on site is great for those emergency situations that can arise but I dont think should be depended on a day to day basis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zigzag Posted October 5, 2012 Author Share Posted October 5, 2012 This is what I am trying to get through to her, what if something serious happened and you have to give possibly life saving first aid who is there to back you up, look after the other kids or call for help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 My advice to her would be to write a letter to her line manager expressing her concern. The point about what if something happens is a very real issue. She should make sure the line manager,head of school and chair of governors all get a copy. If they then choose to do nothing about it and something happens then the worker is in the clear. Her legal duty is to ensure the welfare of the children in her care. The welfare of the children is paramount and at the very least the head teacher should know this. If they choose to ignore it then the worker is in the clear. The other person does not need to be qualified and even a volunteer would remove the risk. She does have a legal duty to raise the concern, otherwise she would be considered to be as liable as the manager who is putting her in that position. If she does not want to write a letter then she should make her concerns known if possible if front of a witness and make a written note of what she said and when. Another course of action might be to ask one of the parents to raise it as a concern since it is their children at potential risk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlettangel Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 I run an afterschool club and ALWAYS have at least 2 staff. Not only is that unsafe for the children it is also unsafe for her! What if a child makes some sort of allegation??? What if she herself became ill?? Very worrying!!! My afterschool club is run under the school umbrella and I am sure OFSTED would not be happy to find one staff member alone!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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