In my articles to you I’m hoping to increase your awareness of child protection good practice when teaching under 18-year-old students. This of course is directly relevant to teachers offering classes to under 18-year-olds, but is also relevant to those teachers offering adult classes when they may be asked to accept a "young adult" (a student under the age of 18) into their class. My Summer 2006 article makes reference to this. (Previous CP Spectrum articles can be accessed from the website www.bwy.org.uk/About the Wheel/Child Protection and Equity.)

TEACHER SUPPORT/SUPERVISION IN THE TEACHING ROOM
An increasing concern which is becoming apparent from your recent enquiries is whether there should be another adult/s present in an official capacity in a class offered to under 18-year-olds when the parent/carer is not present.

This question is addressed in 2 ways: is the teacher working within a school/health centre/gym etc (in which case the teacher needs to follow that organisation’s CP Policy which should give guidelines), or is it a private class (when the teacher follows the BWY CP Policy). Our Policy states that where possible there should be 2 teachers or helpers in the room. This ensures basic cover in the event of something impacting on the availability of one of the adults during the session (eg a child/student requiring first-aid treatment by an adult outside of the teaching area).

We have been working closely with the Child Protection in Sport Unit (CPSU - part of the NSPCC) in developing our CP Policy. Whilst parents/carers are encouraged to accompany children, the CPSU recommend that parents/carers "acting in a formal volunteering or other capacity during the activity should have appropriate checks (minimum Enhanced Disclosure), are clear about their role, are clear about who has overall responsibility for the group, and what is acceptable practice". Recommended teacher/young person ratios are 1:8 (for under 8 year olds) and 1:10 (for over 8 year olds) with a minimum of 2 adults present. An information sheet on Recommended Minimum Supervision Ratios can be downloaded from the website, or you can obtain a printed version by contacting me.

As always, I’m pleased to speak with you if you have any queries. Best wishes with your teaching

Angie Punaks - BWY Ethics, Equity & Welfare Manager
Tel: 01394 446054 email: CP and Equity