Out-of-school settings

Introduction

Out-of-school settings play an important role in supporting and supplement mainstream education often enriching children's experiences in the community. 

Out-of-school settings can include: 

• Tuition or learning centres (which may be used to support mainstream, or home education), for example: in term time; holiday courses in key stage 1 to 4 curriculum; English and mathematics skills; exam preparation (for example, SATs, GCSE, A-level, and 11-plus or other school-entry exams).
• Extracurricular clubs or settings e.g., ballet classes, gymnastic training, sports tuition, instrumental music tuition, martial arts training and drama classes.
• Uniformed youth organisations e.g., Scouts or Guides.
• Open-access youth providers e.g., centre-based and detached youth work.
• Supplementary schools (sometimes called complementary schools), for example, those offering support or education in addition to the mainstream, or core learning, and which operate after school hours or at the weekend.
• Private language schools (including those for children coming from abroad).
• Religious settings offering education in their own faith, culture, or religious texts or preparation for rites, of passage e.g., Jewish yeshivas and chedarim, Muslim madrassahs, Hindu settings, Sikh settings and Christian Sunday schools.

Relationship with the Local Safeguarding Partnership and the Local Authority. 

Please read here about the KBSP Education Reference Group. Out-of-school settings and the private, voluntary and independent sectors will be represented to engage and participate in the same capacity as schools. 

Whilst as a setting you have a legal duty of care imposed, under the Children Act 1989 the Local Authority has a legal duty to ensure the safety and welfare of children and young people within its borders. For more information please read Unregistered independent schools and out of school settings- Advice (publishing.service.gov.uk).

Given the parallels and similarities of expectations in the non-statutory code of practice and statutory expectations within the education sector, we are currently working on a version of the s.175 Audit for providers to be able to develop best practice in relation to Keeping Children and young people safe in Bristol. 

Local help, advice and guidance

There are a variety of sources of support in the Local Authority and partners that you can access - depending on what your enquiry is, or what kind of provider you are.

Bristol Association for Neighbourhood Day Care (BAND) - provides support for organisations who are registered to provide childcare in the private, voluntary and independent sector. 

Early Help Partnership Managers - work within targeted services to enhance and support effective multi-agency partnerships for effective early help and intervention within Bristol's localities. 

Keeping Bristol Safe Partnership (KBSP) - local Safeguarding Partnership has statutory duties to keeping children safe, keeping adults safe, and how to protect whole communities. 

Safeguarding in Education Team  (SET)- support settings with quality assurance around their statutory duties in both developing effective policy and practice. We also provide training for the education workforce. 

For support around individual families and case work do consider visiting the Local Safeguarding Services page. 

Training, CPD and Networking

You can join free professional networks to keep up to date with Local and National updates. 

• DSL networks - for those with safeguarding responsibilities. 
• Alternative learning provider networks hosted by the ALP Hub.

Reading and Resources

Keeping children safe during community activities, after-school clubs and tuition - non-statutory government guidance for providers running out-of-school settings.

Information for providers on keeping children safe in sports clubs and other extra-curricular activities - government promotional materials developed to raise awareness of the different risks and safeguarding issues that can exist within out-of-school-settings.

Emergency planning and response for education, childcare, and children’s social care settings - how to deal with emergencies, including significant public health incidents and severe weather.

For local resources please see the Keeping Bristol Safe Partnership website.

For Parents

Information for parents choosing an after school club, community activity or tuition - guidance for parents and carers choosing safe out-of-school settings for their children.