Christmas Fairs and the PTA

On our Facebook DSL Support Group we have received an interesting seasonal question from one of our members:

Our parent organisation is organising our Christmas fair, which will be held on our school premises. They will have outside companies coming in to sell their products (ice creams, glitter tattoos, etc.). What safeguarding information do these companies / individuals need to provide to the school?

Inviting people onto your site is significant. Here’s our thinking to talk you through it...

Firstly, you should ask yourself the following questions: whose event is this and what responsibilities is the school carrying here? Parentkind have a great article on the separation of the PTA from the school. Is this clear and understood by everyone? The PTA? Parents? Visitors? Make sure it is clear in the event materials. If it’s actually the school organising things then you’ll need to take a different approach.

Paragraph 167 of KCSiE states: “where services or activities are provided separately by another body this is not necessarily the case. The governing body or proprietor should therefore seek assurance that the provider concerned has appropriate safeguarding and child protection policies and procedures in place (including inspecting these as needed); and ensure that there are arrangements in place for the provider to liaise with the school or college on these matters where appropriate. This applies regardless of whether or not the children who attend any of these services or activities are children on the school roll or attend the college. The governing body or proprietor should also ensure safeguarding requirements are included in any transfer of control agreement (i.e. lease or hire agreement), as a condition of use and occupation of the premises; and that failure to comply with this would lead to termination of the agreement. The guidance on Keeping children safe in out-of-schools settings details the safeguarding arrangements that schools and colleges should expect these providers to have in place."

You’ll want to be clear with the PTA of your expectations… your best start is in your Safeguarding Policy. It should cover events in general to decide who can come to your site - with a fair process for deciding on groups that, for example, may be wishing to promote extremist views versus those wanting to sell their crocheted items!

Every organisation attending needs to agree to your safeguarding policy - ensure the PTA send them a copy asking each organisation to confirm they understand their obligations and what to do if something happens. A simple cover note with contact details is always useful.

Your event policy needs to be understood by those attending: for example, include ‘Children are the responsibility of their parents’ demonstrating that supervision of children in a community event is the same as a village fair, and you’re not taking on responsibility for every child that attends.

The PTA will need a risk assessment and you’ll want to check appropriate boundaries understood by everyone. Particular attention should be paid to mistletoe, as well as missing children, child on child issues, consumption of alcohol and so on.

Finally, there’s the special day...

Who is leading the event from the PTA and are they in close communication with the school? What is the role of teachers and staff (parents will still turn to them) and how is this linked with the PTA

Senior leaders should check the event is being run as per the agreement and of course if things go wrong students come first and the school should still mobilise to support the PTA to keep children safe.

We hope that's helpful and that you and your students have a wonderful, peaceful and safe Christmas.