Monitoring
The DfES advise that in order for a Local Authority to fulfil its statutory duty as an employer it must monitor how schools/settings are complying with its policy on educational visits. The Local Authority is required to monitor robustly to ensure required standards are reached and should take action where they are not. This advice is also appropriate to the Governing Body in a school where the Governing Body is the employer. In addition to the Local Authorities role in monitoring, schools and settings also have their own responsibility to monitor and review the educational visits organised by their establishment.
The purpose of all guidance and monitoring activity is to support schools and settings in providing rich and varied opportunities to learning. It is recognised that educational visits can add a great deal towards schools meeting the five outcomes in ‘Every Child Matters’ and Salford City Council endeavours to work with schools to ensure that all such visits yield the best opportunities for learning.
EFFECTIVE MONITORING - overview
Monitoring should be seen as supportive, recording and acknowledging good practice and achievement, as well as identifying and remedying lack of achievement.
School/setting/centre based monitoring is likely to include evidence of:
- Compliance with procedures/policy guidelines
- Both site and activity risk assessments
- Sound health & safety management systems
- A clear understanding of cut-off points
- Compliance with control measures identified in risk assessments to reduce the likelihood of an accident/incident occurring
- The asking of searching questions regarding the educational objectives of a visit and management arrangements
- The asking of searching questions on the outcomes/completion of a visit
- Checking the current status/validity of staff qualifications e.g. First Aid
- ‘Field’ monitoring – accompanying off-site visits on a sample basis for the purpose of observing, recording and reporting findings. Priorities for field monitoring should be established using risk management procedures
- Health and safety considered as part of staff appraisal/staff development programmes
In addition, it is considered good practice for Local Authorities to:
- Provide governing bodies with guidance on the issues they need to be considering
- Remind governing bodies of the visits approval procedures and indicate questions they might ask in connection with proposed visits
- Make governing bodies aware of monitoring reports carried out by the Local Authority or monitoring documents submitted by the school to the Local Authority
- Have clear policies and guidance for governors and Headteachers
- Provide relevant training and support
This page was last updated on 19 September 2005
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