South Morningside Parent Council is responsible for the safety of the children in Clubs, during the period of time that they are attending. Please read our full Safeguarding policy for how we do this and what Club volunteers, tutors and parents/carers are expected to do to support us.

(Our Safeguarding Policy is currently being reviewed. Please contact Clubs Admin clubs@sm-pc.org or SMPC Chairs chair@sm-pc.org with any immediate concerns)

Codes of Conduct

SMPC Clubs have Codes of Conduct to make sure Clubs run well and everyone involved is safe and included. Please read and follow the Codes. If you have any questions please contact clubs@sm-pc.org

If adults or children do not follow the codes, this can be reported to Clubs Admin. The Parent Council is committed to taking action if adults or children do not follow the codes, which may result in families no longer being permitted to take part.

(Our Codes of Conduct are currently being reviewed. Please contact Clubs Admin clubs@sm-pc.org or SMPC Chairs chair@sm-pc.org with any immediate concerns)

Pupil Equity Framework

The Parent Council works in partnership with the school to support the Pupil Equity Framework. PEF | South Morningside Primary School & Nursery (wordpress.com) This includes addressing the costs of clubs and placing children the school thinks would particularly benefit from taking part.

The Parent Council allocates funds to support families who cannot meet the costs of clubs. We are committed to making sure that no child misses out because of a financial barrier. Please contact Clubs Admin directly to discuss clubs@sm-pc.org – and not the Club Convenor. You should continue to apply to the club while this is in progress.

Please be aware that Clubs Admin will communicate with the school to ensure the best outcomes for families seeking support. However, these conversations will not be shared with Club Convenors and we commit to privacy as far as is possible.

PVG

PVG (Protecting Vulnerable Groups Scheme) certification helps to ensure that those who have contact with children through paid and unpaid work do not have a known history of harmful behaviour.

SMPC uses the PVG scheme to ensure that our children are kept safe when taking part in clubs.  Individuals (tutors, assistants and volunteers) need a PVG with SMPC if they undertake any of the following activities on a regular, i.e. not one-off basis (even if this is just once a year):

  • teaching, instructing or delivering training to children
  • holding power or influence over a child for the purpose of an activity in which the child is taking part in or seeking to take part in (includes making decisions of an operational or strategic nature that could have an impact on a number of children)
  • being in charge of or caring for children
  • carrying out an activity in a school (where this unsupervised)
  • providing cultural, leisure, social or recreational activities for children (those undertaking tasks in the provision of these activities)
  • coaching children in relation to sports or physical activity
  • holding a position of responsibility in an organisation which has as one of its main purposes the provision of benefits for or to children (this includes voting members of the SMPC Parent Council)

This means that all Clubs Tutors (and volunteers if they are regularly helping out with a club, even if this is just once per year).

A small group of volunteers help with the administration of the PVG scheme for the Parent Council and can be contacted at pvg@sm-pc.org

For more information, read our policy document, or see our FAQ below

PVG FAQ

What is PVG?

PVG (Protecting Vulnerable Groups Scheme) certification helps to ensure that those who have contact with children through paid and unpaid work do not have a known history of harmful behaviour.  It is administered by Disclosure Scotland.

Why do we need PVG?

To help ensure that our children are kept safe when taking part in clubs or activates organised by the South Morningside Parent Council.

What’s the cost?

There is no cost for volunteers.  There is a fee for paid tutors and assistants, which will be covered as part of the club fees.

Who needs a PVG?

All Clubs Tutors (and volunteers if they are regularly helping out with a club, even if this is just once per year) need to have a PVG.

How do I find out more?

Read our Policy Document, visit the PVG website (link) or contact the SMPC PVG volunteer administrators at pvg@sm-pc.org

I’ve got a PVG from somewhere else, does that count?

No.  PVG is an active scheme (i.e. they continue to monitor individuals and alert organisations if a new offence is committed), so every organisation must PVG each person.  

What happens if PVG indicates there is an issue?

Initially Disclosure Scotland will indicate that there is a “flag” for an individual, but will not provide details of the nature of the issue.  This situation will be shared with the SMPC PVG lead signatory, the SMPC Chair and the School Head Teacher. The individual can then decide how to proceed – either to withdraw from the PVG process, obtain more information themselves, or progress.

For more information see the PVG Policy Document which has a section on “dealing with PVG flags”

Is my information confidential?

Any information related to an application will be treated as confidential.  Application information will only be shared with the SMPC volunteers who help administer the scheme.

If an issue is identified, the SMPC PVG lead signatory, the SMPC Chair and the School Head Teacher will be informed that an issue exists.  The nature of the issue will only be disclosed to these individuals if the applicant agrees. Under no circumstances will PVG information be discussed or minuted at a Parent Council meeting.

For more information see our Policy Document.  The final section details our policy on secure handling, use and retention of confidential information.

PVG Policy