How to keep yours in line with guidance and part of your overall safeguarding practices
Whether you are a large secondary school with multiples of visitors every day or a small primary setting with just a few each week, your signing in procedure is an important element of your overall safeguarding policy. It, therefore, needs to be robust and you should have a system that all members of staff with the responsibility for welcoming visitors to the premises should be familiar with.
We visit a lot of schools and this is usually the first thing that we experience when we arrive. We can therefore report, with some authority, that signing in procedures vary greatly and they are not all in line with guidance so we thought it would be useful to lay out what’s required and what constitutes best practice. Remember, your sign in process serves not only a functional requirement, but also creates a first impression to your visitors.
The details you need to be recording
Whether you are using a signing in book or an electronic system, the details you should record are the same:
Name
Date and time of arrival
Who they are visiting
Company/organisation (if relevant)
Using a two-colour lanyard system
A two-colour lanyard system is a really simple way of instantly identifying those who need to be accompanied around the site at all times (non DBS-checked) and those who do not (DBS-checked). At sign in, you need to establish whether you need to check photo ID/DBS and which lanyard they need.
The process for different visitors
There is different guidance for different types of visitors, so you need to familiarise reception staff with the right protocols.
As a general guide:
Someone coming solely to visit with staff
For example, a parent attending a meeting with a teacher. No ID would be required and they can be given a non-DBS lanyard. They will need to be accompanied at all times.
Someone on a pre-arranged visit for regulated activity
For example, a speech and language therapist. In this scenario, your SCR manager is likely to have a letter of assurance from the organisation they belong to (which is why it’s important to record the company/organisation). If this letter contains DBS information for that individual, then reception staff should ask for photo ID only. If it matches the letter of assurance, they can be given a DBS lanyard and should be given appropriate information to help should they have a concern.
Agency staff
Check photo ID and DBS on the first day and record this check on your SCR. They can be given a DBS-checked lanyard and they can move around the setting unaccompanied but provide appropriate information about the school, including where they can get help if required.
One off visits by those who can provide DBS
For visitors who can provide photo ID and DBS on a one-off visit, you should cross-check the documentation. Record the DBS certificate number and date of issue but don’t photocopy it. They can be issued with a DBS-checked lanyard and provided with information about who the DSL is and guidance on what to do if they have a concern. While it is likely that they will be accompanied, they do not need to be.
Further guidance
If you require further guidance on creating signing in protocols or communicating them to staff effectively, we can help either with training or as part of wider reviews. Get in touch if you would like further information.