Working at our setting

How to use this short course

Allow about 20 minutes for reading, the scenario, reflection and knowledge check. This is internal new-starter awareness training for an after-school setting. It does not replace specialist qualifications, the longer DASC courses, required employment checks or local practical induction. Local policy and the arrangements confirmed by your manager determine how you carry out your role. Examples are illustrative; no example name is an operational contact.

Read the sections in order, discuss anything unclear and complete the six-question assessment. You need at least 80% and your own declaration for a dated module completion. The whole pathway is not complete until all six modules and a separate manager practical sign-off are recorded.

Know how a shift works

Your manager should explain the setting's routines before you take responsibility independently. Know the start-of-shift briefing, staffing allocation, children's attendance and relevant support arrangements, activity preparation, snack routine, collection process and closing checks. Confirm what you do, who supervises you and where to seek help if the usual person is unavailable.

Ask how breaks, sickness, lateness, emergencies and changes of responsibility are communicated. Do not assume arrangements from another centre apply unchanged. A relief worker still needs local information. Find the current policies and ask how updates are communicated and acknowledged. This learning pathway provides a foundation; it cannot contain the operational details of every site.

Accurate records protect people

Use the approved system at the actual time required. Registers, handovers, accident reports, medication records and safeguarding notes serve different purposes and may have different access rules. Learn which record to use, who receives it and how to confirm an important handover. Never store children's details in a personal spreadsheet or on an unauthorised device for convenience.

Write facts clearly and promptly. Include the date and time, relevant observations, action taken and people informed. Distinguish something you witnessed from something reported to you. Do not add a diagnosis, blame or opinion as if it were established fact. Check that you have selected the correct child or family before saving. Ask the manager to supervise an example using dummy details if you are unfamiliar with the system.

If an entry is wrong, use the approved correction process and preserve the original facts and actual correction date. Do not backdate, delete history or create a false record to make a checklist appear complete. Report a serious mistake or suspected information breach promptly. Your individual authorised account provides accountability; borrowing another person's login undermines it.

Communicating with parents and colleagues

Be welcoming, factual and respectful. Share routine information within your role using approved channels. Check identity and permissions before discussing a child's record. Conversations about sensitive matters should happen privately with the appropriate people, not at a crowded entrance or in an informal messaging group.

If a parent raises a complaint, listen, record and refer through the complaints process. Do not promise a particular outcome, disclose another family's information or decide an allegation yourself. Safeguarding concerns need the safeguarding route, not just a customer-service response. Explain to the responsible lead what was said and what follow-up is needed.

At shift handover, identify current risks, agreed actions and who has accepted responsibility. Confirm receipt for urgent matters. A note that nobody has seen may not be an effective handover. Use the route the setting has designated; do not assume every message channel is monitored continuously.

Complete induction honestly

Each of the six short modules has its own learning and assessment record. Read the module, work through the scenario and pass its knowledge check before signing the declaration. Opening a page or scrolling to the end is reading progress, not proof that the course assessment and declaration are complete. The course completion date is the actual date the record is created, not a date chosen to make a deadline look met.

After all six modules, the pathway still awaits a manager's local practical sign-off. The manager checks the site tour, safeguarding contacts, supervision, individual needs, records and policies with you. They record their own identity, the actual sign-off date and relevant notes. If something is unclear, it should remain pending while you receive support. Do not sign on another person's behalf.

Short induction awareness does not replace the full training courses, required checks, qualifications, probation review or the manager's decision about supervised duties. Completing these modules must not silently complete the longer courses. Tell the manager about prior training and any role-specific needs so the appropriate requirements can be checked rather than assumed.

Practise a realistic situation

You are new to the setting and cannot find the medication record. A parent asks about another family's complaint, and the manager's handover note refers to a child you do not recognise.

Explain how you seek supervised help, keep information private and verify the correct child and record before acting. Identify which questions must be answered before practical sign-off. It is better to make a clear request for support than to pretend that the whole induction is complete.

Local practical follow-up

Demonstrate the approved systems with dummy information, a factual handover and a record correction. Confirm your supervisor, local policies and remaining training needs, then review the six practical checks with your manager.

Use the actual current arrangements for your setting, not a remembered contact or a fictional scenario. Tell the manager if you need more practice, an accessible format or support with language or reading. Any unresolved issue should be supported and recorded rather than hidden by ticking a box.

Continue your learning

• Full course: training records
• Full course: code of conduct
• Full course: supervision appraisals performance management
• Full course: data protection gdpr

Completing this short module records only this module. It does not mark any linked full course as completed. Full training and refresher requirements remain separate.

Guidance and local policy

This awareness module is informed by the Department for Education's Out-of-school settings: safeguarding guidance for providers, updated 9 February 2026. It is guidance, not a claim that every statutory provision applies identically to every setting. The manager must confirm the framework relevant to the provision, children's ages and your duties, including any applicable EYFS requirements. Use the setting's current safeguarding, conduct, supervision, health and information-handling procedures alongside this module.