Statutory Rules of Northern Ireland
2000 No. 179
CHILDREN
Inspection of Premises, Children and Records (Children Accommodated in Schools) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000
Made
17th May 2000
Coming into operation
4th September 2000
The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety(1), in exercise of the powers conferred on it by Article 176(5) of the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995(2) and of all other powers enabling it in that behalf, after consultation with the Department of Education, hereby makes the following Regulations:
Citation, commencement and interpretation
1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Inspection of Premises, Children and Records (Children Accommodated in Schools) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000 and shall come into operation on 4th September 2000.
(2) In these Regulations—
“authorised person” means a person authorised by an authority under Article 176(4) of the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 (children accommodated in schools) who enters a school in exercise of the power conferred by that Article;
“relevant school” means, in relation to an inspection, any school which provides accommodation for a child within the area of the authority which authorised the person carrying out the inspection.
Inspection of premises
2. An authorised person may inspect any premises or part of the premises used by any relevant school.
Inspection of children
3.—(1) Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), an authorised person may carry out an inspection of the children who are accommodated in a relevant school either individually or together with other such children in such a school.
(2) To the extent that an inspection includes a physical examination of a child, the inspection shall be subject to the child’s consenting, or withholding consent, to the physical examination, where the child is of sufficient understanding to give, or withhold that consent.
(3) An inspection may not be carried out under paragraph (1) in respect of—
(a)any child of a member of staff at a relevant school; or
(b)any other child living with such a member of staff as a member of his household.
Inspection of records
4.—(1) An authorised person may carry out an inspection of the records specified in paragraph (2) held by—
(a)the manager of any relevant school; or
(b)any person who is not the manager of such a school but who is responsible for conducting it,
in respect of all the children whom he has power to inspect pursuant to regulation 3.
(2) The records referred to in paragraph (1) are those containing information concerning the state of health, emotional or developmental well-being or welfare of the children in a relevant school and include any record containing any of the following—
(a)the name and address of the person with parental responsibility for a child in the school;
(b)details of medical or dental treatment undergone by a child, while he is at school, whether or not administered by a member of staff of the school;
(c)details of accidents to any child in the school, the death of any child in the school, serious illness or infectious disease suffered by any child at the school, or other significant harm sustained by a child while at school;
(d)the names and qualifications of the staff responsible for the welfare of children in the school, including non-teaching and part-time staff and volunteers working at the school, both inside and outside teaching hours;
(e)details of any cases of a child absconding from the school;
(f)details of fire practice drills and fire alarm tests at the school;
(g)details of any complaints made by any person in respect of the state of health, emotional or developmental well-being or welfare of a child in the school;
(h)details of punishments administered to any child in the school.
Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety on 17th May 2000.
L.S.
Leslie Frew
Senior Officer of the
Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety
Explanatory Note
(This note is not part of the Regulations.)
These Regulations make provision for the inspection of schools which provide accommodation for children. They provide for persons authorised by an authority for the purposes of Article 176(4) of the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 (“the Order”) to inspect school premises, the children accommodated therein and the records maintained in respect of such children. Authorised persons may enter schools accommodating children in exercise of the power conferred by Article 176(4) of the Order.
Article 176(5) of the Order is the enabling provision under which these Regulations are made. It was brought into operation on 15th May 2000 by virtue of Article 2(a)(i) of the Children (1995 Order) (Commencement No. 4) Order (Northern Ireland) 2000 (S.R. 2000 No. 139 (C. 6)).
See S.I. 1999/283 (N.I. 1), Article 3(6)