How to start an SU Group - Scripture Union Scotland

Team Leaders’ Manual – School SU Groups• Inform SU of any disclosure which has been made – we may not ask for details but will offersupport. It could well be that the head teacher or a parent may choose to make contactwith Scripture Union and we would rather be made aware of a situation in order to beprofessional and offer appropriate and helpful response• Do not expect to be given any further information by the head teacher. Sometimes it will beappropriate for the head teacher to assure you that everything has been dealt with. Onother occasions, what you have become aware of may be part of something much larger inthe life of a young person and the school management will be unable to disclose furtherdetails to you.11.3 Excluding a pupil from an SU GroupSometimes, we have young people in SU groups who have a poor reputation in school, who strugglewith behaviour and, in some instances, may have experienced periods of exclusion from the schoolcommunity. Whether you are a teacher or a volunteer going into school you have no authority todecide that this person should be excluded from the SU group on a permanent basis. This decisioncan only be made by the school authorities. If you have any concern regarding a pupil in your groupthis should be discussed with a member of the school management team, and they should takeresponsibility for communicating a decision about attendance to parents/carers of a pupil. It wouldalso be helpful to alert your local staff member about the issue but they cannot make a decisionabout the removal/exclusion of a pupil from the SU group.This problem should not be confused with a request for a young person to leave a group meetingbecause of poor behaviour but allowing them to return the following week provided their behaviourhas improved.11.4 Out of School SU groupsSome SU groups meet at the end of the school day within the school building. You should clarifywith the school management whether the school is willing to take full responsibility for the group,and whether the school sees this as a group meeting within the informal curriculum. If this is thenature of the relationship with the school then the above procedure is relevant.However, if the school feel they cannot accept full responsibility because of the time when the groupmeets, or if the group meets away from school premises in an evening then the group falls fullywithin Scripture Union Scotland’s Child Protection policy. Your local staff member will be able togive you a copy of this policy and work through good practice with you.In your role as Team Leader of the SU group you carry responsibility for ensuring that your team arebriefed adequately, and that the highest standards of care are observed. Should an incident happenduring a group meeting, then you should contact SU Scotland’s emergency number (07770 483 623)where you will be connected to the duty member of staff who will offer guidance and advice. TheSU Scotland Volunteers Handbook provides the SU Scotland Code of Good Practice which is aninvaluable tool to work through with your team. This handbook is issued to SU accreditedvolunteers.January 2012