ACL Outreach Policy

Title	ACL OUTREACH POLICY
Responsible Group	ACL Senior Leadership Team
Author	Business Operations Manager/ Learning Technologies Manager
Intended Audience	All ACL staff
Status	Live
Version	1
Last Review and Approval	June 2025
Approved By	ACL Senior Leadership Team
Next Review	June 2026
Original Date of Acceptance	10th August 2023
Changes Made	Y
Stored Location	Master Copy on ComEd Pool/Policies and Strategies. ACL Staff Portal

Date Changes Made and Date

Description

August 2024

Combined the Outreach Equipment and Outreach Property policies

June 2025

Review of arrangements throughout document

Updating to new policy template

Our Vision

Giving Essex residents the opportunity to be the best they can be and achieve their goals.

Our Mission

To provide a high-quality learning offer that makes a positive difference to the lives of residents and businesses of Essex.

Our Values

Inclusion:

Treating each other with respect and kindness and embracing the diversity of our communities.

Respect:

Being kind to each other, acting with integrity and being considerate of each other’s feelings.

Inspiring:

A sense of purpose and responsibility, to create positive change.

Ambitious:

Helping colleagues and learners to realise their potential and overcome barriers to reach their goals.

Sustainable:

Making green choices so that we leave a smaller impact on our environment now, and don’t compromise future generations.

Collaborative:

Pulling together as a team so everyone can learn and succeed.

Introduction

This policy will ensure that ACL has a robust system for identifying, risk assessing and booking outreach venues for teaching and learning in the community alongside taking equipment to venues.

Outreach venues are utilised for teaching, learning, and assessments in areas without an ACL centre nearby but where there is a recognised need for these activities. This approach allows the service to extend its reach into all communities as needed.

The health and safety, accessibility, learning environment, and facilities provided to staff, learners, and carers at outreach venues are equally as important as those at our main centres.

Whilst working in outreach centre tutors may require technical equipment, such as MiFi devices, laptops, projectors, and portable screens. Therefore, all outreach buildings will be subject to a comprehensive risk assessment for these technologies, including evaluations for Wi-Fi and web-filtering capabilities. Tutors should have contingency plans prepared should there be issues with connectivity at the time of delivery.

Before outreach activities can begin, we must show we have taken reasonable steps to ensure the venue meets requirements. However, the range of outreach that occurs is varied and so different types of checks or risk assessments need to be made depending on the activity.

Method of Implementation

HEALTH AND SAFETY

Tutors must make sure health and safety risks are minimised in line with codes of practice and/or relevant risk assessments, which included in any training with learners prior to a class starting. Any concerns should be raised with the outreach venue premises management team and the Business Operations Manager / Leads made aware. If necessary, the class may need to be postponed until the risk has been reduced.

TYPES OF RISK ASSESSMENT

Length of Course	Full Buildings	Activity	Course	Lone Working	Digital Technology
Multiple sessions with the same tutor and learners have been planned at the same venue.	Outreach buildings survey will be sent to the venue for them to complete and return, followed by a visual assessment by Business Operations or someone suitably trained in risk assessments*	On visual visit, the venue is assessed. For example, are walkways and fire exits are clear?	Curriculum Lead to ensure there is a course risk assessment has been carried out, taking into effect any local factors.	Tutor and Line Manager will carry out a lone working risk assessment	Required Testing carried out by ACL Technology Team
One-off occasion at a venue.	Not required	Required and completed by the Curriculum Lead.	Required	Required	Required
Several one-off activities planned at the same venue on more than one occasion.	Required	Required and completed by the Curriculum Lead.	Required	Required	Required

*Risk Assessments in ACL are carried out by Managers, those in Lead roles or who line manage teams. As a minimum requirement they will have completed the Risk Assessment Pack Training on the ECC My Learning platform:

Evidence that training has been completed must be sent to the Workforce Development Lead

SAFEGUARDING

ACL is committed to creating and maintaining a learning environment where all participants feel safe and secure. ACL will create a safe physical environment in community settings. This includes regular risk assessments and ensuring that the venue is secure and accessible for all participants. All staff will have undertaken annual Safeguarding training and know how to recognise a safeguarding concern and how to report it. Learners will have information on how to raise concerns through learner induction, the ACL website, and information cards.

PLANNING FOR OUTREACH DELIVERY

Process Map for Outreach Courses June 25.docx

When a need for outreach delivery for a course is identified the Curriculum Lead should allow 6 weeks for the risk assessment process to be completed before commencing delivery.
Should delivery be required within 6 weeks, the Curriculum Lead will need to work with the Business Operations Manager / Leads to identify a venue and ensure the process is completed before delivery begins.
Existing outreach venues, with approved risk assessments, can be identified by accessing the Outreach Register stored in the ACL Essex Teams channel: Outreach RA Status Report.xlsx
Where a venue is known and there is a current risk assessment:
the Curriculum Lead should notify the Curriculum Learning Officer shared inbox clo@essex.gov.uk who will ascertain availability of the venue and ensure the required technical equipment is available.
The Curriculum Lead will complete the new course approval form and curriculum planning spreadsheet for MIS to code and add the course to Terms and move to the web, if required.
The Curriculum Lead must ensure the tutor has the means to collect and return equipment.
The Curriculum Lead must ensure a lone working risk assessment is produced with the tutor assigned to deliver the course and saved in a shared folder. Lone Working information is available on the ECC Intranet.
The Curriculum Learning Officer will follow My Oracle processes to raise a purchase order and enable payment for ACL use of 3^rd party premises.
Should a venue need to be found:
Curriculum and Business Operations will work together to identify new venue.
If the venue is to be used for a course, Business Operations will ask venue to complete the ACL Buildings Survey and return for review (copy embedded below).
Business Operations Manager / Lead and Tech Services will carry out visual risk assessment on venue and to check available technology is compatible with ACL systems and wi-fi is secure.
Once risk assessment has been signed off, Business Operations will make the Curriculum Lead aware.
The Curriculum Lead will complete a new course approval form for the course to be approved, coded and moved to the web.
The Curriculum Lead must ensure the tutor has the means to collect and return equipment.
The Curriculum Lead must ensure a lone working risk assessment is produced with the tutor assigned to deliver the course and saved in a shared folder. Lone Working information is available on the ECC Intranet.
The Curriculum Learning Officer will follow My Oracle processes to raise a purchase order and enable payment for ACL use of 3^rd party premises.
All premises risk assessments are reviewed annually.

RISK ASSESSMENT PROCESSES

Buildings Risk Assessments are carried out for all outreach courses. This is to ensure courses are being run in safe and healthy environments for staff, learners and carers and ECC health and safety and accessibility requirements are met with learning spaces being suitable and have sufficient Wi-Fi and web-filtering.

A Buildings Risk Assessment ensures premises health and safety, accessibility and learning space requirements are met. Once all the information has been gathered, a visual risk assessment will be carried out. ACL OUTREACH SURVEY AND ASSESSMENT V3 Final.docx

All buildings risk assessments are carried out by Business Operation Manager / Leads or ACL Managers who understand building health and safety requirements and have completed training in carrying out risk assessments.
A one-off / event risk assessments must be carried by the person responsible for the activity. An activity or event risk assessment must be carried out in line with the ECC HSP5.0 Risk Assessment Policy and Guidance using HSF003 Risk Assessment Form V1.0, available on the ECC Intranet.
When risk assessing, the assessor will consider:
Identifying the hazards.
Assessing the risks: Once the hazards have been identified, the level of risk needs to be assessed.
Who might be harmed and how?
What is being done already to control the risks?
What further action needs to be taken to control the risks?
Who needs to carry out the action to reduce the risk?
When is the action required by?
Control the risks – Can the risk be eliminated? Or, if not, how can I control the risk so that harm is unlikely?
Record findings
Reviewing of controls.
All ACL activities must be risk assessed.
Outreach risk assessments do not replace course risk assessments. Course risk assessments must be completed by a Curriculum Lead and comply with the ACL Code of Conduct.

Outreach Equipment

Requesting equipment

When a course is planned in outreach, the Curriculum Lead must confirm with the Business Operations Assistant if the required equipment is available at that time. The basic equipment available will be: 15 laptops, 1 projector, 1 set of speakers, 1 extension lead, all the necessary cables and a trolley for transporting the equipment.

Current locations for equipment to be stored are Basildon, Brentwood area, Chelmsford, Harlow, and Colchester. Equipment must be securely stored in these locations when not being used and only assigned to outreach courses. Locations can change subject to business need.

Any additional requests should come via the ACL Tech Inbox to approve. acltechsupport@essex.gov.uk

Requests must be made with a minimum of 4 weeks’ notice.

Initial support can be requested at the venue from ACL Tech Support via email. Requests should be made with a minimum of 2 weeks’ notice. Each kit box has guidance on how to connect the projector, any questions should be directed to ACL Tech Support

Equipment Stored in outreach venue

For security reasons, outreach equipment cannot be kept at venues but must be returned to the centre it is stored at.

Equipment stored in ACL Centre:

Signing in and out of equipment

Equipment to be signed in and out by the tutor who is transporting it and either premises staff or the Business Operations Assistant. This paperwork should be kept by centre staff until the end of the academic year.

Transporting Equipment

A trolley will be provided if a suite of laptops is being used or a laptop bag for one or two laptops. Tutors must ensure that equipment is secure when being transport and damage is minimised by not allowing items to slide / move around. ECC insurance will cover the cost of the equipment whilst in the vehicle if they are not left unattended and providing, they have Business Insurance. The tutor must inform ACL Tech Support of any damage to items when in their care. The tutor must be familiar with and comply with ECC Driving for Work Policy HSP9.23. Line Managers must follow ECC policy regarding staff car insurance and driving licence update. Documentation to be stored on My Oracle within “documents”.

Health and Safety

Tutors who are transporting the equipment should be aware of ECC’s Manual Handling Policy and must, complete the manual handling course on My Learning. Line Managers must ensure a record that training has been completed is sent to Workforce Development.

Timeframe for returning equipment

Equipment should be returned straight after the session unless an evening class. If an evening class, the tutor can take equipment home but must remove from their vehicle into their own home to ensure covered by ECC insurance. The equipment must then be returned the next working day. If the tutor is unwell, the Curriculum Lead must make arrangements to return the equipment before it is next required.

Responsibilities for equipment

The equipment is the responsibility of the tutor whilst they are transporting and whilst in use at the venue. This means it should not be left unattended and any issues or accidental damage with the equipment should be reported immediately by the tutor to acltechsupport@essex.gov.uk. The technical support team will periodically check the equipment as with all technology.

Mileage and time payment

If the tutor has business insurance, they can claim for the additional miles to collect and return the equipment via MyOracle, minus their usual commute mileage. They will also be able to claim an additional time for this travel agreed by their line manager and the relevant Vice Principal (Curriculum and Learning, or Commerical and Employer Led

OTHER RISK FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED

Tutors and their line managers must be aware of the ECC Lone Working Policy and have a lone working risk assessment in place.
A course risk assessment must be completed and signed off.
Curriculum Leads and tutors should agree to this policy before delivering a course in an outreach venue. Line Managers should have evidence of this.