AIBU to question school swimming changing room supervision and safeguarding?

[NotMyPiggy]

My child is in Y3. They go swimming every week and ask for parent volunteers to accompany them to walk there. I have recently found out that on days when they struggle for a volunteer or staff, there has just been one Mum on her own accompanying the whole changing room of girls getting changed. This Mum hasn't been DBS checked (I suspect, because none of us are asked to be when we take a turn).
I am asking whether this is usual from a safeguarding perspective?

I volunteered in a primary school, was DBS checked and did the swim run. Even the teacher did not go inside the changing room. Year 3 were in a communal changing room and I was monitoring the year 4's who were 2 to a cubicle, no doors allowed to be locked either, It was just held shut by their bodies.

The door to the communal room could be opened without seeing inside due to a wall but we can hear the girls. The children are naked, it would be unacceptable to go in unless there was an emergency.

Two females for the year 3 and 4 girls, two males for the year 3 and 4 boys. No other members of the public in the changing rooms at all.

I would be asking to see the risk assessment for the swim run. I am horrified that the parent helper isn't even DBS checked. They should never be inside the changing room.

I would not be happy with this at all

I used to work in theatre doing costume. When our department worked with children there HAD to be a DBS checked chaperone with us.

This needs to be raised and they need to find someone who is DBS checked person to do this. Not a lone random parent. I’d be complaining and refusing to let my dd participate until they had there safeguarding in place.

Unfortunately all that will happen is girls swimming wont happen when they dont have enough DBSchecked volunteers

That’s not how it works. The whole class goes swimming.

When I was a kid (The point when we did swimming lessons was late 2010s) it was just the kids in the changing room area (was one big room 1 for girls and 1 for boys) think a teacher hung around outside to stop any random from going in and if there was any issues but dont ever recall them coming into the changing room.

I'm confused. To start with, you said

"This Mum hasn't been DBS checked (I suspect, because none of us are asked to be when we take a turn)."

I think you need to check whether this is actually true tbh. If it is true, it's clearly totally unacceptable. But do establish the facts rather than jumping to conclusions.

Ok, sorry. So, one mum, I am friends with and I know she has not been DBS checked because she told me and it is not something that is required for her work otherwise.
Another Mum who has been going is NOT a friend so I do not know whether she has been DBS checked and she is not somebody I would want around my child for reasons which I won't go into here but I think it is inappropriate that this other lady was with the children at all.

agree with everything here

I am a TA and accompany our year 3's. We do't have parent volunteers for the DBS check reason. Even as school staff we are not allowed to be in the changing rooms when the children are getting changed we stand outside the group changing room. We are not allowed to help in any way - we do have 6 children though who can not dress themselves so their parent/grandparent meet us at the pool and they are responsible for getting them dressed and undressed.

I don’t think a scenario like that should ever be allowed to happen, as others have said, where are the teachers, but as regards dbs checking, without being funny, all a dbs proves is someone hadn’t been caught.

If I were the mum I would refuse to do this. It puts her in a vulnerable position - what if there was an accident or an accusation? This should not be happening. The school needs to ensure a female member of staff is always available to go on the swim trips.

My kids went to a small village primary school. The headteacher was male and accompanied the boys, I was a parent helper for 11 years and accompanied all the girls (around 15 of them) and never thought anything of it. They could not spare the teachers - they didn’t have the budget.

• I was DBS checked regularly

No female staff = cancelling the lesson that day at my school.

Absolutely no way a parent (even if DBS checked) would be allowed in the changing rooms with the children.

Not ok. I volunteered for this once as they were really short of volunteers but reminded them I didn’t have a dbs check ( parents who volunteer more often do). On getting there I asked if I should stay out the changing room ( my main job besides the walking was helping put swim hats on) and they said I could go in but make sure there was always another adult there. In hindsight, I suspect the TA wanted me to go in as while they’re obviously DBS checked they didn’t want to be the only adult either.

Personally it wouldn’t bother me if it was a woman as women are extremely unlikely to be sex offenders. I would want a man DBS checked. That might be sexist but it’s the reality of who sexually offends against children. I’d obviously expect a same sex volunteer for both sexes of children.

The DBS isn’t the issue here. There shouldn’t be a single adult in the changing room with the children regardless of checks. That’s not a situation any adult should be in.

And if the other adult on the trip is male and in the boys changing room then he also shouldn’t be doing that alone, even if he is staff who is checked.

This really.

Our school also asks for parent helpers to help walk the kids back from the pool, but we meet them at the entrance outside. We don't watch the lesson and certainly don't go near the changing rooms. No DBS check requested for accompanying them. I don't think the teacher even went in the changing room (for the boys at least), you could hear her encouraging calls for them to speed up and very much sounded like she was in the corridor.