Transporting children on behalf of the church make sure that their insurance covers the Drivers giving of lifts relating to church-sponsored All those who drive children on activities. activities should have held a full and All cars that carry children should be in clean driving license for over two years. a roadworthy condition. Drivers who are not children’s workers should All children must wear suitable seat and be recruited for the task through the normal use appropriate booster seats. If there are recruitment process. insufficient seat belts, additional children Any driver who has an endorsement of 6 points should not be carried. or more on their license should inform the At no time should the number of children in a group leader and the church/parish car exceed the usual passenger number. safeguarding officer There should be a non-driving adult escort as Any driver who has an unspent conviction for well as the driver. If in an emergency a driver any serious road traffic offence should not has to transport one child on his or her own, transport children for the church. the child must sit in the back of the car. Drivers must always be in a fit state ie not Arrangements to transport children or over- tired; not under the influence of alcohol; vulnerable adults made without the church’s not taking illegal substances; not under the knowledge or agreement are informal influence of medicine which may induce arrangements and as such are not made on the drowsiness. Church’s behalf. Parents/ Guardians or carers making such arrangements are solely Minibus or responsible for them, but may also wish to follow the above guidance Workers and helpers should sit the group and not together. If noise or behaviour appears to be getting Template transport agreements and forms out of control, stop the vehicle until calm is are available in the Toolkit at: restored. Before using a minibus, ensure you know the GKJ DSA April 2017 up- to-date regulations for its use and have had a drive. Private car Children and young people should not be transported in a private car without the prior consent of their parents or carers. This also applies to formally arranged lifts to and from a church activity. All cars that carry children should be comprehensively insured for both private and business use. The insured person should
Transporting children on behalf of the church Drivers All those who drive children on activities should have held a full and clean driving license for over two years. Drivers who are not children’s workers should be recruited for the task through the normal recruitment process. Any driver who has an endorsement of 6 points or more on their license should inform the group leader and the church/parish safeguarding officer Any driver who has an unspent conviction for any serious road traffic offence should not transport children for the church. Drivers must always be in a fit state ie not over- tired; not under the influence of alcohol; not taking illegal substances; not under the influence of medicine which may induce drowsiness. Minibus or Workers and helpers should sit the group and not together. If noise or behaviour appears to be getting out of control, stop the vehicle until calm is restored. Before using a minibus, ensure you know the up- to-date regulations for its use and have had a drive. Private car Children and young people should not be transported in a private car without the prior consent of their parents or carers. This also applies to formally arranged lifts to and from a church activity. All cars that carry children should be comprehensively insured for both private and business use. The insured person should make sure that their insurance covers the giving of lifts relating to church-sponsored activities. All cars that carry children should be in a roadworthy condition. All children must wear suitable seat and use appropriate booster seats. If there are insufficient seat belts, additional children should not be carried. At no time should the number of children in a car exceed the usual passenger number. There should be a non-driving adult escort as well as the driver. If in an emergency a driver has to transport one child on his or her own, the child must sit in the back of the car. Arrangements to transport children or vulnerable adults made without the church’s knowledge or agreement are informal arrangements and as such are not made on the Church’s behalf. Parents/ Guardians or carers making such arrangements are solely responsible for them, but may also wish to follow the above guidance Template transport agreements and forms are available in the Toolkit at: GKJ DSA April 2017