while it's certainly not the administration that attracts practitioners into playwork, it has to be attended to.
Some administration tasks, typically those relating to the information that is collected and held by clubs, are common to all settings. However, the extent of other administration duties, particularly those related to finance, depend on the way in which a setting has been established.
FINANCIAL AFFAIRS
If a club has been started as a business, it is important that it is registered with HMRevenue & Customs (HMRC), formerly the Inland Revenue, and that the regulations regarding tax and National Insurance are observed.
The HMRC provides help and advice to businesses and the self-employed via a website and helpline (see box). It also provides free training to explain how accounts should be kept and how to operate the PAYE (pay-as-you-earn) system when paying wages.
Settings operating as a charity must apply for registration with the Charity Commission (see box). Once registered, they must comply with Commission regulations, including the statutory duty to keep and submit accounts and annual returns.
Most settings will manage financial transactions. It is important that systems are in place to ensure that families or organisations (such as social services) are billed correctly - this requires making sure that the billing system is informed by the registers, so that charges for extra sessions or perhaps late collection are made, while reduced fees for cancellations or holidays are deducted. Dated receipts must be issued.
There is extra paperwork if parents are claiming tax credits on childcare, or using childcare vouchers. The HMRC is currently compiling a new guide to tax credits.
EMPLOYERS' RESPONSIBILITIES
Some documentation is completed by all employers, whatever their field of work. This includes some statutory requirements, such as records of staff accidents, sick leave or maternity/paternity leave, and details of annual checks on fire extinguishers.
Other records will be kept because they are part of running a place of work sensibly - records of when staff book holidays, for instance. ACAS (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) offers employers advice and information on such matters (see box).
ON THE RECORD
Essential records that must be kept by all registered settings include:
* Daily registers of the children's and playworkers' attendance
* Current registration forms containing all children's personal details
* Accident/incident/medication records
* Records on adults involved in the setting, including staff, volunteers, and others present on the premises (including disclosures).
In addition, insurance must be in place, and the insurance certificate must be displayed, along with the setting's complaint procedure, Ofsted registration certificate and the name and contact details of the registered person.
PREPARATION
Stay organised by compiling a checklist of administration duties with a note on when they should be done. For instance, registers must be completed daily, invoices may be calculated weekly, and details of emergency drills may be recorded termly. Also, specify dates for annual tasks such as reviewing policies and risk assessments and insurance renewal so these matters are not overlooked.
It takes time to gather all the documents required for regularly occurring situations, such as induction materials, or enrolment paperwork. You can save time by preparing several packs at once.
CONFIDENTIAL MATTERS
Playworkers are aware of personal details about the families with whom they work. Many of these are recorded and held by settings. Respecting confidentiality is essential. All settings should have a confidentiality policy in place.
The policy should make it clear that sensitive information should only be shared on a 'need to know' basis, meaning different practitioners in the same setting will not necessarily have access to the same information. The policy should also set out how confidential records are to be stored securely and how access to them is to be restricted to appropriate staff members.
Those with responsibility for record administration must ensure sensitive paperwork is secure, whether paper or computer based. Parents and carers should be aware of, and party to, information held about them and their children.
Information treated as confidential includes:
* Personal details such as those recorded on the registration form
* Details of children's individual needs
* Observation, assessment and development records
* Details about family circumstances, events or experiences
* Financial information.
DATA PROTECTION
If records are held on computer, the setting must be on the Data Protection Register, under The Data Protection Act of 1984/1998 (see box). The setting must also meet the requirements of the Act. Those registered must only collect information that is:
* Accurate at the time it is collected
* Obtained legally and without deceit
* Relevant to the purpose for which it is collected.
Collected information should:
* Only be used for the purpose for which it was collected
* Only be kept as long as necessary
* Be kept securely and confidentially from anyone who does not have the right to see it. There must be procedures in place (such as passwords) to protect the information from unauthorised access
* Be kept up to date
* Be made available to the person it is about.
ARCHIVES
Even once records have ceased to be current, many documents must be kept for a period of years. Your insurance company will inform you how long you should keep out-of-date insurance certificates and policy documents in case of a retrospective claim made against the setting in the future. It is advisable to keep your child and staff registers for the same period, as information about who was working with which children at a specific time may be relevant to an insurance claim.
The Inland Revenue or the Charity Commission will advise how long you must keep financial documentation, depending on circumstances.
It makes sense for clubs to operate an archive system for past documents, which mount up after a few years. It is easier to manage current administration duties when filing cabinets are not cluttered with documentation unlikely to be referred to frequently. Strong archive boxes with lids (purchased from a stationery supplier) are a good solution.
You may choose to store all financial records together in one box, all registers together in another and so on, but this does entail getting out different boxes regularly. At my club we find it easier to store all the out-of-date documents from each year together in one box, marked with the date. We archive annually, removing the box from our setting to another secure location. At the end of each financial year, we pack financial records, along with a year's worth of registers, accident records and so on, leaving us with plenty of room in the filing cabinet for the current year.
It is important to remember to treat past information as confidential.
Archive boxes must be stored where those who do not 'need to know' will not have access. Some established settings achieve this by renting space in a self-storage facility. Others archive documents with their solicitor. There is a cost, but for many clubs it is a necessary expense.
Miranda Walker owns Playtime out-of-school club in Cullompton, Devon
MORE INFORMATION
* HMRC new employer helpline, 0845 60 70 143, website www.hmrc.gov.uk, Tax Credit helpline, 0845 300 3900.
* The Charity Commission helpline 0845 300 0218, website www.charity-commission.gov.uk
* ACAS website, www.acas.gov.uk, helpline 08457 47 47 47
* Data Protection Register, visit www.ico.gov.uk or call 01625 545 745.
