The words policies and procedures are sometimes used interchangeably. However, they have distinctly different meanings when it comes to school infrastructure. These differences are set out below.

Policy

A policy can be defined as:

A set of ideas or a plan of what to do in particular situations that has been agreed to officially by a group of people, a business organization, a government, or a political party.

Another way it can be defined is:

Organisational policies and procedures provide guidelines for decision-making processes and the way that works in an organisation should be carried out. The result of having clear, well-written policies and procedures are increased transparency, accountability, uniformity and stability.

Procedures

A procedure can be defined as:  

A set of actions that is the official or accepted way of doing something.

It can also be defined in the following way:

A procedure explains a specific action plan for carrying out a policy. It is a set of actions which an employee takes to complete an activity within the confines of an organizational policy. It exists as a reference for employees to understand their roles and responsibilities. Procedures tell employees how to deal with a situation and when.

Policies and procedures

These definitions show the interrelationship between policies and procedures.

Policies provide broad objectives and principles. Procedures provide step-by-step guidance on how to achieve policy objectives and principles in specific situations.

Thus, a Health and Safety Policy would set out the principles of how health and safety is addressed at the school. It would refer to procedures that ensured these principles were followed. For instance, it may refer to a Working at Height Procedure. This would define steps that workmen would follow when working with ladders and scaffolding, for instance, to change light bulbs or clean windows, including cordoning off the area, securing ladders etc.