| School Governors - Managing Health and Safety in | | | | under Safety law for School Staff to be |
| your School. | | | | consulted .oA good way for this to happen is to |
| What you need to know. | | | | enlist staff and pupils in a School Safety |
| If you read nothing else about Health and Safety | | | | Committee which helps to run, and is part of, the |
| read this. It's about 1500 words long but it | | | | School SMS. |
| summarises what you need to know about UK | | | | Accidents do happen? |
| Health and Safety laws and regulations in your | | | | Health and Safety compliance need not be a |
| school. | | | | major burden. It simply needs to be put in place |
| Changes to the Management of Health and | | | | because accidents do happen and if they do they |
| Safety at Work Regulations(1999) (MSHW) as laid | | | | should be approached using a safety approach to |
| out in the Regulations and their Guidance have laid | | | | learn from them and as opportunities to review |
| specific responsibilities on School dutyholders to | | | | Risk Assessment and reappraise control |
| manage Health and Safety. | | | | measures. |
| They need to do this by managing within a | | | | Accidents can be to pupils, staff or visitors |
| system. This is the School Safety Management | | | | contractors and can result in litigation and/or |
| System(SMS) and every school should have one. | | | | prosecution. |
| Community, Community Special and Voluntary | | | | Accidents to children which have ended in litigation |
| Controlled School Governors are NOT dutyholders | | | | against schools have often been unsuccessful if |
| as described under Health and Safety laws. | | | | the accident has been shown to be a result of |
| Who and what are dutyholders? | | | | play. The view taken by courts seems to be that |
| -Dutyholders are people with control over school | | | | play is necessary for a child's development and |
| safety. They are the people who face | | | | sometimes this can result in accidents but the |
| enforcement action in the event of anything going | | | | school need not take undue or unreasonably |
| wrong.oIn main these are the Employer and the | | | | costly action to avoid all accidents at all costs. |
| Headteacher.oIn any event the Headteacher is the | | | | Even for accidents caused during horseplay the |
| person in control of the site and a dutyholder in | | | | courts have indicated that negligence or extreme |
| any school. | | | | recklessness needs to be demonstrably proven. |
| However, Governors in Community schools have | | | | Reasonable safety is the concept which is the |
| control over budgets and need to support the | | | | benchmark to judge response to safety matters |
| head teacher, who is the "person responsible for | | | | against and provided the school has reasonable |
| the site", and the main site dutyholder | | | | systems in place which indicate that it is managing |
| -The LEA, the Foundation and/or the school may | | | | safety and using good practice it should be |
| be the Employer and is a Body Corporate for the | | | | secure. |
| purposes of the Safety law and its' | | | | Prosecution and enforcing UK Safety Law |
| enforcement.oThat individuals as well as the | | | | HSE is the body which inspects and enforces the |
| school may be subject of enforcement if they do | | | | Safety law and approximately 25% of all |
| not carry out their duties. | | | | prosecutions for breaches which it made over |
| Other Governing Bodies, Directors and Trustees | | | | were attributed to breaches of management |
| and individuals may be dutyholders, as far as they | | | | duties under the Management of Health and |
| exercise the function of employer in Foundation, | | | | Safety at Work Regulations. |
| Private or Voluntary Aided Schools. | | | | Having said that action by HSE involving |
| What are the requirements to manage safety? | | | | enforcement action against schools is rare and |
| -The Management of Health and Safety at Work | | | | prosecution rarer still. There are approximately 80 |
| Regulations defined that all schools needed to | | | | breaches per year in Primary Schools. |
| manage safety. Thus any school needs to have a | | | | Accidents are not so rare unfortunately and |
| system for carrying out its' H&S duties and also | | | | approximately 11,000 accidents were reported in |
| for reviewing safety matters in case situations | | | | Education under RIDDORS (3 day accidents) in |
| change within the school . This is the School | | | | 1999/2000 of which about one third were due to |
| Safety Management System (SMS) and | | | | slips and trips. |
| Governors need to be part of this system. | | | | Finally |
| - The SMS needs to be used to manage safety | | | | Provided a school follows good practice and the |
| actively as part of the School's normal operations. | | | | rules no one is likely to be at risk from |
| Having an SMS and operating it is part of the | | | | enforcement or legal action. |
| normal work of the school and should be | | | | The Governing Body and individual Governors |
| accommodated in resources and budgets within | | | | need to support the Headteacher in carrying out |
| the school framework. The SMS is the | | | | their duty under the law and co-operate with any |
| framework within which the school needs to | | | | Employer. |
| address all its' Health and Safety duties. | | | | They can do this by ensuring that safety is |
| What are the main H&S duties for the school : | | | | managed in the school under a Safety |
| -Risk Assessment - The School needs assess all | | | | Management System. This ensures that the |
| its' risks and put control measures put in place to | | | | school is in compliance with the regulations. |
| reduce them. This means that a Risk Assessment | | | | Any Governing Body, whether employer or not |
| System needs to be part of the school SMS. | | | | needs to be seen to be playing its' full part in any |
| -Training - The H&S duties also mean that the | | | | school Safety Management System by oversight |
| School needs to train and give information | | | | and target setting, monitoring, auditing and |
| instruction to its' staff and some visitors. These | | | | reviewing, and ensuring that resources are |
| H&S duties mean that the school needs to be | | | | available to help the head manage school H&S. |
| able to deem staff competent to play their part | | | | By doing this and playing its' full part the |
| in the system. It also needs to deliver job specific | | | | Governing Body should find that school overall |
| training and/or instruction. | | | | safety will be improved and accident levels drop. |
| -Policies and Procedures - The school needs to | | | | Background Reading and further information |
| have a School health and Safety Policy and | | | | HSE has a wide range of appropriate FREE and |
| suitable procedures which should flow from the | | | | other documents which give guidance and advice |
| risk assessments made. It is expected that all | | | | available from |
| policies and procedures will be developed with | | | | -HSE Five Steps to Risk Assessment - |
| input from, and consultation of ,staff. The Policy | | | | -HSE A Guide to Risk Assessment Requirements |
| and the Procedures need to be available to staff | | | | - |
| and should be reviewed regularly. | | | | -Need Help on Health and Safety -Comprehensive |
| -Personal protective Equipment (PPE) - Flowing | | | | guide to sources of help INDG 322 |
| from the school Risk Assessment System control | | | | -Information and Help on Work Related Stress |
| measure will be identified and some of these e.g | | | | from HSE available on |
| for school cleaning, will indicate that PPE needs to | | | | -Managing Health and Safety Successfully - Five |
| be used for some operations. The school needs | | | | Steps to Success INDG 275 |
| to ensure that the PPE is available, in good | | | | -Violence at Work INDG 69(rev) |
| condition and that employees and pupils wear it | | | | -Slips and Trips in the Education Sector - |
| and use it properly. | | | | Education Information Sheet Number 2 - EDIS2 |
| -Managing Safety - The Head teacher and any | | | | -Consulting Employees on Health and Safety - A |
| Governing Body, whether it is the Employer or | | | | Guide to the Law - INDG 232 and is the HSC |
| not, has a duty to ensure that safety is properly | | | | statement, case studies and also lays out their |
| managed in school and this means : | | | | policy for more worker participation. |
| that a SMS is in place and works. | | | | -Reduce Risks Cut Costs -The real cost of |
| that all Risk Assessments, Policies, | | | | accidents and ill health at work - INDG 355 |
| Procedures etc are appropriate to the specific | | | | -RIDDOR Information Sheet - RIDDOR Reporting |
| circumstances of the school. | | | | What the Incident Contact Centre Can Do For |
| What are the duties of the Governors under the | | | | You - MISC310(rev1) |
| SMS ? | | | | -Workplace Health and Safety a Guide - INDG |
| -Whether or not the Governing Body is the | | | | 244 |
| Employer it still carries out its' duties by oversight | | | | -Health and Safety Training - What You Need to |
| of the SMS and actively checks by monitoring and | | | | Know - INDG 345 |
| auditing the School SMS and ensures that it fits | | | | -Use of Contractors - A Joint Responsibility - |
| the school's circumstances. The Employer | | | | INDG 368 |
| Governing Body as a dutyholder would have the | | | | -Working Together - Guidance for working with |
| additional legal responsibility of providing policies | | | | Contractors and Suppliers - INDG 268(rev) |
| and specific procedures together with resources | | | | -Reporting School Accidents - Guidance for |
| to manage safety. | | | | schools on RIDDORS |
| -The Regulations point out that it is good practice | | | | -The HSC's guidance documents, "Managing Health |
| for a Governor to be appointed to have | | | | and Safety in Schools" (ISBN 0717607704) and |
| responsibility for Health and Safety and its' | | | | "Health and Safety Guidance for School |
| management in the school. | | | | Governors" (ISBN 0717612988) can be obtained |
| -Under the Regulations there is a requirement | | | | for £5. |