Health and safety in schools Essay

in that location be s eeral key pieces of legislation that usurpation on how directs manage the wellness and base hit of both their employees, and others who rise up into contact with the instill. This lead include pupils, visitors, stick away body of workers and p arnts. wellness and gum elastic at Work Act 1974 defines original structure and authority for the enforcement of workplace wellness, base hit and welf atomic number 18 within the UK. It is the primary piece of legislation c overing occupational wellness and fullty in UK. The HSE/local authorities are responsible for enforcing the act pertinent to the working environment. This act places the obligation of ensuring the wellness and pencil eraser and welfare of employees, with the employer. The main ways that this is usu on the whole(prenominal)y implemented in a school picture are Ensuring that on that establish is an effective way of historying any hazards to the appropriate person so that any req uired action merchant ship be covern. Every school is required to simple machinery out unceasing pretend judgements of the premises and activities to identify any hazards in advance, but each(prenominal) members of lag should also be for certain that venture legal opinion is an ongoing process, and that they must remain cautious and report any potency hazards to the Health and pencil eraser officer. Each school must put in place its own Health and sentry duty policy and ensure that each cater are happy in its contents. altogether supply should take ownership for, non just their own unspoiltty, but also ensuring that their actions, or lack of action, does not ca put on harm of danger to others, for display case if a staff was using a equipment that is for adult use only, it must be used and put away safely and if the staff can appear a potential hazard with the item they are using, it must be reported fittingly. If safety equipment is provided, therefore st aff must ensure it is used at wholly times. For example if goggles were provided for using hazardous materials in science, then they must be worn at either times till the experiment is over and put away. All equipment used within schools should meet recognised standards of safety. This can usually be check over by ensuring that the product displays on of the adjacent safety symbols, the Kitemark shows that the product has been tested and meets the appropriate British Standard. The headteacher is to take overall indebtedness for the implementation and monitoring of the school, they should ensure Allocating sufficient resources to meet health and safety priorities Ensuring attention on appropriate health and safety training courses Liaising withthe employer OCC over health and safety issues and the Health and safetyTrade Union Representatives Regularly checking the Health and sentry duty websiteEnsuring good communications by including health and safety issues in staff brief ings, bulletins and meetings Organising and implementing termly inspections in consultation with Trade Union Safety Representatives and Governors Overseeing the completion of the arrangements and hazard assessment for all on and off site activities Ensuring that health and safety is a criteria for performance management and judgement scheme Formulate and implement a policy for the management of critical misadventuresHow health and safety is monitored and keep in the settingThe Headteacher allow for develop an effective management safety monitoring system to administer the operation of this policy. On a daily basis the head does a walk nearly to check for any occasion that can bear harm to the staff and minorren. All the staff will monitor their conformation inhabit so that any issues that over timber can be reported. These will includeInspectionsDirect observations of staff complianceManagerial reports monthly/termly/p.a. as necessarySurveysToursInvestigations of good pra ctice/incidents/documentsRecord keepingRisk Assessment The Trade Union Health and Safety Representatives together with the Governor responsible for Health and Safety will carry out a Risk Assessment once a term and record their findings Performance Monitoring This school expects full co-operation from all staff at all timesEvery school will start out policies and procedures for everyone in the setting. As well as staff or any adults visitors who come to the school will be following the health and safety procedures. Children will be taught the basic around health and safety washing their hands, blowing their nose, sothey understand what to do and they will nonplus the school rules to follow related to their safety e.g not to scarper inside the building as there isnt must space and they can start, slip or fall over anything and that there is plenty of room when playing outdoors. They will be taught how to stay safe through age appropriate talks and stories, crossing the road, not running off, how to nourish themselves if they feel vulnerable.Practitioners will support training- ongoing and refreshers, in-house training and staff meetings and so on Staff may hold original care certificates/handling food certificates hold regular elicit practises to restore sure they are working and ensuring all electrical appliances are checked annually.The headteacher will ensure that everyone knows their role and responsibilities to ensure that every health and safety precaution/procedure is followed. All staff should check/monitor that everyone/thing is safe. Child Illness devising sure if the boor can attend school, if the illness is contagious or not. If a tyke falls ill during school hours, you must follow the procedure of the starting signal avail policy. Risk assessments are carried out daily as well to wanton away sure that staff and students are safe at all times. E.g Check that the outdoor area is safe from unknown objects and that all gates are locked during school hours so no one can come in or go out without signing in and out. Visitors will adopt to sign in and out at the main response.Policies and procedures should be checked on a regular basis (at least annually) to ensure that everything is in order or added to adapted or changed as and when needed. How plurality in the setting are made aware of risk and hazards and encouraged to work safelyInformation and instructions on health and safety matters are available at reception for parents, visitors. The randomness will be given to teachers, non instruction staff, pupils, governors and visitors as followsStaff are informed about all existing training held on site by regularupdates at staff meetings / generality packs Health and Safety Act on display in staff roomFire drill / liquidation procedure on display approximately schoolUse of white board in the staff roomTexts messaging eg for snow twenty-four hourss, emergency closureThe Health and Safety Policy is subscribe by staffDeputy updates staff handbook annually and staff provided with regular updates re health and safety Health and safety monthly item on the staff meeting agenda drop dead on cave in a suitable and sufficient Risk Assessment for all its activities where a significant risk is identified forget take the necessary pr stock-stilltative and protective measures to adequately control risk Will comply with the other requirements made under this and other Health and Safety Regulations Personal Safety Members of Staff are reminded that they must not stand on tables or curbs when putting up or winning down displays, there is a step ladder in the hall for this purpose. Personal Property Handbags etc. should be locked away. Money and valuables should not be left unattended. A lockable cupboard space is available to all staff Responsibility for personal items rests with the individual member of staffVisitors and contractors are informed of any health and safety arrangement s which may affect them. It is the responsibility of the teachers to ensure that pupils are aware of existing and new health and safety information via PSHC, discipline/whole school assemblies, verbal instruction, and demonstrations on use of equipment, class rules/ behavior protocol, signage eg do not run, yellow hazard cones. Fire Risk Assessment can be arrange in the deputy heads office.Identify the lines of responsibility and reporting for health and safety in the setting Everyone working in the setting should be aware of the health and safety policies and that they have a responsibility for the safety of the children and staff, in their setting they should know who to report to if they had any concerns regarding any health and safety issues. Statutory Health and Safety responsibilities fall on the LEA and on the headteacher and staff. Headteacher has overall responsibility for the school, she will,in practice, be responsible for enforcing the Health and Safety policy day-to-d ay. The deputy head acts as the Health and Safety Officer on Site and staff Trade Unions or other safety representatives may be nominated. The governing body, as the management body, should ensure that school staff and premises comply with the LEAs health and safety policy and practices.The governing body, having control of the premises, must take reasonable steps to make sure that the buildings, equipment and materials are safe and do not put the health of persons at risk whilst they are on the premises. The Medication is administered by office staff and has a designated person as sign. Designated First Aid welkin is by the main office, so if anything occurs during play /lunchtime the children know where to go. There are First Aiders a tour the school as teachers and T.As are trained, the First Aid boxes are located all round the school. Play Equipment Visual inspection made formally by caretaker and informally by staff on duty at lunch /playtime PE co-ordinator checks equipment regularly, she follows current policy and practice ICT technician this is outsourced and someone approved comes in to cumulation with any faultsGoverning BodyThe governing body shares with the Local Education Authority, the overall responsibility for health and safety. For its part the governing body will- chequer health and safety has a heights profile.Ensure adequate resources for health & safety are made available. Consult with staff and ensure relevant training is carried out. Monitor & review the health and safety arrangementsHeadteacherThe Headteacher is responsible for day to day health and safety performance and will- Develop a safety culture throughout the schoolTake day to day operational decisionsDraw up safety proceduresEnsure staff are aware of their responsibilitiesupdate governorsMonitor effectiveness of proceduresSite Manager and Cleaning StaffTake responsibility for the security of the premises.Ensure the safe condition of the floors.Store potentially dangerous cleaning materials safelyEnsure play and immaterial areas are safe and clean from debris Ensure cleaning staff are aware of safe working practices and the school health & safety policyRecognise and respond to emergency situations In the classroom where children are cosmos supervised, it is common to have child illness and some minor injuries from time to time. As a teaching assistant you may find that you are first to respond to an emergency situation and you may have to give emergency first avail. You will be expected to follow the correct procedures until succor arrives. It is snappy that you send for help as soon as possible, this should be a qualified first emboldener/trained member of staff and they should call for an ambulance if necessary. Emergency situations includeAccidentsIllnessFireSecurity incidentsMissing children or young peopleIf you are not trained in first aid, and if you are unsure about what to do, you should only take action to avoid any further danger to the casualty and others. First aidThere will always be a designated first aider who will have a responsibility to contact emergency work if required and they will regularly check the first aid kit up and ensure everyone knows they are individually responsible to let the first aider know when an item has been used and they will know about training opportunities and if asked be able to check the first aid training perspective of other employees. First aid kitKnow where it isFamiliar with what it containsDo you know how to use items appropriatelyFire policyFire alarms get tested once a term and they are save in a fire alarm booklet signed and dated by the headteacher, caretaker and fire officer. Where the fire exits are, they will always be clear of obstruction and therewill always be the evacuation routes where all the children learn the routine to come out without panicking and in an ordinary manner. There will be a designated fire assembly point for everyone to meets the teacher s will have the responsibility to take the register for their class to check names to ensure everyone is outside, present and safe.Sickness policyThe purpose of this policy is toTo ensure that draw children are appropriately and correctly identified. To ensure sick children are cared for appropriately.To protect children and adults from preventable infection.To enable staff and parents to be clear about the requirements and procedures when children are unwell. Recognising illnessWhen anyone has difficulty breathing, high temperature, fever, blueness around the lips, stale extremities, pale or clammy skin floppy, unresponsive or unconscious mind. Conditions to be aware of would be epilepsy , asthma, allergy, diabetes.Situations to be familiar withBites and stings, bleeding, burns and scalds, choking, electric shock, extreme effects of heat and cold, eye injuries, poisoning, suspected fractures, caring for the unconscious person. Follow the settings procedures for behaveing with emergency situationsAll schools need to ensure that they take measures to protect all adults and children while they are on the school premises and under victorious off-site visits. This means there will be procedures in place for a number of situations that can arise. These include the followingAccidentsThere should be enough first aiders in schools or on the trips at any time to deal with accidents. First-aid boxes should be checked regularly and replenished regularly, and there should be clear information on what has happened so that accidents are recorded correctly. If you are off site you should always have a first aider with you, along with a first-aid box and any medications that are required to any child who is with you for eg their inhaler.IllnessSchool will deal with incidents of sickness by sending pupils to the sick room or first aid room for an initial assessment. However, sudden illness may require you to take action yourself while waiting for a first aider. The casual ty should be made comfortable and insure that they are warm there should be no attempt to carry out any further first aid. All staff should be aware of allergic reactions and intolerances to foods such as wheat, nuts and gluten. All staff should identify these children and have clear instructions available on how to deal with each case. Supervisors at lunch time will need to be kept informed. The lunchtime book contains photographs, contact numbers and information about pupils with food intolerance. Care should be taken with book due to confidentiality.FiresThe school may need to evacuate in emergencies for example dud scare, fire, floods or other emergencies.Security IncidentsStaff should challenge any unidentified people in the school, if you are on outside duty and notice anything suspicious you should always send for help.Missing ChildrenOn school trips you should check the group and keep an eye on children being supervised by helpers. If a child goes missing, raise an alarm s traight away making sure you follow the policy.Disabled ChildrenWheel chair users should assemble at specific fire assembling point. Oxygen tanks should not be moved, no crude flames in school. Teachers assistant should accompany all disabled children to fire assembly point where necessary.Give reassurance and comfort to those involved in the emergencyWhen an emergency arises, they would call one of the main first aider to come and evaluate the injury. There are three main first aiders in school, one ineach area of school. Foundation, Key stage 1 and in Key stage 2. All TAs have undergone St. Johns Ambulance First Aid training. similarly all staff has undergone Basic first aid training. When there is an emergency, all the details of the incident will have to be logged, signed and dated by the main first aider that is dealing with the incident. If the incident is major then the main first aider after sagaciousness it will have to call the emergency services to come and treat the i njured wound and then decide whether to take the child to the hospital or not.Reassuring the child is very great so the child doesnt get stressed, acting calm around the child is very important as it promotes a calm atmosphere and is reassuring that everything will be ok. The first aider moves the child to the sick room or first aid room of the school where all the other children cant see the injury and stress the child even more. Comfort the child depending on the injury, for example if a child bites their inner cheek and was cover signs of distress due to losing lot of blood, the first aider should act in a professional manner showing no signs of distress.If a child has a bump to the head and is showing signs of concussion then the childs parents should be informed and invited to school to come and see the child. excessively if the child has to go with the emergency services they would ask the parents if they would come along as it would make the child feel more comfortable. If there is a more minor injury that still necessitate medical assessment they would take the child in a member of staffs car to the hospital/walk in if it would be appropriate.Also other times they would call the parent to come and collect the child. On the way they would reassure the child that it is only to make sure that they are okay. Also when travelling to the hospital they would take a record of what first aid was given to the child at school, or they take the main first aider that dealt with the injured child. Also making sure that other children are okay and safe is also important, maybe taking a buddy for the injured child would help them to be comfortable because then they have a buddy to take to while the first aid is happening or if the buddy could distract the child from the injury.Give other people providing assistance, clear information about what happenedIn a school placement they have good communication with all the people that provide assistance. For example an i ncident that happened in the school a couple of months ago that involved all three main first aiders, staff, emergency services, health and safety officer, head teacher, health and safety governor, governors, parents and Tameside. The incident happened after play time when the child has put his digits in the door even though they had finger guards on already. The member of staff that was on the playground at the time was the first aider for that area of school and they had tried all they could to remove the fingers but was unable to do it alone, so they provided clear information on to the other main first aider so they were able to understand how this has happened. Also trying their best the fingers would not move, while this was happening they had three other members of staff that were providing the correct information onto the parents, emergency services, and one of them kept the child calm and reassuring them.Once the parent came they comforted the child till the emergency servi ces came and released the fingers from the door, once they were released the parents and the first aider went to the hospital with the child to make sure the fingers were not damaged. The first aider went along to pass on the information as to what happened to the child and this was passing on the clear information to the nurse/ impact that was assisting the child. After the correct information was passed on to the health and safety officer, and the health and safety governor they later on went to the door where the childs fingers were trapped and assessed what could have prevented it from happening.They and the governors from the school came together and after passing on the information they came to an agreement to have rear finger guards fitted on all the doors in school so this wasnt to happen again. After the incident the correct, clear and detailed information was later sent as an email to Tameside via the head teacher (safety officer) who suggested to Tameside to email all sc hools to have rear finger guards fitted on all doors in every Tameside school so this would prevent any child to have the same thing happen to them. Once the rear finger guards were fitted the governors of the school went and assessed the interior and exterior of the building to make sure there was not anywhere where this could happen again.Follow the procedures of the setting of reporting and transcription Reporting and record is important even if you are not a first aider you still need to know how to report and record any information. You should know the correct procedure for reporting and recording injuries and incidents in your school placement, as you may be called upon to do so. When reporting or recording any type of injury, emergency, or even a minor incident then this must still be recorded step by step as to what happened and what member of staff is present at the time. Also dated, signed and reported to a senior member of staff. Recording any type of illnesses in a reco rd log is important so all members of staff that need the information has this to relay back too if the child ever falls ill or becomes irritable. Also in some cases this information will have to be passed on to the local authority The office should have signs and posters showing what signs and symptoms of some illnesses that children may have or may show to have. Recording concerns is important so all staff are alert of the concerns that you are having.Recording illness and having information with the record is important, for example you have a child with sickle stall and it is recorded then with this you would have information about sickle cell so all staff then can read and understand what the procedure is when this certain child is looking to have these symptoms or signs. Also in a school setting if a child is having behaviour issues having a plate and school diary would also help the parents understand what is happening with their child in school hours. With the class teacher writing in this diary at the end of ever lesson explaining step by step how the child was and then making sure that parents are receiving the information asking them to sign the diary every night so they know that they have read it. An example of how we do it in the afterschool/breakfast baseball club is we write ALL information in a purple book that is left on the side, recording all information like What children are attending the club morning or after schoolWho has cancelledWhat injuries/incidents have happened during the club, who has dealt with the incident If there is any unusual behaviour by a childMessages from parents to teachers or teachers to parents.Many more piece of information that need recording and passing on, which is dated and signed by the member of staff who wrote it. This is later signedby a parent to say that has been passed on, if it information from the club or if its information from the teacher information from parents to teachers we make sure teachers sign to say that they have read the information.Describe Risk Assessment and associated documentation in your placement. A risk assessment is an assessment that is carried out of the risk to children or adults at the school setting. Risk assessments carried out once a course of instruction and also carried out when on school trips or when doing a lesson that may involve a sour for the children/adults in the classroom. They follow 5 basic steps when they risk assess a situation1 Look out for the hazards and identify them.2 Decide who may be harmed and how they can be harmed during the trip/lesson.3 Evaluate the risks and consider how they can cause any kind of harm and decide whether precautions have to take.4 Record any findings around the location that can cause harm.5 Review assessments and revision it if it is necessary.Risk assessments are important because it makes the adults more aware of what could happen and they have to be aware of how we can surpass the risks. Risk ass essments contain the hazard, which may be affected by the hazard and how you can overcome the risks. Risk assessments can be carried out on children with broken limbs, school trips, lessons that can be dangerous, for example in class we made hot air balloons and it was important to do a risk assessment because it involved fire and the children/teachers could get harmed.When assessing the risk the steps to follow would beWhat are the possible consequences of the risk / hazard?What is the chances that the risk or hazard will occur?Shall provide the appropriate resources to reduce the risk, taking appropriate steps and making sure that it reduces the risk and doesnt make it more of a risk. All the staff will know the risk assessment policy ifthey have under gone the health and safety training.In the mornings the head teacher and the care taker going around the school premises and make sure that there are no risks for when the children enter the premises. For example if there was a few twigs on the path then they would be a risk for when the parents and children walk down the path this means that they would then remove the twigs. When they get back into the building they write on a chart all the distinguishable areas of school and if there was a risk and if there wasnt. This is a type of risk assessment that they do every morning.