Health and Safety in Schools

Do you have any responsibility for health and safety in your school or the school that your children attend?

The answer may not be as straightforward as you think..

Who is responsible?

There are actually various sets of guidelines that might apply, for example:

If your school is community or voluntary controlled, then the local authority is responsible for the health and safety policy
If yours is a foundation or voluntary aided school, then the governing body is usually responsible for the health and safety policy
If yours is an independent school, then the responsibility for health and safety might be with the governing body or with the proprietor of the school
Regardless of the type of school, it is members of staff who are responsible for the practical implementation of the health and safety policy on a day to day basis.

What are they responsible for?

It is also worth bearing in mind the extent of health and safety responsibilities, which cover:

The safety and welfare of the pupils wherever and whenever they are under the care of the school.
Teachers and others who are directly employed by the school such as teaching assistants, caretakers and catering staff
Others who are not employed but who are visiting or helping with any school related activities
Contractors who may be called in for any number of tasks such as property maintenance, security and similar tasks.

In fact, schools may be considered a special case in respect of health and safety because there are usually more people present who are not employees than there are employees.

So who is responsible and for what aspects of health and safety?

Under UK Health and Safety legislation, it is the person or body designated as the employer who is ultimately responsible for health and safety and in the case of schools, the body or person can vary according to the type of school.

However, in every school, the governing body has a major role to play in health and safety, regardless of whether or not they are officially recognised as the employer.

Amongst the many aspects they need to consider are:

Existence of a Health and Safety policy that takes account of any special requirements of the school, its pupils and the activities in which they are involved
Risk assessments for those school activities that might be considered hazardous, whether they take place on school premises or elsewhere
Provision of appropriate training for all members of staff as well as an understanding of essential health and safety principles by pupils.
Security issues since they can have a major impact on the health, safety and protection of the children

Why raise the issue just now?

Earlier this year, the HSE in conjunction with the Department for Education undertook a survey about the management of asbestos in system-build schools. These are schools built mostly in the 1960s and 1970s that often incorporated asbestos to reduce the likelihood of fire.

This form of construction is not a problem in itself but can become a problem if the school needs to extend or requires internal remodelling. Good asbestos management is an essential pre-requisite for any such work, and a number of schools in the survey were found to be wanting in this respect.

You can read more about this survey on the HSE website at
http://www.hse.gov.uk/press/2010/hse-asbestosinschools.htm

Of course, asbestos is only one hazard and if there is uncertainty about who is ultimately responsible for health and safety it is easy to lose control.

From time to time, therefore, it is worth asking the question, who is responsible for health and safety in your school and is health and safety being properly managed?

To discuss your health and safety or environment requirements, without any obligation on your part, please gives us a call on 01744 766000 or complete the Enquiry Form on our website.

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