Rank: Forum user 
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I have recently been asked if I will support a large college with their health and safety as an interim measure and I'm a little hesitant as I'm not fully converse with the challenges of implementing health and safety in education establishments which also include halls of residence.
I have advised that they really need to recruit someone with this knowledge, I'm sure the principles of hs will be the same in education however can anyone advise what the key areas, differences or challenges are likely to be?
Many thanks
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Rank: Super forum user
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It depends on the type of college. Some are working at the frontiers of science, and when you push those frontiers they can bite back (the 'molten copper on the ceiling' experiment is etched on my mind here). An ability to work from first principles, both the scientific and the safety principles, is essential. For some research there is no guidance, and you have to figure it out for yourself using your scientific knowledge, a lot of 'what ifs' and the hierarchy of control.
Other colleges are a lot less innovative, and just teach. Safety in these is a lot easier to manage, as there are plenty of role models and plenty of guidance.
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Rank: Forum user
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Thank you Jane, is there any particular place to look for guidance? ive been on to the HSE and read through their guides.
The colleague is mainly for age 16 - 18 and adult learning and a broad mixture of courses, mainly pre vocational but anything from hairdressing, business administration, engineering, fashion and performing arts. its a large college with a number of sites and residential halls.
I think it the implementation that im more concerned around, ive had experience with implementing the fire reform in nursery schools and Ofsted had very different guidance to what was written in the Acop. Its really the spectrum of what im likely to come across. Suppose its the age old balance of competence, experience and knowledge.
Its only an interim period they need support as they really would benefit from having someone on site, especially as they are spread over a number of campuses.
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Rank: Super forum user
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It sounds as though you are spared the copper on the ceiling. It may have been called a college, but these students are still below school leaving age (or will be shortly, when the boundaries move again), and they are minors.
It is therefore much more straightforward. I doubt, however, whether you will find guidance all in one place that covers the spectrum of what is needed. You will have to seek guidance from lots of places, such as HSG 129 for the engineering workshops, COSHH for the hairdressing, etc.
The staff play a crucial role. They need to know what is expected of them in terms of risk assessments and supervision. They will probably need training, if they have not already had this.
I guess my first question to them would be,do you have risk assessments for your teaching activities, and how do they assist you in managing the activities safely? The answers you get may be quite revealing as to their level of understanding.
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Rank: Forum user
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Thank you Jane its sounds like it could be more straight forward than it initially sounded.
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Rank: Super forum user 
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In my limited experience of such colleges I treated each department as if it was a small business, with managers and staff that needed H&S guidance and training plus a moving and changing population of visitors. Problems experienced were the typical ones you may expect in a college: adverse reaction to authority, unpredictability, lack of awareness, outbreaks of stupidity and apathy. The students H&S was by comparison quite easy to manage.
Also be aware that some colleges have open-to-the-public facilities eg restaurant, gymnasium, sports pitches, hairdressing & beauty.
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Rank: Forum user
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Andrew, there isn't anything to worry about but friendly word of advice...Don't fall foul of Vulnerable Person protection law.
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Rank: Forum user
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andrewjb1 wrote:I have recently been asked if I will support a large college with their health and safety as an interim measure and I'm a little hesitant as I'm not fully converse with the challenges of implementing health and safety in education establishments which also include halls of residence.
I have advised that they really need to recruit someone with this knowledge, I'm sure the principles of hs will be the same in education however can anyone advise what the key areas, differences or challenges are likely to be?
Many thanks Why don't you contact the safety manager at another college and ask to spend the day looking at systems. I sure they will oblige. You could also contact the Association of Colleges who have a H/S section
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Rank: Forum user
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Andrew,
Some time ago I had a discussion with a local college (7yrs - 18yrs) about providing them with h&s consultancy (although I didn't get the contract :0( ) and my main concern was the fact that they had science labs.
Doing my research I came across an organisation called CLEAPSS (http://www.cleapss.org.uk/) which provides schools with technical advice regarding lab safety and the management of chemicals.
Might be worth a look!
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Rank: Super forum user
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look at education law, DfE, Ofted areas and the like - the area is vast and parents etc. are involved!
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Rank: Super forum user
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