Couple of quick questions if I may please guys and girls. 1. In your opinions what would be the main areas of concern, health and safety at a school. 2. Would you have any tips, ideas, "must do's" regarding the successful implementation of health and safety policy in such an environment. I would be very appreciative of any pointers. Thank you all in advance. Russ

hi bob, thanks for the response. If it helps its a private school, rural location. cheers

Hi Russ You have a pm. Cheers S.

The health and safety issues are pretty much the same as any other workplace, a few specifics to look at: Emergency Evacuation Drills, these are usually termly in a School depending on the student intake turnover. Also check if they have fire marshals or sweep the building or if they are reliant on a roll call. Glass and Glazing - The Schools usually have a survey or this should be considered as part of the inspections Asbestos and control of contractors, also remember contractors should have a full induction and there may also be close working with the safeguarding teams Driving, how do they train mini bus drivers, do they do driver due diligence and training i.e. MIDAS training and if its a multi site do staff have relevant business insurance to drive School gates and perimeter fencing - usually require risk assessments Tress - Most Councils complete tree surveys for their School sites and we have continued to do this as an Academy First Aid - ensuring sufficient provision is in place for students and staff - there is usually a separate first aid room Hard wiring inspections, most Schools do the hard wiring inspections every five years or 20% each year, also look at the PAT testing. Don't forget to look at activities that take place outside core School hours i.e. evening classes, summer clubs etc. ie first aid provision, fire etc. Most Schools have science areas so COSHH needs to be considered for those areas, kilns, fume cupboards etc. Also The School should have a Disaster Recovery Plan which needs to take into consideration the PREVENT strategy i.e. potential terror threats and how they control / potential misuse of COSHH And looking at any other activities on site ie do they have a swimming pool or animals on site Couple of guides might help: https://www.gov.uk/gover...ards-for-school-premises http://www.hse.gov.uk/services/education/

Don't forget the hazards from playing conkers!

I would also suggest that RA must be carried out on vulnerable and problem children. This would be to ensure adequate supervision was in place and ensure that the staff are also protected. Certain pupils may require at least two staff to be present at all times, restrictions on the activities carried out etc.

another one is 'working time' as the hours expected and put in by most teachers and even others in schoools is way beyond sensible

Russ, sorry for late response. Up until a couple of months ago I used to survey public schools for one of the leading school insurers. Some of the issues I used to come across are below, hopefully not repeating the excellent responses from Lawlee and andrewjb. Maintenance Department - often engaged in work at height, or on heritage properties within the campus. Many of the public schools I saw had their own mobile tower scaffolds or cherry picker so appropriate training was needed. Grounds keepers - they would often work with chainsaws on tree felling operations on the large estates. We were happy with ground based work using 2 handed chainsaws and with appropriate training / PPE. Tree work with ropes and top handed chainsaws was a bit of a no no as far as we were concerned. Too specialist a job and best to get the pros in. Grounds keeping equipment - some potential for HAVS with strimmers etc. Overview assessment to see if there is an issue. Equipment guarding, e.g. PTO shaft guards on tractors. Work around animals. Horses, pigs and cattle were common on school sites. Usual zoonosis issues plus lone working issues with stable hands often working alone outside of lesson periods. Pool plant room - often used as a dumping ground for excess furniture. Also ensure the security of the plant room to prevent children entering. Emergency first aid and RPE. Assault on staff. A lesser issue in public schools although there are such schools catering for children with ASD and ADHD. Look at systems like Team Teach training and ensure policies and procedures are up to scratch. Slips trips and falls - the major cause of claims that we saw. Look for unprotected edges / drops at site level changes, consider winter gritting routes and procedures, general site maintenance for potholes and raised flagstones. As an insurer, I used to examine the relationship between the H&S responsible person and the head of the school. I would expect to see regular meetings between them, senior school staff attending H&S meetings or H&S at least discussed during leadership meetings. Often H&S was devolved to the head of facilities or maintenance and unless they had the weight of the SMT behind them, they could find it difficult to make a difference.