I've recently taken up a post as a co-opted governor for a local primary school and would like some background reading to understand the key gudiance / requirements that primary schools benchmark themselves against for H&S - to get an idea of what's reasonably practicable in terms of policy/arranagements/risk assessments/procedures/audit etc.

I work in the O&G industry, and I'm taking this on in part for professional develeopmnt (apply skills in a new arena, developing leadership skills etc) and also because I'm keen to share my expertise in HSSE/Risk management with others.

I don't have childern or any other connections to the school so I'm starting for zero in terms of understanding what SHOULD be in place.

Any guidance / links / advice appreciate - I'll be leading on, amongst other things, governace around facilities / H&S at the school.

Cheers

Jake

Jake,

First, well done for taking this on - I was an elected governor at a primary and then a very large secondary and the challenge, stress and ultimately sense of achievement are all worth while.

As to your question the first thing is what type of school? If an LEA then it's simple as the LEA will supply support to the school via thier services so there should be a good structured underpinning of the H&S management system. Quite what thw school does with that support is, to be frank, very much based on the school and the attitude of the Head teacher. If the school is an academy then it again depends on the type of academy but being a primary I suspect there will be a large organisation in the background that you will need to get into in the same way as an LEA.

Whatever, expect to be surprised by some of the assumptions and drivers in a school - OFSTED inspections and actions trump everything else (yes cynical but true) and risk assessments by teachers may be wordy in the extreme.

Like I say, it's a really rewarding challenge

Jim

Thanks for the replies, I shall get reading!