Educational Law Concerning Health and Safety
Even those who work in the field misunderstand school health and safety. They think rules are too complicated or unrealistic. The origin of this misunderstanding is obvious. Kids are prone to acting on impulse and are more easily hurt than grown-ups. Consequently, school administrators need to consider and eliminate every possible risk in the classroom.
There is some truth to this assessment. When kids aren’t with an adult for six or more hours, they’re vulnerable. Health and safety laws in educational institutions are not unlike those in other types of businesses. The safety of the students is practically assured if the rules are obeyed.
However, the stakes for school health and safety are higher since children are naturally more susceptible to harm. Therefore, familiarise yourself with the important laws so that you can concentrate on providing an outstanding education and be certain that your school is in compliance and that your students are safe.
Key Responsibilities
A 1974 law known as the Health and Safety at Work etc. The act regulates school health and safety in the United Kingdom (HSWA). Employers have a responsibility to ensure the safety of their employees and everyone else who could be affected by their operations, as stated in the HSWA. Schools are considered workplaces and are so governed by the HSWA.
Kids don’t have the maturity or self-control to adhere to elaborate safety protocols. Encouraging youngsters to play freely and independently is also crucial. Adults must exert a bit more effort to ensure the well-being of their students. Nonetheless, HSWA compliance in educational institutions is very comparable to that in other types of businesses.
Taking responsibility
Employers are ultimately responsible for health and safety cases. If an accident occurs and the employer neglects their responsibilities, they will face penalties from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which is responsible for enforcing the HSWA.
Just like any other institution, schools can be structured differently, leading to varying degrees of responsibility depending on whether they are public, private, or independent.
Employers in the education sector often include:
- The state’s regional education agencies.
- Academy trusts are often known as free and independent school districts.
To successfully manage health and safety, you require an in-depth understanding of the workplace and its employees. Due to the centralized nature of managing numerous sites, school employers sometimes lack this understanding. The majority of schools get around this problem by giving principals more authority over student health and safety. The principal can then designate deputies to help out around the school. But the employer will still be the one to answer.
Someone needs to find a happy medium when it comes to managing health and safety on a daily basis. Finding that sweet spot between student safety and providing them with engaging learning opportunities is essential. Practical health and safety measures and well-defined responsibilities are also part of this. The HSE offers a free health and safety in schools checklist, which you may use to assess your school’s balance.
Safe Work Practices Training
Trainees in our Health and Safety programs learn about typical dangers in the workplace and how they could escalate into deadly situations if not addressed. In order to prevent the problem from getting worse, it is helpful to understand what it is.
Various Other Duties
Trusting competent individuals with responsibility for school health and safety is essential. You can’t expect a single individual to handle all the duties related to children’s safety, from drafting policies to ensuring regular health and safety in the classroom.
The HSWA lays out your principal responsibility for the safety of all on-site employees and students. Still, other regulatory requirements must be followed in order for compliance to be achieved. For your own school’s safety, you should be familiar with the many statutes and regulations in the area.
A School Health and Safety Plan
School health and safety policies are just as important as those in any other industry. Any policy statement should detail your school’s specific health and safety goals, responsibilities, and procedures for protecting students and employees.
Educators in schools understand that policies need frequent reviews and amendments to be effective, which allows them to handle policies better than most organizations. Just like any other policy, your health and safety policy should contain a section outlining your strategies for reviewing the policy.
Evaluation of Potential Dangers
One thing that health and safety laws never change is the requirement of risk assessments. All employers are required to complete a workplace health and safety management system under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. This system systematically aims to:
- Identify dangers
- Assess the harm that hazards could cause and the likelihood of it happening
- Take steps to prevent or lessen that harm
Risk assessment is the only surefire way to ensure your institution’s security. It will also specify any additional health and safety requirements you are obligated to meet. Common dangers in classrooms usually have simple solutions. However, during your evaluation, you may encounter unusual or more difficult-to-control risks.
The HSE has general recommendations for school safety, most of which are applicable to your institution.
Prevention of Fires
Every school has the same primary concern: fire safety. All schools are required to carry out a fire safety risk assessment (FSRA) in accordance with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. Like your general risk assessment, your fire risk assessment has to include the following:
- Potential fire risks and safety protocols
- Specialized firefighters (fire wardens)
- Disaster preparedness
Rehearsing evacuation strategies on a frequent basis is an important aspect of fire safety. Students and teachers are able to practice evacuating the building during these exercises, which lessens the possibility of chaos in the event of a real fire. You can also check the adequacy of your evacuation plans with drills.
Notifying of An Event
Most incidents will be small if you’ve followed health and safety regulations. You are required to notify the HSE in extremely unusual instances of more serious accidents.
Recording accidents is necessary under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR).
In general, you are required to report accidents at the following times, as outlined in RIDDOR guidance:
Tragic accidents claim lives.
A “specified injury”—usually a serious injury like a broken bone or a loss of consciousness—is the result of an accident.
Staff members are absent from work for longer than seven days due to accidents.
A worker contracts a sickness that is directly related to their job.
Job Responsibilities
Making your school safe requires the active participation of all staff members. Instructors can aid in school safety by taking stock of potential dangers in the classroom, even if this should not be used in place of a comprehensive risk assessment. Give them this HSE checklist, and they will be able to assist you in finding any safety concerns that need fixing.
Duties under the HSWA also extend to school staff. Taking precautions to ensure their safety and that of others should be their top priority. However, staff training is essential if you want them to adhere to safe systems of work continuously.
To mitigate risks in the workplace, we provide health and safety courses online. Common hazards, such as injuries from hazardous manual handling or long periods of sitting at a desk, can be mitigated if your employees know what to look out for. You can share these courses with your entire school because they are totally online, so they won’t eat into your limited CPD time.
