HSC Schools Education Advisory Committee (SEAC) - Meeting 23 May 2002

The meeting of the Schools Education Advisory Committee (SEAC) took place at 1.00 pm on Thursday 23 May 2002 in the Hope Room, Rose Court, 2 Southwark Bridge, London, SE1 9HS.

Agenda

1. Minutes of the meeting held on 23 May 2002

• The minutes were approved subject to minor amendment.

2. Matters arising

• SEAC requested that a review of the effectiveness of the 2 education committees (SEAC and HIFEAC) be undertaken.
• SEAC agreed to keep the issue of voice trauma on future agendas and requested a progress report on the issue for the next meeting.
• SEAC agreed that an evaluation into the impact of the forthcoming slips and trips guidance should be undertaken.
• SEAC noted the progress that was being made by the Occupational Health Working Group who were reviewing the guidance on OH services in Higher and Further Education.

3. Review of Open Meeting - Open discussion

• SEAC agreed that a steering group with representatives from HIFEAC and SEAC should be set up to plan the next open meeting due to be held in March 2003.

4. Update on Revitalising Health and Safety

• SEAC were informed about the progress being made on the Government initiatives to encourage industry sectors to sign up to RHS targets.

5. Progress with the Work plan

• Safety Representatives Charter
• SEAC agreed that the Working Group should consider further comments from them and undertake a further round of consultation before publishing the document.
• Information sheet on Slips and Trips
• SEAC agreed to the publication of the information sheet on slips and trips.

6. Gatekeeping School Governors' Responsibilities

• SEAC noted the new DfES 'gatekeeping' system for monitoring the impact of new policy on school governors and agreed that formal guidance for Local Authorities on training for school governors on health and safety matters should be considered.

7. Any other business

• SEAC noted that guidance on compliance with the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 was awaited and agreed to forward any 'good practice' experiences to the Secretariat.
• SEAC considered the need for further guidance for schools on managing asbestos and agreed that this should form an agenda item at the next meeting.
• SEAC agreed to send articles of interest to the Secretariat for inclusion in the September issue of the education newsletter.

Published with decisions on the HSE web site 7 February 2003