Health and Safety
Executive / Commission
Education
Under the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 there are three categories of school:
For community schools, community special schools, voluntary controlled schools, maintained nursery schools and pupil referral units, the LA is the employer.
For foundation schools, foundation special schools and voluntary aided schools, the employer is the governing body.
For independent schools, the employer is either the governing body or the proprietor.
For further information see DfES guidance 'Health and Safety: Responsibilities and Powers' and SIM 7/2001/36 on Fair Funding.
LA education funding schemes set out conditions with which governing bodies must comply in managing the expenditure of the funds delegated to them. LAs have been advised to include provisions designed to ensure that they have sufficient power to ensure that the work necessary for compliance with health and safety legislation is carried out. The schemes should require governing bodies to:
The schemes should also include a provision to enable LAs to charge schools for:
LAs can also retain money for strategic management of health and safety. This includes funding required for setting policies and standards, providing competence at a strategic level, carrying out active and reactive monitoring, and giving advice to schools. This is authorised by the Financing of Maintained Schools Regulations Schedule 1 in England and Schedule 2 in Wales.
The role of the LA is set out in paragraphs 18-21 in SIM 7/2001/36 on Fair Funding.
In VA schools the governing body is the employer and so is responsible for health and safety. There is no legal requirement for VA schools to adopt the LA's policies and procedures. Some LAs may make their services and recommendations available to VA schools for which they make a charge.
The employer in VC schools is the LA. Responsibility cannot be devolved. The LA must provide oversight and monitoring.
Research has demonstrated that safety representatives make a vital contribution towards achieving safer and healthier workplaces - those workplaces with trade union safety representatives and joint health and safety committees have significantly better accident records, with over 50% fewer injuries than those workplaces with no such consultation arrangements. There is no reason why similar improvements could not accrue in the education sector, if positive steps are taken to consult with and increase the involvement of safety representatives.
The The Safety Representatives Charter seeks to promote the benefits and emphasise the importance of consulting with and involving safety representatives, in order to ensure that they can make a contribution towards effective health and safety management in education establishments. Employers in the education sector will benefit from following the valuable guidance on good practice that the Charter represents.
By signing up to the Charter, education employers and employees will be demonstrating that they recognise the contribution that partnerships can make towards improving health and safety standards at work.
Schools and colleges with woodworking machines will need to comply with the requirements of PUWER 98. They will be able to do this either by installing new machinery which meets the braking requirements of PUWER 98, or by upgrading their machinery so that braking requirements are met. Risk assessments of the classroom will also be required, and if that risk assessment indicates that a wall mounted emergency stop is necessary due to the special circumstances within the classroom environment, then the school/college will need to satisfy themslves that the emergency stop allows compliance with PUWER. The Risk Assessment will also need to adequately address the risk of kick-back and classroom management.
In reaching this conclusion HSE is satisfied that the technology is available which allows compliance with PUWER whilst allowing a wall mounted emergency stop to be fitted.
Schools need to assess the risk from vehicle movements on their premises and manage those risks in line with current workplace transport guidance e.g. segregation, marking and lighting.
Schools should consider in their risk assessment vehicle movements occurring immediately outside the school premises which may be associated with school activities, such as staff arriving and leaving work, school buses delivering pupils, delivery vehicles.
Further information on managing risks from workplace transport can be obtained from HSE Workplace transport website.
HSE should only be involved in investigating a road traffic incident where police demonstrate that serious management failures have been a significant contributory factor.
It is a matter for the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA), who award the licences for bus routes, to comment on whether bus companies are operating a safe system of work, as it is here that the knowledge and expertise on matters relating to passenger transport rest.
There is no specific health and safety legislation limiting the weight that children in school can carry.
Section 3 of the Health and safety at Work etc Act 1974 imposes some duties on employers and the self-employed towards persons other than their employees such as school children. These are amplified by the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 which require an assessment of the risks arising from work activities which affect the health and safety of those not in their employment. Although section 3 may apply, other non-HSE legislation concerning the welfare of school children takes precedence. This is an area for Department for Education and Skills pupil health and safety team to deal with info@dfes.gsi.gov.uk.
The start of the September 2000 academic year saw risk concepts and health and safety included in the National Curriculum for England in the subject areas of: science; design and technology; art and design; information communication technology; and physical education.
HSE's has its own website that provides guidance and support materials for teachers and lecturers to meet their need for material to help them plan lessons and lectures.