Health and safety for schools - Print version

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Coventry City Council is committed to achieving and maintaining the highest possible standards of health, safety and welfare for all employees, pupils and young people, their families and other persons affected by our work activities. 

The documents and procedures on the attached links form the corporate safety management system and are based on the requirements of the Council's Health and Safety Policy. Governing bodies, head teachers, managers and staff have key roles to play in achieving and maintaining high standards of health and safety performance and are required to comply with the requirements of the safety management system.

Sensible health and safety in schools 

Coventry City Council actively promotes and endorses a sensible and proportionate approach to health and safety in schools, striking the right balance, so that the real risks are managed and learning opportunities are experienced to the full. For further information on what sensible risk management means, please visit the HSE website [https://www.hse.gov.uk/education/index.htm].

Schools' Health and Safety Services

Address: Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing Services
Thomas Yeoman House
Coventry Canal Basin
Leicester Row
Coventry

Telephone: 024 7683 3285 [tel:02476833285]

Coventry City Council corporate health and safety policy

The Councils’ health and safety policy details the roles and responsibilities for managing health and safety in schools. All schools are required to develop and implement a local health and safety policy setting out their organisation and arrangements for ensuring health and safety. The model local policy statement and organisation Health and safety arrangements policy framework for schools can be adapted by schools.

Health and Safety Standards for schools 

The Health and Safety Standards for Schools document [http://www.coventry.gov.uk/downloads/download/4661/health_and_safety_standards_for_schools] outlines the minimum standards to enable everyone to undertake their roles and responsibilities and fulfil their potential free from work related injury or ill health. This includes, governors, managers and leaders, employees, service users, pupils, partners and others who may be affected by the school’s work activities. It is therefore important that both head teachers and school governing bodies ensure that the requirements of these standards are implemented.

The standards apply to all LEA maintained and voluntary aided schools in Coventry and will form the framework for all future school audits carried out by the Council's health and safety team.

Schools' Health and Safety Services

Address: Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing Services
Thomas Yeoman House
Coventry Canal Basin
Leicester Row
Coventry

Telephone: 024 7683 3285 [tel:02476833285]

Coventry City Council health and safety guidance

Guidance documents prepared by the health and safety team interpret legislation and outline how to comply with it. 

The guidance in this section is on a wide range of general health and safety topics that would apply to all schools. Guidance on more specialised topics is also available, please contact us by e-mail rajendra.joshi@coventry.gov.uk [mailto:rajendra.joshi@coventry.gov.uk] for any specific guidance not contained within this section.

CCC Health and Safety guidance [http://www.coventry.gov.uk/downloads/download/4591/coventry_city_council_health_and_safety_guidance]

The guidance available includes:

  • Access equipment guidance
  • Accident, assault and near miss guidance
  • Accident, incident investigation guidance for managers
  • Asbestos Management Policy
  • Asbestos Management Procedure
  • Contractor - general requirements guidance (part 1)
  • Contractor - site compliance guidance (part 2)
  • Display Screen Equipment (DSE) - assessor guidance
  • Display Screen Equipment (DSE) - guidance
  • Driving - policy
  • Educational visits - policy
  • Emergency advice and support for educational establishments
  • Fire - risk assessment guidance
  • Fire safety - guidance
  • Fixed play equipment - plan install and decom of fixed play equipment guidance
  • Fixed play equipment - use and inspection of, guidance
  • Hand arm vibration - guidance
  • Induction - guidance
  • New and expectant mothers - guidance
  • Permit pocket guide
  • Permit to dig - guidance
  • Permit to work on fire alarms - guidance
  • Permit to work - guidance
  • Permit to work on a roof - guidance
  • Permit to work within confined spaces - guidance
  • Permit to work with hot works - guidance
  • Permit to Work in plant rooms - guidance
  • Permit to work with complex electrical systems - guidance
  • Risk assessment - guidance
  • Water hygiene - guidance
  • Working at height - guidance

Other guidance notes and supporting documents [http://www.coventry.gov.uk/downloads/download/4664/other_guidance_notes_and_supporting_documents]

Schools' Health and Safety Services

Address: Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing Services
Thomas Yeoman House
Coventry Canal Basin
Leicester Row
Coventry

Telephone: 024 7683 3285 [tel:02476833285]

Coventry City Council, HSE and DFE education specific news and guidance

Schools' Health and Safety Services

Address: Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing Services
Thomas Yeoman House
Coventry Canal Basin
Leicester Row
Coventry

Telephone: 024 7683 3285 [tel:02476833285]

Reporting and recording incidents

Although an accident-free workplace does not necessarily mean that all risks are being controlled adequately, it is accepted that as part of the sensible risk management framework that the authority will take reasonably practicable measures to prevent accidents and work-related ill-health to employees, service users, members of the public and contractors.

The reporting and investigation procedure is in place so that accidents or work-related ill-health problems can be recorded and those in managerial and supervisory positions can determine the likely cause of the accident and consider action which may be required to prevent recurrence.

Certain types of injury and disease caused by work activities or the work environment and certain dangerous occurrences with the potential to cause injury must be reported to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). This is done centrally, by Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing Service, when necessary.

In general terms, types of accidents that must be reported to the HSE include:

  • those which result in death
  • fractures of main limbs
  • those injuries which result in a member of staff being unfit to return to work for more than 7 days (not including the day of the accident)
  • those injuries which result in a member of the public being taken directly to hospital from the scene of an accident

This list is not exhaustive. For further guidance on what is reportable to the Health and Safety Executive, a guidance document called EDIS1 [http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/edis1.pdf] has been produced to give schools clear information on the types of accidents required to be reported.

For Local Authority Community Schools and Voluntary Controlled schools, all incidents, as defined in the accidents, assaults and near miss guidance [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/downloads/file/24328/accident_assault_and_near_miss_guidance] must be reported and investigated internally, via the Alcumus health and safety management system within 24 hours of being informed.

Safety Management System for the reporting of incidents

The Incident, Accident and Near Miss (IAN) management system is an online reporting tool used to record any incidents affecting employees or members of the public by activities undertaken by the school.

As an employee, if you have suffered an accident, assault or been subject to a near miss incident, you must inform your Head Teacher or School Business Manager as a matter of urgency. It is their responsibility to make the formal report as required by the Council's Health and Safety Policy.

To log an incident

Logging an incident video guide (coming soon)

Incidents can be logged via onto the main system [https://myaccount.coventry.gov.uk/en/service/health_and_Safety___Incident_Accident_and_Near_Miss_IAN_Reporting].

Users are able to register for an account online by following clicking on ‘register now’. Once you have registered for an account it will remember your details for the next time you wish to login to the system. Users who have already registered for a Granicus / Dash account will be able to login under their existing account. Users have restricted access to log, view and edit records for their schools only.

To edit or amend reported incidents

As a line manager, you can access the main system to edit or amend reported incidents. You can also respond to and update actions you receive from the health and safety team or system administrators.
Line managers should also use the main system to run reports and undertaken trend analysis for the service areas as a proactive measure for accident prevention.

Guides and resources

  1. Creating an Incident video guide (Coming Soon)
  2. Completing an Investigation video guide (Coming Soon)

Additional support can be provided by contacting the Schools' Health and Safety Services team.

Schools' Health and Safety Services

Address: Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing Services
Thomas Yeoman House
Coventry Canal Basin
Leicester Row
Coventry

Telephone: 024 7683 3285 [tel:02476833285]

Forms and templates

Here you will find model risk assessments and other  health and safety documents (forms, checklist and templates) for schools:

Schools' Health and Safety Services

Address: Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing Services
Thomas Yeoman House
Coventry Canal Basin
Leicester Row
Coventry

Telephone: 024 7683 3285 [tel:02476833285]

Premises management

Here you will find documents to assist with general premises management and also compliance premises management.  These include:

General premises management

Compliance premises management

Asbestos guidance

Schools' Health and Safety Services

Address: Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing Services
Thomas Yeoman House
Coventry Canal Basin
Leicester Row
Coventry

Telephone: 024 7683 3285 [tel:02476833285]

School specific training

Health and Safety Services provide training for schools in a variety of ways; some courses are delivered on pre-arranged dates and are accessed through a booking form system and via a training calendar, others are delivered at individual sites to staff groups or via training webinars.

The majority of training provided is delivered as part of the service level agreement offered to schools with no additional costs; schools that do not have a service level agreement can access all of the same training but these are chargeable.

This year we are providing a catalogue of courses which gives you more detail about the course content, who the target audience is and expected outcomes, we hope you find this useful.

All training will be booked directly through Health and Safety Services using a simplified booking form. You can book training through your SLA advisor or Health and Safety Services.

Training that can be delivered at individual schools includes:

  • Introduction to health and safety
  • General health and safety awareness for catering and cleaning staff
  • Fire awareness
  • Fire marshal
  • Risk assessment workshop
  • DSE assessor
  • Incident Reporting using the Alcumus System
  • Incident investigation

Training webinars

We have developed a series of three training webinars for schools that hold a Health and Safety SLA with the Coventry City Council Occupational Health. These three courses, can be used by staff who are required to complete mandatory training.

The webinars provide useful health and safety information for fire safety, managing fire evacuation and controlling workplace hazards and risks. Once staff have watched the webinars they can test their knowledge with a quiz. Managers should print the quiz and retain it as evidence of completing the webinar training.  

These webinars have been provided as part of your school/academy SLA. They are protected under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, the principal legislation covering intellectual property rights in the United Kingdom and the work to which it applies.

View our available webinars (password required) [http://www.coventry.gov.uk/handstrainingwebinars].

Current courses include:

  • Fire Safety Awareness
  • Fire Marshal
  • Controlling risks in the workplace.

Schools' Health and Safety Services

Address: Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing Services
Thomas Yeoman House
Coventry Canal Basin
Leicester Row
Coventry

Telephone: 024 7683 3285 [tel:02476833285]

Services provided by Health and Safety Services

Health and Safety Services are able to provide a number of services including:

  • Health and Safety Training
  • Health and Safety Management Audits
  • Site Inspections
  • CLEAPSS Membership

If you would like more information about any of these services please contact:

Raj Joshi
Email: rajendra.joshi@coventry.gov.uk [mailto:rajendra.joshi@coventry.gov.uk]
Telephone: 024 7683 4019

Schools' Health and Safety Services

Address: Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing Services
Thomas Yeoman House
Coventry Canal Basin
Leicester Row
Coventry

Telephone: 024 7683 3285 [tel:02476833285]

Legal updates

Here you will find health and safety information for schools for school based health and safety legal cases that have occurred nationally, changes to legislation and legal guidance and health and safety information for schools.

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