Governors and Health and Safety

The ‘Why’ of health and safety is easy?

All governors will wish to ensure that their school follows good practice, working well within the Law to ensure that staff and children are kept safe and secure.

The ‘How’ is the bit where some schools struggle. Many schools are risk averse and over prescriptive, placing far too many limitations on teachers and children; others have abandoned valuable activities because of the ‘paperwork’ involved; a few appear to be in ignorance of the Law.

Incidentally - the Law on safety is not new. Your legal duty as an individual, a supplier, an employee or an employer goes back to 1928 and the Donoghue vs Stevenson case. This famous legal case – around a slug in a bottle of ginger ale – went to the House of Lords in 1932, and established the ‘duty of care’ on which subsequent legislation is based; that subsequent legislation includes the 1974 Health and Safety at Work Act, which simplified a mass of previous legislation and the 1999 Management Regulations, which set the legal background for the management of health and safety.

NGA members may follow the links below to read the full paper on Health and Safety.

Part One

Is the governing body responsible? How do we ensure that we are meeting our health and safety responsibilities? How can we guarantee safety? What about Corporate Manslaughter? Is it legal to exclude some children from activities as a result of a risk assessment?

Find advice on these issues here

Part Two - Risk assessments

Risk assessments, what is a risk assessment? Does our school have to do risk assessments? Who does the risk assessment? Is a new risk assessment required for every lesson or every activity? Generic assessments, third party risk assessments, training in carrying out a risk assessment, when should teachers carry out a risk assessment? Support staff and risk assessments. Should individual children be risk assessed? Is it legal to exclude children from an activity on the basis of a risk assessment? High risk activities.

Find advice on these issues here

Part Three

Where can we find sources of competent advice?

Find information about this issue here

Part Four

Information on trips visits and learning outside the classroom

Find information about these issues here

Part Five

First Aid

Find information about the level of first aid cover a school should have in place here

NGA March 2009