Health and Safety Policy - School of Coding

Mission Statement

The School of Coding is a safe, well ordered and caring environment for learning. It delivers high quality education to all its students and supports them to develop their individual potential for growth, self-worth and self-control.

High quality outstanding teaching, and clear and consistent guidance and support facilitates students in succeeding in education. Our broad and balanced academic and vocational curriculum will provide students with access to a broad range of accredited qualifications as well as educational and social experiences, which will address their learning and emotional needs. Our purpose is to support every student to develop their true potential, make positive contributions to their families and find fulfilment in employment.

Values

Alternative Provision doesn’t mean a dumping ground…it’s mainstream with the reasonable adjustments to succeed
High standards and high expectations are incredibly important and are the corner stones to a successful school
The School of Coding should become the go-to place for educators from across the country to see best practice
Good simply isn’t good enough
Learning is about a journey and there is more than one way to get to the destination
Qualifications, manners, respect and opportunity should be the foundations for students that need a second chance.

School Ethos

High standards – students are pushed to achieve beyond their potential, and staff work to ensure everything that we do is better than people expect.

Daring to Dream – students at The School of Coding may have been in an educational setting where they lacked aspiration to be successful, at The School of Coding we challenge students to reach their potential and go on to further education and employment.

Traditional Values – some things often get forgotten in education, at The School of Coding we pride ourselves on mutual respect, good manners, making a positive contribution, supporting one another and an orderly, litter free environment.

Success – can come in many virtues, at The School of Coding we celebrate the small steps every day and tell students when they are doing well. We ensure that students can have a successful future.

Personalised Support – all students at The School of Coding have a Learning Coach who guides them, sets them bespoke targets and supports them in making social and academic progress.

Statement of Purpose

The School of Coding will strive to achieve the highest standards of health, safety and welfare consistent with their responsibilities under the Health and Safety at Work Act etc.1974 and other statutory and common law duties.

We will:

Plan for health and safety within our school improvement planning activity.
Ensure relevant safety actions are included during the staff appraisal process.
Develop and maintain local arrangements and procedures that interpret health and safety legislation and guidance that apply to this school.
Review with the Governing Body all progress against our plans and take appropriate action.
Provide an environment in which school staff can carry out their tasks without fear of intimidation, harassment, violence or the negative aspects of stress.
Assess and control risks to all school staff.
Monitor accident trends throughout the school to further inform the health and safety aspects of the School Improvement Plan.
Monitor our performance against plans.
Copy this statement to all staff members.

This document details the organisation and arrangements required to maintain and continuously improve our school’s health and safety management system.

The contents include a list of our local procedures for this school and the document control system we use.

The Aim of the Policy is to:

Ensure that all reasonably practical steps are taken to ensure the health, safety and welfare of all persons using the premises.
Ensure that all reasonably practical steps are taken to ensure the health and safety of staff, students and other supervising adults participating in off-site visits.
Establish and maintain safe working procedures amongst staff and students.
Make arrangements for ensuring safety and absence of risks to health in connection with the use, handling, storage and transport of articles and substances.
Develop safety awareness amongst staff, students and other supervising adults.
Formulate and implement effective procedures for use in the event of fire and other emergencies.

To meet these responsibilities, the Governors will pay attention to:

The safety of plant equipment, buildings and safe systems of work.
Safe arrangements for the use, handling, storage and transport of articles and substances.
Appropriate information, instruction, training and supervision to assist all staff, students and visitors to avoid hazards and to contribute positively to their own health and safety whilst on school premises.
A safe workplace and safe access and egress.
A healthy working environment.
Procedures for fire evacuation, first aid cover and other emergency situations.

The responsibilities and duties for the management of health and safety within the scope of this policy are all located as follows:

Director

The Director will ensure that:

Policies and procedures with regard to health, safety and welfare matters within the school are established in writing, and approved by the Governing Body, and that the policies and procedures are known, understood and followed by all members of staff, including temporary/supply staff.
Any health and safety matters raised, and guidance from the Local Authority, are brought to the attention of the Governing Body.
Regular reviews of the safe performance of all departments of the school are undertaken with appropriate action when necessary and are reported to the Governing Body.
Accidents, incidents and dangerous occurrences are reported, investigated, and, where appropriate, preventative measures are taken. Adequate first aid provision is made for staff and students and other persons, whilst on school premises and when working away from the school, in accordance with relevant guidance.
Training needs are identified, and arrangements are made for those needs to be met
Necessary arrangements are made to ensure that Union Safety Representatives can effectively carry out their functions, and that consideration is given to reports on inspections carried out by Safety Representatives.
All parts of the premises, plant and equipment for which the Governors have responsibility for purchase and/or repair, are regularly inspected and maintained in safe working order.
Goods purchased comply with necessary safety standards and that all purchased equipment is safely installed.
Any unsafe items which are reported to the Head of Operations and any item which constitutes a health and safety hazard is taken out of use.
Staff and volunteer helpers organising and taking part in visits, journeys and holiday excursions have the necessary knowledge, experience and skills so that they will be aware of, and have made arrangements to deal with, any risks involved.

Working arrangements are agreed with contractors working on the premises and
Are closely monitored to ensure that the working practices do not endanger the health and/or safety of employees, students or other persons working on the premises.
Awareness and co-operation amongst staff with regard to health and safety matters is actively encouraged.
That they are up to date with current H & S legislation and raise any training needs.

Governors

The governors will ensure that:

A school safety policy is produced, and that the policy is regularly reviewed.
A Health and Safety Committee will be established, if requested, by at least two persons and health and safety is included in the terms of reference of an existing committee.
The Safety Policies will be brought to the notice of all employees.
Their health and safety obligations are properly considered, and provision made for meeting those obligations.
The school’s staffing structure appropriately reflects the responsibilities for carrying out the arrangements for health and safety.
Health and safety issues concerning the school are identified and appropriate action taken.
Regular safety reports are provided by the Director so that safety arrangements can be monitored and evaluated.
All reasonable facilities and information are provided to Inspectors of the Health and Safety Executive and any other health and safety official.
That they are up to date with current H & S legislation and raise any training needs.

Teaching and Non-Teaching Staff holding Posts of Responsibility

Staff holding posts of special responsibility, such as the Head of Operations, the Site Support Officer and SLT are responsible to the Director for the implementation of the Health & Safety Policy within their area of work. To fulfil their responsibilities, they will assist the Director:

In the monitoring of health and safety by inspecting their area on a regular basis to ensure that safety measures are being maintained and safety instruction and safe working practices are being followed by staff and students, and for making any necessary changes in practices and procedures.
By informing their staff of any hazards to health and safety they are likely to meet during their work and ensure that they have the necessary information, instruction and training to carry out their duties without risk to health or safety.
By ensuring that staff and students are aware of emergency procedures, which should be regularly reviewed.
By ensuring that adequate supervision is maintained at all times.
By ensuring that all equipment is regularly inspected and maintained in safe working order and that any defective equipment is removed from use immediately.

The Head of Operations will assist the Director to ensure that health and safety implications are considered in connection with the security and cleaning and maintenance of the building and for monitoring contractors on site to ensure their working procedures do not endanger the health, safety and welfare of staff, students and visitors.

Educational Visits Coordinator (EVC)

Follow the OEAP National Guidance –where full responsibilities are outlined:

Ensure staff involved in educational visits are aware of their responsibilities regarding the off-site visits policy and have ready access to it.
EVOLVE on-line recording system in use
Consider the Emergency Planning Unit at Walsall Council is informed of all residential or high-risk activities.

Radiation Protection Supervisor

The School Radiation Protection Supervisor will ensure that:

Local procedures are in place for the safe use, storage and disposal of radiation
Follow the good practice guidance via CLEAPSS.
Liaise with the council’s Radiation Protection Advisor (RPA) on health and safety matters.
Source containers are suitably labelled/marked and identifiable.
Regular inspections and leak tests are carried out and the findings are recorded.
A check has been made that the total activity of the radioactive substances kept are within the limits all owed by the regulations.
An approval letter from the DCFS is on file and agrees with the number of sources kept.

Class Teachers

Staff timetabled to be in charge of classes have the following responsibility to assist the Director:

To follow safe working procedures personally.
To ensure the safety of students in classrooms and other areas of the school whilst in their charge.
To be aware of and to adopt safety measures within their teaching areas.
To request special safe working procedures, protective clothing, guards, etc, where necessary and ensure they are used.
To make recommendations to the Director regarding the safety of equipment or tools, in particular any equipment or machinery that is potentially dangerous. To be aware of emergency procedures in respect of fire, bomb alert, first aid, accident, etc. and to carry them out.

Employees General Responsibilities

All employees have a general duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 to:

Take reasonable care of their personal safety and that of other persons.
Co-operate with the employer on health and safety matters to enable the employer to carry out their own responsibilities successfully.
To use correctly any equipment provided for his/her safety
Report any defective equipment to his/her supervisor or other appropriate person, for example safety representative.
Report accidents or dangerous occurrences at the earliest possible opportunity.
Be familiar with and observe at all times all safety policies and procedures
Take reasonable precautions to ensure the safety of all persons in their charge.
Attend training sessions when required.

School Safety Committee

The School Safety Committee comprises of:

The Head of Operations.
Vice Director.
Associate Assistant Director.
Teacher of Vocational Studies.

The Terms of Reference of the Committee are:

To monitor the implementation of Health and Safety Policies and safety procedures throughout the school.
To review safety measures and to advise the Director and Governing Body of any necessary changes to those measures.
To advise on arrangements for the dissemination of information on health and safety matters to all staff and students.
To receive reports of accidents and dangerous occurrences and to draw the attention of the Director and Governors to any necessary preventative/remedial action.
To receive reports from the LA, safety representatives and external health and safety agencies.
To advise on arrangements to protect the health, safety and welfare of staff, students and visitors to the school, and to review these as necessary.
To receive auditing and monitoring reports and advise the Governors and Director of any necessary preventative and/or remedial action arising from those reports.
To assist in the regular reviews of the School Health and Safety Policy.

Arrangements for Health and Safety

Document Control

We will develop and maintain local documentation. Changes including re-issues and deletions to local school documentation will be authorised by the Director.

Co-operation

Local systems and documentation will be implemented following consultation through our school’s health and safety governance meetings.

Communication

Local systems and documentation will be held electronically and made accessible to staff members.

Competence

The school has competent persons in place to provide health and safety guidance to cover the areas of induction, identification of health and safety training needs and the provision and delivery of health and safety training. School staff members will continually develop their own competence through CPD activities including health and safety training on induction, refresher training and specific training where necessary, for example, risk assessment techniques.

Planning & Prioritising (Setting Standards)

School Health & Safety Plans

School health and safety planning will be part of our School Improvement Planning process. Planning will be carried out at regular intervals and will involve objective setting, identification of expected outcomes and all location of resources.

Risk assessments

Job and specific risk assessments will be carried out by line management within the team in accordance with the relevant local arrangements, for example, manual handling, fire, hazardous substances, display screen equipment etc.

Local Arrangements

We will develop and maintain a range of local arrangements to achieve specific actions required for health and safety in the school.

Measuring H&S Performance

Active Monitoring

Our school SLT will oversee active monitoring to include workplace inspections in accordance with our local arrangement for this.

Reactive Monitoring

The school management team will oversee reactive monitoring to include accidents, near misses and hazard reports in accordance with our local arrangements and report relevant findings to our Governing Body.

Reviewing Health & Safety Performance

Performance indicators used for the review of health and safety performance will include identification of areas where risk controls are inadequate or absent, the extent of achievement of specific health and safety objectives and an analysis of accident and ill-health data.

The school health & safety performance will be reviewed by the school management team quarterly and reported to school Governors.

Auditing/Inspecting Health & Safety Performance

Health and safety auditing/inspecting will be carried out on a regular basis by nominated persons.

Accident Reporting Procedures

In accordance with the Governors’ accident/incident reporting procedure employees must report accidents, violent incidents, dangerous occurrences, and near misses in the school Accident Book, held in Head of Operations office.

School accident reports will be monitored for trends and a report made to the Governors, as necessary.
The Director, or their nominee, will investigate accidents and take remedial steps to avoid similar instances recurring. Faulty equipment, systems of work etc., must be reported and attended to as soon as possible.

Reporting to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE)

Incidents involving a fatality or major injury will be reported immediately to Health

and Safety Executive (HSE) on 0845 300 9923 or on-line at http://www.hse.gov.uk/riddor/.

Employee absence, as the result of a work-related accident, for periods of 7 days or more (including W/E’s and holidays) must be reported to RIDDOR
Incidents resulting in a student or other non-employee being taken to hospital and the accident arising as the result of a curriculum activity, the condition of the premises/equipment, lack of supervision, must be reported to the HSE within 15 days of the incident occurring.

The school will still be responsible for recording all work-related incidents which as a result has caused the persons to be absent from work for 3 days or more.

This page was last updated on 19/01/2023