Health & safety training for teachers

Drew Griffiths

Drew Griffiths is a freelance writer from North Wales. He has several years’ experience in the health & safety industry and highly recommends SHEilds for any Health & Safety related training. He is also a youth-team football coach with a first class degree in Sport Science and a Master’s degree in Exercise & Nutrition Science.

Follow on Facebook: SHEilds

Follow @sheilds_ltd 

Website: www.sheilds.org/ Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

When it comes to health and safety, it’s particularly important for schools to be as prepared as possible. Drew Griffiths gives a concise rundown of what kind of training teachers should seek.

All workers need to be aware of the safety risks associated with their jobs, but for some people this is especially important. For example, as well as protecting themselves from any dangers, teachers have to look after the pupils who are in their care. Protecting students is a big responsibility, and it’s not one that can be taken lightly.

Luckily, it is now easy for schools to take advantage of thorough safety courses provided by training specialists. By making sure that the relevant personnel have had suitable health and safety training, schools can help to minimise the risk of any accidents.

Legal duties

The main legislation that relates to safety in schools is the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. Under the regulations detailed in this act, the employer is responsible for health and safety, although tasks may be delegated to staff members. The employer could be the local authority, the governing body or a proprietor. Meanwhile, employers and staff members have a duty under the common law to protect students in the same way that prudent parents would.

Training for teachers

Employers are required to make sure that personnel, including teachers, are provided with the necessary health and safety training. Workers whose roles involve greater elements of risk may need more training than other staff members. For example, teachers who operate and supervise woodworking machines or other potentially dangerous items of equipment will need extra training. Personnel who take children on trips away from school may also need additional safety training to help them mitigate any risks.

Duties of school workers

Under the law, school workers are required to take reasonable care of their own health and safety and that of others who might be affected by the work they do. They’re also expected to cooperate with their employers on issues concerning health and safety. In addition, they must do their work in line with the training and instructions they receive and with their school’s written health and safety policy. If teachers feel that certain safety procedures aren’t appropriate, they can discuss the issue with their employers and request that they are reviewed. Usually, headteachers work with employers to help ensure that procedures within schools are effective and proportionate.

A balance

Successful health and safety training for teachers should help them to strike the right balance between protecting pupils and allowing them to benefit from an effective and engaging education. They must take reasonable measures to ensure that dangers are minimised, but they shouldn’t take risk management to excessive levels. This can restrict youngsters’ learning opportunities. On this point, the Department for Education (DfE) says: “Children should be able to experience a wide range of activities. Health and safety measures should help them to do this safely, not stop them.”

Elaborating on this point, the department remarks: “School employers should always take a commonsense and proportionate approach, remembering that in schools risk assessment and risk management are tools to enable children to undertake activities safely, and not prevent activities from taking place.”

As long as they are provided with suitable training and receive all the information and support they require when it comes to promoting safety, teachers and other school workers should be able to minimise dangers to pupils without allowing this to take over and compromise youngsters’ educations.

What measures do you take to handle health and safety in your school? Let us know in the comments.

[Image Credit]

Read More

Sign up to our newsletter

Get the best of Innovate My School, straight to your inbox.

What are you interested in?

By signing up you agree to our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.

1,300+ guest writers.
2,500+
ideas & stories. 
Share yours.

In order to make our website better for you, we use cookies!

Some firefox users may experience missing content, to fix this, click the shield in the top left and "disable tracking protection"