St David’s High School is keen to promote best practice in all areas of Health and Safety. We regard this as a priority since we aim to put the welfare of our learners and staff at the centre of all we do; the safety of parents, visitors, contractors and others with whom we deal is also of great importance to us.
Every employee, whether involved in teaching, administration, maintenance or another role, can play his or her part in bringing this about. Please read carefully the whole of this Policy, which sets out our broad aims, individuals’ responsibilities and the procedures and arrangements in place to ensure compliance with the Governing Body’s statement of intent.
The aim of the statement is to ensure that all reasonably practicable steps are taken to ensure the health and safety of all persons including staff, learners, governors, contractors and any other person who may be affected by the school undertaking. And in particular:
To establish and maintain a safe and healthy environment throughout the school and for all school activities;
To establish and maintain safe working procedures amongst staff and learners;
To make arrangements for ensuring safety (via the risk assessment process) to avoid risks to health in connection with the use, handling, storage and transport of articles and substances;
To ensure the provision of sufficient information, instruction and supervision to enable everyone to avoid hazards and contribute positively to their own health and safety training as and when required;
To maintain a safe and healthy place of work with safe access and egress; to provide and maintain welfare facilities.
The School will ensure that a Health and Safety Management System is developed, implemented and monitored throughout. Which will ensure the assessment of risk and the effective organisation, planning, monitoring and review, of preventative and protective measures to control risk.
The School will identify and assess the risks from hazards associated with all its work activities with the aim of eliminating and controlling the risks, so far as is reasonably practicable.
The School will, so far as reasonably practicable, allocate sufficient resources to meet the requirements of the Policy.
The School will set realistic short and long term objectives, decide priorities and establish adequate performance standards. It will also monitor and review such standards to ensure that they are being met and maintained.
Where the School shares premises with another department or employer, whether permanently or temporarily, arrangements and procedures shall be adopted to ensure that all concerned are able to comply with their statutory health and safety duties.
The school will ensure the arrangements are made to co-ordinate the activities of its own employees and those of outside agencies working on departmental premises, such as contractors, and maintenance personnel.
The School Health and Safety Policy and any supplemental Guidance Documents, Codes of Practice etc. must be brought to the attention of all employees of the school and any other person who may need to be aware of their contents.
This School Health and Safety Policy will be regularly reviewed and amended as necessary. Supplemental Guidance Documents and Codes of Practice will similarly be regularly reviewed and where appropriate further guidance notes will be issued relating to particular work activities or as a result of changes in Health and Safety legislation.
In accordance with the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 including subsequent legislation and regulations:
I. The Governors recognise and accept their responsibility as the employer for ensuring, so far as is reasonably possible:
the health and safety of learners and staff;
the protection of others from health and safety risks arising from our activities;
the provision of safe and healthy premises.
II. No safety policy can be successful unless it actively involves employees themselves. In this connection the school reminds all employees of their own duties, under Sections 7 & 8 of the Act, to take care in their work, for their own safety and that of other employees, for the safety of learners and the public, and to co-operate with the school so as to enable them to carry out their responsibilities.
III. The school will take all such steps as are reasonably practicable to fulfil its responsibilities, paying particular attention to Regulations made in the following areas:
Management of health and safety,
Control of substances hazardous to health,
First aid equipment, facilities and staff,
Fire precautions,
Maintenance of electrical systems,
Personal protective equipment (PPE),
Use of display screen equipment,
Manual handling operations,
Asbestos and legionella, • Working at heights,
Noise, • Educational visits,
Accident/ incident reporting,
Anti-violence,
Building maintenance,
Cleaning and housekeeping,
Control of contractors,
Critical incident/ emergency planning,
DBS checks,
Site security and visitors,
Portable appliance testing,
Risk management.
IV. In addition there are vital areas such as road safety, science, design and technology and sport. In each of which there can be a higher degree of risk and in which the school’s policies will have regard to guidance issued by the Welsh Assembly or equivalent bodies.
Mr S. Richardson
Headteacher
Date: 9th December 2022
