HEALTH AND SAFETY ADVISERS’ BULLETIN NO. 87
MAY 2010
ACOUSTICS IN SCHOOL BUILDINGS
The government has announced new measures designed to improve the acoustics in schools buildings. All projects completed under BSF now have a contractual requirement to meet appropriate acoustic standards, in order to ensure that all children, particularly those with hearing difficulties, have access to a learning environment which enables them to reach their full potential.
An evaluation of BSF carried out in 2008 found that just under 50 per cent of pupils said noise levels in their classrooms make it harder for them to learn, and one fifth of head teachers interviewed said their school’s capacity to provide education was affected by the inadequacy or inappropriateness of the acoustics.
The new measures mean that no funding will be given to BSF projects that do not undertake the correct testing to certify that acoustic standards have been met. In local authorities where schools have already been constructed with BSF funding, a certificate of compliance with acoustic standards for the most recently funded school, or a plan demonstrating how that will be achieved, will be required before further funding is released.
During 2010, the DCFS will issue an updated version of the guidance document Building Bulletin 93 (BB93): Acoustic design of Schools, which applies to all new school buildings built since 2003. The Department of Communities and Local Government is also conducting an evaluation of Part E of the Building Regulations, to which BB93 relates, as part of a full review of Part E that could lead to revised regulations and guidance in 2013, at which stage mandatory acoustic testing in all new schools may be introduced.
ROAD ZONES
Local councils are being encouraged to introduce 20mph speed limits on residential streets and other roads where cycle and pedestrian traffic is high, such as around schools.
Previously, 20mph schemes had to be implemented in ‘zones’ accompanied by traffic calming measures such as speed humps. However, a successful trial in Portsmouth has suggested it is possible to significantly reduce speeds on residential streets without traffic calming measures, and the Department for Transport (DfT) now plans to allow 20mph limits to be used more widely without the need to introduce speed humps or chicanes.
According to the Transport Minister, Paul Clark, “the number of people killed and seriously injured on Britain’s roads has fallen by 40 per cent since the mid-1990s and Britain now has the joint safest roads in the world. But too many pedestrians and cyclists – including many children – are still being killed or hurt on the roads around their homes and schools ... Allowing councils to put in place 20mph speed limits on more streets without speed humps or chicanes will mean that they can introduce them at a lower cost and with less inconvenience to local residents.”
ARSON AND THE COST OF FIRE DAMAGE
Twenty schools a week suffer an arson attack, causing damage costing £65 million according to research published by the Association of British Insurers (ABI). Despite this only one per cent of all UK schools has sprinklers fitted.
In its analysis of fire trends, Tackling Fire: A call for Action, the ABI highlighted the fact that arson tends to increase during a recession and accounts for half of all commercial fires. Socially deprived areas and schools are especially vulnerable, with arson rates 30 times higher in poorer areas.
Amongst the recommendations in its report, the ABI is calling for a wide-ranging review of the case for making sprinklers and effective fire compartments mandatory in all new buildings; and a zero tolerance approach to arson through better co-ordination and liaison between government, the Fire and Rescue Service and other agencies. The arson detection rate is only 8 per cent compared to 24 per cent for other criminal offences.
NEW ANTI-BULLYING DUTY TO PROTECT SCHOOL STAFF
The DCSF is proposing to place a new duty on schools in England to report and record verbal and physical abuse by pupils against school staff, including cyberbullying. Many schools already have procedures in place for recording incidents of harassment, verbal and physical abuse against school staff, but the Government aims to standardise procedures and share best practice through the introduction of the new duty. A consultation on the new duty, to which the NUT responded, has now been completed and depending on whether it becomes law the Government intends to publish accompanying guidance in due course. The Union will be shortly be producing a model policy on cyberbullying.
LINK BETWEEN BIRTH DEFECTS AND MATERNAL OCCUPATION
An American study examining possible links between maternal occupation and the risk of birth defects in children has found that female janitors/cleaners and scientists appear to be most at risk of having babies with birth defects, while teachers run the lowest risk.
UNPAID OVERTIME
Teachers and lawyers are the most likely to do ‘extreme’ unpaid overtime with around one in five employees clocking up an extra 17 hours of free work a week.
According to a TUC analysis of the Office of National Statistics (ONS) Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2009 and the ONS Labour Force Survey Summer 2009, one in four public sector workers worked unpaid overtime in 2009, worth nearly £9 billion a year.
The TUC says that the growth of ‘extreme’ unpaid overtime over the last year comes as the number of ‘underemployed’ people also increases. Official figures show that 2.8 million people say they want more hours in their existing job or full-time work instead of the current part-time job.
As part of its ongoing campaigning on workload, the NUT is currently developing a model for a collectively bargained National Contract for Teachers. Members are to be consulted on this via a survey which asks them to prioritise the top 5 issues which would most help to reduce workload and improve the quality of their working life.
PREGNANCY RISK ASSESSMENTS
A recent appeal judgement has clarified when an employer should assess the risks for a pregnant worker. In O’Neill v Buckinghamshire County Council, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) confirmed that an employer is not required to carry out a risk assessment for a pregnant worker solely because she is pregnant.
The case concerned a teacher who claimed discrimination on the grounds of sex or pregnancy, and constructive unfair dismissal, after she resigned alleging risk assessment and disciplinary failures by the school she worked at.
This important judgement clarified recent case law and statutory law, by stating that:
· a pregnant worker is not automatically entitled to a risk assessment if there is no evidence that the work involves a risk to her health and safety or that of the child;
· the duty to carry out a risk assessment for a pregnant employee is triggered by “specified” factors;
· the alleged stress inherent in teaching did not in itself constitute a “working condition” that would trigger a risk assessment for a pregnant teacher;
· where a risk assessment is required for a pregnant worker, a failure to carry it out automatically gives rise to sex discrimination;
· an employer does not need to have held a meeting with an employee in order to have discharged its risk assessment information provisions; and
· an employer does not need to discriminate positively when an employee becomes pregnant, for example it does not need to drop (although it might postpone) any disciplinary processes because of pregnancy.
The NUT and TUC are of the view that, notwithstanding this judgement and to avoid any uncertainty, employers should automatically carry out a risk assessment for any pregnant employee.
TUC SAFETY REPRESENTATIVES SURVEY
The TUC is conducting its bi-annual survey of safety representatives. This gives an invaluable insight into the role of activists and the problems they are facing.
The survey form will be available on the TUC website and details will be sent as a separate Circular to NUT H&S Advisers shortly. The closing date for return of completed forms is 1 July 2010.
ASBESTOS UPDATE
The NUT’s work on asbestos in schools is continuing through a number of new channels, including membership of:
· the parliamentary Asbestos in Schools group set up by former Liberal Democrat MP Paul Rowen. The group, which includes teaching and support staff unions along with other interested parties and campaigners, had been meeting regularly but it is unclear at present who might take over from Paul Rowan now he has lost his seat;
· the Asbestos Project Board which was set up following a meeting of asbestos campaigners with Gordon Brown. The teaching and support staff unions each have one representative on this body and will take it in turns to attend meetings. The Board met for the first time in April 2010 to discuss its terms of reference and the Union is keen to ensure that it has a role that goes beyond simply monitoring the work of the DCSF;
· the Joint Union Asbestos Committee on which all the teacher unions, including NAHT and ASCL, are represented. This is currently looking at putting out a joint questionnaire for safety representatives to coincide with European Health and Safety Week in October.
In February, Asbestos Testing and Consultancy (ATAC) published the findings of its pilot assessment of asbestos management in 12 schools. Its key findings were that:
· more than half the schools contained damaged asbestos;
· not one school had an acceptable asbestos management plan;
· in two schools nobody knew who was in charge of asbestos management.
NUT CIRCULARS
The following Health and Safety circulars have been sent out since January 2010:
· Severe Winter Weather Conditions (10-001/EC&R)
· Health and Safety Advisers Bulletin No 86 (10-002 EC&R)
· Health & Safety Working Group Reconstitution ((10-004/EC&R,10-009/EC&R)
· HSE Workplace Temperatures Review Questionnaire (10-020/EC&R)
· Joint Brent Council/Trade Union Health & Safety Conference (10-030 EC&R)
· TUC Going Green at Work Conference (10-035-EC&R)
· Campaign Against Climate Change Trade Union Conference (10-036/EC&R)
· Workers’ Memorial Day (10-043/EC&R)
· Fit Notes (10-049/EC&R)
DIARY DATES
NUT Health and Safety Representatives’ Training
The date of this term’s Health and Safety Representatives’ training course is 5-9 July.
Hazards 2010
The 21st National Hazards Conference will take place on 9-11 July 2010 at Keele University. The theme of this year’s conference is ‘Supporting life-saving Safety Reps whatever the Government’. Registration forms and further information are available from www.hazardscampaign.org.uk. The deadline for applications is Friday 18 June.
IER Health and Safety Conference
The Institute of Employment Rights is holding a conference in Liverpool on 13 July 2010 entitled “Health and safety: a new agenda at work”. Its focus is the current crisis in the enforcement of workplace safety regulations. Places cost £90 for trade union members and can be booked online at www.ier.org.uk/events.
European Health and Safety Week
European Health and Safety Week is happening from 25-29 October in 2010, on the theme of Safe Maintenance.
Health and Safety Advisers Briefing
This year’s Health and Safety Advisers’ Briefing is being held from 24-26 November at Stoke Rochford Hall.