SAN(G) 09 - Risk Assessment in Educational Establishments

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction 1

The legal basis for risk assessment 1

Other legislation requiring risk assessment 2

Responsibilities 2

How do we carry out risk assessments? 2

Model risk assessments 3

Are we expected to risk assess everything we do? 3

The five step process 4

Further information 6

References and useful links 6

Introduction

In the world of education, the concept of risk assessment is nothing new. The requirement for risk assessments to be undertaken came into force in January 1993, so risk assessments should already be well established in schools.

A risk assessment is simply a careful examination of what tasks or activities could cause harm to people, so that we can introduce the appropriate precautions to prevent such harm from occurring. Accidents and ill health can ruin lives and affect many aspects of the school business. Consequences of poor risk management are not only injuries and ill-health, but also can be damage to property, absence costs, legal claims and a negative slant on a school’s reputation through adverse publicity.

The legal basis for risk assessment

The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 requires employers to ensure the health, safety and welfare of all employees whilst at work. This includes ensuring that, as far as is reasonably practicable, they are not exposed to risks to their health or safety.

In addition, a specific regulation requiring employers to undertake risk assessments was made explicit in Regulation 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992 (amended 1999). This regulation requires that:

“Every employer shall make a suitable and sufficient assessment of:

- the risk to the health and safety of his employees to which they are exposed whilst they are at work; and

- the risks to the health and safety of persons not in his employment arising out of or in connection with the conduct by him of his undertaking.” This would therefore include pupils, parents, visitors, contractors etc.

The Management Regulations therefore require a general risk assessment of all ‘significant’ risks in the workplace.

Other legislation requiring risk assessment

The following pieces of legislation also require risk assessment of specific hazards:

- Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2012

- The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005

- Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 1999 (this includes a requirement to ensure suitable assessment of the risks from Legionella)

- Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992

- Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992

- Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005

- Personal Protective Equipment Regulations 1992

- Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998

Various guidance documents recommend following a risk assessment approach, for example:

- LA guidance on physical intervention outlines a risk assessment approach for dealing with pupils requiring such intervention;

- Current guidance on managing stress at work requires each establishment to ensure measures are in place to prepare an organisational level risk assessment and individual assessment where issues are highlighted;

- Individual health care plans for pupils with special medical needs contain risk control measures for reducing the risk of ill-health to those affected;

- National bodies also recommend a risk assessment approach and provide guidance and support, e.g. CLEAPSS, Association for Physical Education (AfPE), the Outdoor Education Advisers Panel (OEAP), and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

Responsibilities

Where the Local Authority is the employer, i.e. in community and voluntary controlled schools, the responsibility for ensuring that a system is in place for carrying out risk assessments is delegated to the Governing Body and Headteacher of the premises under their control. These responsibilities are included within the model School Health and Safety Policy. Delegating this responsibility does not absolve the Local Authority of its overall duty to ensure that suitable systems are in place, and the LA will monitor compliance by ensuring that risk assessment procedures are checked as part of a rolling programme of Health and Safety Management Audits in maintained schools (every 3 years).

How do we carry out risk assessments?

The best approach to developing a “suitable and sufficient” risk assessment is to involve the right people. The process should be led by someone who is familiar with the risk assessment process and should include any individuals who have a good understanding of the work, activities and processes involved. In schools this will normally mean that Health and Safety Coordinators, teaching and ancillary staff and heads of department will be best placed to carry out the assessments.

It is important that assessors seek the opinion and views of others who may be affected and, as such, the assessment is likely to involve a discussion with staff in order that all aspects of the work are fully explored and to ensure that any control measures introduced are appropriate, realistic, achievable and above all workable.

In certain more complex areas, it might be useful or necessary to seek advice from other experts, e.g. Health and Safety Advisors, health professionals, Children’s Services officers or professional organisations such as CLEAPSS.

Risk assessment works best when a simple step by step approach is taken. The HSE recommends a five step process which is described later in this document. This process uses simple terminology but it is important that assessors understand the main phrases used:

Hazard: Hazards fall into several categories and can be:

Physical - e.g. manual handling, working at height;

Psychological - e.g. work-related stress;

Chemical - e.g. substances hazardous to health:

Biological - e.g. needle stick injuries, Legionella.

The thing they all have in common is that in some way they can cause harm.

Risk: The risk is the chance or likelihood of someone being harmed, e.g. high or low.

Control measures: Control measures are what you can do to prevent someone being harmed, e.g. eliminating the need for someone to work at height, replacing a substance with a safer alternative, maintaining equipment, or providing safety training to allow someone to work in a safer way.

Model risk assessments

There is no one particular way to carry out risk assessments. Schools vary in size, configuration, number of employees and pupils, activities etc. In order to support schools, the Local Authority provides model risk assessments which can be accessed via the schools’ portal (see references and useful links). Assessors can use these models as a baseline when developing their own. The models, whilst comprehensive, are not provided as ‘one size fits all’ solutions. They will need tailoring, amendment and additions in order to ensure they reflect and meet the needs of the individual establishment.

Are we expected to risk assess everything we do?

The HSE expects employers to do whatever is ‘reasonably practicable’ to reduce risks in their organisations. Where there is relevant recognised good practice, they expect employers to follow it. For example, for Science and Design Technology activities, the LA provides schools with access to an online resource (CLEAPPS) which offers model risk assessments and guidance, and therefore the HSE would expect this to be used where applicable.

Over time, many schools have prepared written risk assessments for very low risk activities, e.g. use of the photocopier. The real risks from using such equipment are very low and staff would probably just need to be made aware of the user guides and safety information provided by the manufacturer. It is the tasks associated with it which might be more likely to cause harm, such as the manual handling of boxes of paper. Where such activities are identified, it makes more sense to include control measures in a general manual handling risk assessment rather than to prepare a separate one for using the photocopier.

When following the five step process below, you are not expected to document the trivial, but you need to control those hazards and risk areas that you identify as being a potential problem. Where you are in doubt, always seek the advice from the Health and Safety Team or relevant recognised bodies.

The five step process

The HSE recommends five basic steps that should be followed when preparing a risk assessment. All schools should have risk assessments in place already so most hazards will have already been identified, but following the five steps is also helpful when undertaking a review. The five steps are:

1.  Look for the hazards

·  Consider the tasks and activities that are being carried out, and look at what could reasonably be expected to cause harm;

·  Ask other staff or their representatives what they think. They may have noticed issues that are not immediately obvious to you;

·  Speak with Health and Safety Team Advisers. Visit the HSE website at: www.hse.gov.uk);

·  Base risk assessments on the models provided by the Local Authority as appropriate;

·  Check manufacturers’ instructions or data sheets for chemicals and equipment, as they can be very helpful in spelling out the hazards and precautions required;

·  Have a look at your accident and ill-health records – these often help to identify the less obvious hazards;

·  Remember to think about long-term hazards to health (e.g. exposure to asbestos-containing materials or harmful substances) as well as more physical safety hazards.

2.  Decide who might be harmed, how, and to what extent

·  For each hazard you need to be clear about who might be harmed - this will help you

identify the best way of managing the risk. That does not mean listing everyone by

name, but rather identifying groups of people (e.g. members of the public, teaching staff, cleaners, etc.);

·  In each case, identify how they might be harmed, i.e. what type of injury or ill-health

might occur. For example, some staff might suffer physical injury from poor manual handling practices;

·  Remember, some workers have particular requirements, e.g. new and young workers, new or expectant mothers, and people with disabilities might be at particular risk;

·  Remember to include cleaners, visitors, contractors, maintenance workers etc., who might not be in the workplace all the time;

·  Always consider members of the public if they could be hurt by your activities;

·  If you share your workplace with another organisation or let out your premises to groups, you will need to think about how your work and procedures might affect them, as well as how their work might affect your staff – talk to them, share relevant information with them, e.g. information on safety requirements and emergency procedures.

3.  Evaluate the risks, and decide whether the existing precautions are adequate or whether more should be done

§  Having spotted the hazards, you then have to decide how serious the risks are and what to do about them. The law requires you to do everything ‘reasonably practicable’ to protect people from harm;

§  You should always tackle the most serious risks (high) as a priority. The Local Authority recommends following a 5x5 matrix for evaluating the level of risk, as below:

§  Compare what you are doing with good practice. Think about what controls you have in place and how your work is organised. Is there more you should be doing to bring yourself up to standard? In asking yourself this, consider if you can get rid of the hazard altogether, and if not, how the risks can be controlled so that harm is unlikely.

§  When controlling risks, apply the principles below, if possible in the following order:

- try a less risky option (e.g. switch to using a less hazardous chemical);

- prevent access to the hazard (e.g. by guarding, prohibiting access to danger areas);

- put measures in place to reduce exposure to the hazard (e.g. place barriers between pedestrians and traffic);

- issue personal protective equipment (e.g. clothing, footwear, goggles etc.);

- provide welfare facilities (e.g. first aid and washing facilities for removal of contamination).

Improving health and safety need not cost a lot. Failure to take simple precautions can cost you a lot more if an accident does happen. Involve staff, so you can be sure that what you propose to do will work in practice and won’t introduce any new hazards.

4.  Record your findings and implement them

·  Putting the results of your risk assessment into practice will make a difference. Write down the results of your assessment, and share them with your staff. The law states that if you have fewer than five employees you do not have to write anything down, but in schools this is a rare situation and, as your activities can affect significantly more people than your own staff, the LA always advises that risk assessments are recorded in writing. When writing down your findings, keep it simple, for example ‘tripping over rubbish: bins provided, staff verbally instructed, weekly housekeeping checks’, or ‘equipment maintenance regime in place’ are all suitable phrases.

The HSE and LA do not expect a risk assessment to be perfect, but it must be suitable and sufficient. You need to be able to show that proper checks were made; that you considered who might be affected; you dealt with all the significant hazards taking into account the likelihood, severity and number of people who could be involved; precautions are reasonable; and the remaining risk is low or considered acceptable. We also want to see that you involved your staff or their representatives in the process.