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Wellington Region Free Kindergarten Association (WRFKA) Occupational Safety and Health Policy and Procedures
Staff, Committee, users of the Kindergarten, visitors and contractors need to be familiar with the WRFKA Occupational Safety and Health Policy and Procedures. This document outlines the responsibilities of everyone within the kindergarten environment and the procedures included in the WRFKA Health and Safety Management System
A copy of the policy and procedures follows.
General Manager
Health and Safety in Employment Act (1992)
The objective of the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 is to promote the prevention of harm to all people at work, and others in, or in the vicinity of, places of work.
Under the Act employers are required to take all practical steps to:
- Provide and maintain a safe working environment
- Provide safe and healthy facilities
- Ensure any equipment used is arranged, designed, made and maintained so that it is safe.
- Ensure employees are not exposed to hazards in the workplace and in work processes.
- Have procedures in place to deal with emergencies.
- Involve employees in health and safety management.
Staff are required to:
- Ensure their own safety at their place of work, and that of the people around them.
- Ensure their work stations/offices are safety compliant.
- Staff have an obligation towards contractors, self-employed people and anyone else using the kindergarten to ensure their safety while they are on the kindergarten premises.
Policy and Procedure Guide
Subject: /Occupational Safety and Health
/ Date Effective:Review Date: / August 2011
Before 31 December 2012
Responsible to: / General Manager
Applies to: /
All teachers, staff and users of Wellington Region Free Kindergarten Association
Purpose: / To institute procedures to ensure the occupational safety and health of all employees and users of Wellington Region Free Kindergarten AssociationDefinitions:
References:
/
- Health and Safety in Employment Act (1992)
- Accident Compensation Safety Management Practices
1.Under current legislation WRFKA has clearly defined responsibilities for occupational safety and health.
2.WRFKA is committed to improving health and safety practices within the Association and to implementing the Health and Safety Management System described in this policy in accordance with NZS 4801 (Int): 1999 – Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems.
3.WRFKA is committed to complying with all health and safety legislation, relevant regulations, codes of practice and safe operating procedures that impact upon the Association’s operation.
4.Through the provision and continued adherence to the policies and procedures detailed, WRFKA seeks to promote safe and healthy work place procedures and environments for all Association staff.
Specifically WRFKA is committed to:
1.Ensuring all staff are provided with a healthy and safe work environment.
2.Ensuring all staff are consulted with and appropriately trained to a competent level to carry out the tasks required of them.
3.Ensuring that there is ongoing, regular consultation with staff representatives on issues relating to health and safety management.
4.Requiring from staff a commitment to personal safety and health practices at all times.
5.Ensuring that all contractors employed by WRFKA on their sites have adequate health and safety systems, are aware of the hazards their staff will encounter and adequately advise and control any hazards associated with their activities.
6.Ensuring that visitors to any work place are made aware of their own and WRFKA’s health and safety obligations including identified hazards.
7.Facilitating rehabilitation of staff through:
- Supporting the safe and early return to meaningful work;
- Ensuring and supporting early intervention, assessment and treatment programmes for work related injuries;
- Communicating effectively with case managers and treatment providers for those staff in rehabilitation;
- Providing management with relevant information on how to support safe and early return to work.
8.Following best practice in the management of safety, health and rehabilitation in the workplace, to the effect that:
- All staff and contractors will be assigned health and safety responsibilities and be held accountable for these actions.
- Health and safety objectives will be evaluated and reviewed annually.
- WRFKA is committed to providing resources to ensure health and safety best practices and continual improvement within the Association.
- All managers will be required to show competence in health and safety management through adherence to the WRFKA Health and Safety Management System and to be trained in health and safety best practice.
- Accurate reporting and recording will occur.
- The Health and Safety Management System will be reviewed regularly
All relevant procedures relating to Health and Safety within Wellington Region Free Kindergarten Association will be included on the GOSH Home page Documents section which is available to all kindergartens.
PROCEDURES
Responsibilities
Responsibilities of Management:
1.Has overall responsibility for maintaining health and safety standards in the workplace.
2.Observe, comply with and enforce relevant legislation, codes of practice and regulations that apply to working conditions in the kindergarten environment and office environment.
3.Undertake to provide a safe and healthy working environment for all staff.
4.Ensure effective procedures exist for hazard identification and management in Kindergarten environments
5.Ensure that accidents and incidents are openly and accurately reported and recorded.
6.Ensure that Occupational Safety and Health reporting is responded to in a timely and appropriate manner.
7.Ensure that relevant education, training and information on occupational safety and health is provided.
8.Ensure staff professional development records are maintained regarding competency to achieve their assigned health and safety tasks.
9.Convene and facilitate the Health and Safety Committee
10.Ensure that health and safety objectives and management systems are audited and reviewed annually
11.Annually prioritise and budget for the reduction of hazards in the environment.
12.Ensure that all employees’ performance standards include their role in health and safety management as part of their performance requirements
13.Attend training and education in health and safety
Responsibilities of Facilities Manager:
1.Manage the Hazard Management System in Kindergarten environments
2.Ensure that all contractors employed by WRFKA on their sites have adequate health and safety systems, are aware of the hazards their staff will encounter and adequately advise and control any hazards associated with their activities.
3.Manage the Accident Management System
4.Manage the Emergency Management System
5.Ensure that accidents, incidents and injuries are openly and accurately recorded
6.Attend Health and Safety Committee meetings
7.Attend training and education in health and safety
Responsibilities of Senior Teachers:
1.Provide ongoing advice, guidance and training on occupational safety and health matters to staff within their designated kindergartens
2.Report environmental hazards to the Association. The Association may deem the hazard to be a committee responsibility and will advise the committee accordingly.
3.Alert teachers to hazardous practices and monitor as appropriate.
4.Ensure that accidents, incidents and injuries are openly and accurately reported and recorded
5.Attend training and education in health and safety
Responsibilities of Head Teachers:
1.Undertakeday to day management and monitoring of the occupational safety and health of the kindergarten environment.
2.Provide ongoing guidance and training on occupational safety and health matters to staff
3.Report environmental hazards to the Association. The Association may deem the hazard to be a committee responsibility and will advise the committee accordingly.
4.Adhere to procedures outlined in the Association’s Health and Safety Management System.
5.Investigate accidents and incidents within their kindergarten
6.Ensure that accidents and incidents are openly and accurately reported and recorded
7.Attend education and training in health and safety
8.Ensure that teachers, children and visitors including contractors to the kindergarten follow safe work practices.
Responsibilities of Staff (Teaching & Support) , Contractors and Users of WRFKA Kindergartens & Office:
1.Observe and practice safe work habits.
2.Maintain his or hers own safety and the safety of others in the workplace
3.Be accountable for health and safety performance within their work area over which they have control
4.Ensure that personal health does not present an environmental hazard.
5.Cooperate fully with any rehabilitation plan when they are injured or become ill, to ensure a safe, prompt return to work
6.Use protective safety equipment as necessary.
7.Adhere to procedures outlined in the Association’s Health and Safety Management System.
8.Ensure that accidents and incidents are openly and accurately reported and recorded
9.Immediately report any notifiable disease.
10.Attend education and training in health and safety
Rehabilitation of Injured Staff
Effective rehabilitation reduces the length of time an injured person is off work. Rehabilitation will also bring other advantages:
1.Ensuring workers skills are not completely lost from the workplace;
2.Reducing lost work days;
3.Allowing better work planning, as employers have detailed knowledge of when their employees are likely to return to work.
WRFKA is committed to facilitating rehabilitation of staff through:
1.Supporting the safe and early return to meaningful work;
2.Ensuring and supporting early intervention, assessment and treatment programmes for work related injuries;
3.Communicating effectively with case managers and treatment providers for those staff in rehabilitation;
4.Providing management with relevant information on how to support safe and early return to work.
Successful rehabilitation and implementing a successful return to work for employees after an injury requires cooperation and team work.
Key principles of the rehabilitation policy at WRFKA are:
1.Employees will be reinstated to their pre-injury positions where this is the best option and the staff member is capable of performing essential duties of that position. If the employee is considered unable to assume their pre injury position on a permanent basis, someone else maybe appointed to fill the position. Efforts will then be made to locate a new position for the employee.
2.WRFKA will work with the employee and the ACC Case Manager to develop a case management plan aimed at ensuring the earliest appropriate return to work.
3.WRFKA will arrange employment appropriate to the capability of the employee, monitor their placement and maintain regular contact with the employee and ACC Case Manager as required.
4.As part of a WRFKA’s commitment to a successful return to work the association will:
- Provide the employee’s General Practitioner with relevant information about the duties of the position and what, if any alternatives are available;
- Appoint a staff member who will be responsible for communicating with management, the employee, their General Practitioner and the ACC Case Manager.
Health and Safety Committee
The purpose of the Health and Safety Committee is to improve health and safety in the workplace by promoting cooperation between the employer, employees and the union or unions representing the employees, and by ensuring all workers are provided with reasonable opportunity to be actively involved in the ongoing management of health and safety.
The Health and Safety Committee shall meet 4x yearly and more often if required. It shall investigate, monitor, review and develop recommendations to management and employees on the following matters,
- The WRFKA Health and Safety Policy
- The Health and Safety Management System
- Accident Management System
- Hazard Management System
- Health and Safety Objectives
- Suggestions and complaints from employees and management
- Proposals from management on issues that may impact on health and safety
- The selection, provision, proper use and maintenance of protective clothing and equipment
- Health and safety training programmes
- Rehabilitation and return to work procedures
All employees will be notified of upcoming committee meetings and given a reasonable opportunity to provide input. All employees have an opportunity to assess the outcomes of the committee meetings and this is achieved by circulation of the committee minutes to staff representatives on the committee which are available to staff on request and publication of the minutes on the WRFKA website.
Annually kindergarten staff are asked to be an employee representative, they are chosen from their staff cluster groups and also represent the different kindergartens in the association. In addition there is a representative from the Association Office staff and members of the Association Senior Management Team including the General Manager and Facilities Manager
Responsibilities of Employee Representatives
1.To foster and promote positive health and safety management practices in the place of work.
2.To attend Health and Safety Committee meetings.
3.To identify and bring to the employer’s attention hazards in the place of work and discuss with the employer ways that the hazards may be dealt with.
4.To consult with inspectors on health and safety issues.
5.To promote the interests of employees in a health and safety context generally and in particular those employees who have been harmed at work, including in relation to arrangements for rehabilitation and return to work
6.Any other functions conferred under the Act or approved code of practice.
7.Health and Safety Representatives must be advised of any inspection, visit or audit undertaken in relation to health and safety, and must be given an opportunity to meet with the person undertaking the inspection, visit or audit.
8.To undertake health and safety training
Health and Safety Objectives
The Health and Safety Committee will annually set health and safety objectives to be achieved over a 12 month period. The objectives will be aimed at improvements in health and safety performance and will include a plan to achieve these objectives. The plan will include:
- Who is responsible for achieving the objective
- Any resources required
- Time frame for completion
- Measurable performance indicators
The objectives will be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time bound. They will be established utilising information received from the Kindergarten Term Safety and Maintenance Checklist review, review of Accident and Incident reports, changes to legislation, regulations or codes of practice and feedback from staff through the Senior Teacher network and employee representatives on the Health and Safety Committee.
A copy of the current years Health and safety Objectives can be obtained directly from a Health and Safety Committee member or from the WRFKA website.
Health and Safety Education
Annually the Association shall ensure occupational safety and health training is provided to Management, Senior Teachers and Employee Representatives.
Occupational safety and health training shall be provided as part of an induction programme to all staff employed by the Wellington Region Free Kindergarten Association.
New Employee Induction is accessed through the Wellington Kindergartens on line Health and Safety system GOSH.
Occupational safety and health training shall be provided to all staff employed by the Wellington Region Free Kindergarten Association who move from one kindergarten to another.
New Employee Induction questionnaire is accessed through the Wellington Kindergartens on line Health and Safety system GOSH.
Refresher/Transfer Induction questionnaire is accessed through the Wellington Kindergartens on line Health and Safety system GOSH.
The Association will ensure that staff are trained when new work processes, machinery, technology, materials and substances are introduced that will impact on health and safety within their work area.
The Office Manager shall ensure that all Administration staff shallreceive regular training on occupational safety and health matters.
Senior Teachers will provide training on occupational safety and health including environmental checks and safe work practices for teaching staff as part of their annual staff meeting programme.
Training and information for all staff on the prevention of personal injury and wellness will be provided through the Wellington Kindergartens Wellness pack which is available on the Wellington Kindergartens on line Health and Safety system GOSH in the documents section
All training and education on health and safety will be provided by WRFKA staff who have received appropriate training and are designated by management as competent training deliverers.
When training is sought by outside providers, the training provider will supply WRFKA with a relevant CV or appropriate documentation to prove training capacity.
WRFKA will maintain a database of preferred trainers which will be available to all staff.
WRFKA will maintain a “bring up” system within their data base. This system will ensure the identification of staff who need to maintain qualifications, certificates or specific training relating to health and safety. Responsibility for maintaining this database will be held by the Human Resource Manager.
A training evaluation will be carried out at the completion of each training session to demonstrate that health and safety information has been understood. An evaluation form, which is available on the Wellington Kindergartens on line Health and Safety system GOSH in the documents section
will be modified for each training and will be utilised by management to be included in the annual Professional Development Programme and to the Health and Safety Committee to identify future training needs and ensure that current training provided is meeting requirements.
Monitoring , Evaluation and Reviews
Health and Safety Management System
The Health and Safety Committee will ensure that the Health and Safety Management System is reviewed and evaluated on a regular basis. The review and evaluation has three key objectives that are to: