How we identify hazards and manage risk to keep children, staff and visitors safe.
This policy is designed to assist the school in fulfilling its legal duties in assessing risks. Risk management involves identifying potential hazards in the workplace and implementing sensible health and safety measures to control them. In accordance with the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 2000, the school is required to undertake regular risk assessments and take necessary actions as outlined in the Health and Safety policy.
The purpose of a risk assessment is to identify hazards and evaluate associated risks, covering areas such as:
The management team is responsible for ensuring that risk assessments are completed, logged, effectively monitored, and communicated to the principal. Reviews are conducted when there are changes to equipment or resources, alterations to the school's premises, or when the particular needs of a child or visitor necessitate it.
All staff members are responsible for carrying out risk assessments according to their roles and responsibilities. The Headmaster is responsible for conducting necessary reviews or changes to the school's policies or procedures in light of any potential risks identified by staff.
A visual inspection of both equipment and the entire premises — indoor and outdoor — will be carried out daily by a designated staff member (caretaker) before any children arrive.
During the school day, staff must remain vigilant and continuously aware of any potential risks to health and safety arising from:
Upon discovering a hazard, staff should take immediate steps to ensure the safety of themselves and others. They must then notify the management team and record the incident in the Incident Record Book. The management team is responsible for ensuring necessary actions are taken.
A risk assessment can be undertaken on an object, substance, process, location, activity, or person. The process includes:
A hazard is anything that can cause harm, such as electricity, chemicals, and so on.
Risk is the chance, high or low, that somebody could be harmed by these hazards, along with an indication of how serious the harm could be.
After identifying the hazards, you must decide what to do about them. The law requires you to do everything "reasonably practicable" to protect people from harm. Compare what you are currently doing with good practice, to see if there are additional measures you should implement. Consider the following principles when controlling risks:
The Health and Safety Executive defines a risk assessment as "a careful examination of what in your work could cause harm to people, so that you can weigh up whether or not you have taken enough precautions or should do more to prevent harm."
All staff are responsible for:
