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Nov 2015

This Newsletter contains updates on Health and Safety issues relevant to schools which are also discussed at HCC’s Education Health & Safety committee.

1. Grid Updates Key Points in this issue 1.1 Fire Risk Assessment Revision of the template fire risk assessment document, this can be 1. Grid Updates utilised by schools to identify significant fire risks and decide upon 1.1 Fire risk assessment appropriate controls. 1.2 Asbestos permission to http://www.thegrid.org.uk/info/healthandsafety/documents/risk/scho work ol_fire_risk_assessment_august_%202015.doc 1.3 Managing contractors 1.2 Asbestos Permission to Work 2. New publications/ Updated version of the permission to work form including requirement for legislation both those authorising and undertaking work to print and sign their name. 2.1 Self employed duties under H&S law One of the identified issues from auditing / conducting investigations is 2.2 CDM Regulations that it was often difficult to interpret the signature and thus identify the 2.3 Manual handling L23 individuals concerned hence the requirement to also print their name has consultation been added. http://www.thegrid.org.uk/info/healthandsafety/documents/asbestos_permi 3. Safety in Short ssion_to_work_15.doc 3.1 Asbestos communication 3.2 Primary science and 1.3 Managing Contractor health and safety safety Updated guidance to reflect the new Construction Design and 3.3 Driver licence checks Management (CDM) legislation which came into force on April 6th http://www.thegrid.org.uk/info/healthandsafety/documents_manual/contrac 4. In the courts 4.1 School swimming tors_2015_v3.doc 4.2 Child loses finger in gate 4.3 Pupil severs finger on 2. New publications / legislation lathe 2.1 The self-employed and duties under H&S law 4.4 Fall through fragile roof You may have heard that as from October 1st there have been changes to 4.5 Swing barriers how H&S law affects the self-employed and those whose work activities pose no potential risk of harm to others will now be exempt from H&S law.

In reality this will have little direct impact on schools, where self-employed contractors, sports coaches, swimming teachers etc. are utilised by schools their work activity will continue to pose a potential risk to the health and safety of your staff, pupils or members of the public and thus Ask the Editor… health and safety law would still apply. If you have any suggestions for http://www.hse.gov.uk/self-employed/ improvement or information you wish to include in any future 2.2 CDM (Construction, Design Management) Regulations editions please contact: The transitional arrangements for CDM which applied to construction healthandsafety@hertfordshire. projects that started before the Regulations came into force in April 2015 gov.uk. ended on 6th October.

A reminder of client duties: All construction projects (this is a wide definition and includes demolition, repair and maintenance and refurbishment work) must have:  Workers with the right skills, knowledge, training and experience  Appropriate supervision, information and instruction

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 A written construction phase plan (the HSE provide a simple example of a construction phase plan here. http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/cis80.pdf

Projects with more than 1 contractor on site at any one time must also have a principal designer and principal contractor appointed by the school / client in writing and a health & safety file.

Where the work is scheduled to last > 30 working days and have more than 20 workers working simultaneously on site or exceeds 500 person days the project will also be notifiable to the HSE.

See also INDG411 – Need building work done? A short guide for clients on CDM 2015 (rev)

2.3 Consultation on L23 Manual handling guidance The HSE are currently undertaking an informal consultation on this guidance with the aim of simplifying text and providing more detailed guidance on conducting risk assessment and controlling risks. HCC’s guidance will be reviewed once this consultation has been finalised.

Whilst the majority of ‘routine’ manual handling risks could be covered with a general assessment. It’s worth remembering that the HSE’s model for risk assessment already includes this diagram as a ‘risk filter’ to help in identifying tasks where a more detailed assessment may be required. If the objects weight or range of movement is outside the boxes in this diagram then that can be an indicator that a task specific assessment is needed.

3. Safety in short 3.1 Asbestos remaining in schools The continued use of permission to work forms provides a record that those contractors and school staff undertaking work on the fabric of the building have had the location of known asbestos containing materials (ACMs) and survey limitations explained to them.

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It should also be ensured that the location of ACMs remaining in-situ is communicated to staff, in-particular where these are present in their work areas classroom, teachers store cupboard etc.

This proactive communication should also extend to other regular building users, for example Hertfordshire Catering staff if ACMs happen to be present in the school kitchen.

3.2 Primary science and safety Following some recent queries over whether primary schools can study / dissect animal hearts etc. (the answer is yes by the way) then it’s worth ensuring that your subject co-ordinator(s) for science and DT refer to the ASE’s ‘Be Safe!’ 4th edition and/or any relevant CLEAPSS documents, in order to ensure that a clear link is made between these and their scheme of work / lesson plan for activities where they may be an identified risk.

Be Safe is available to purchase via www.ase.org.uk/resources/health- and-safety-resources/health-and-safety-primary-science/ This provides basic ‘common sense’ guidance on health and safety in primary science and DT. For example on using animal materials it states:

 Material from butchers / supermarkets is safe to handle and cut up. (it will have been inspected and passed fit for human consumption)  Be aware that some children may dislike handling / have cultural or ethical reasons for not wanting to take part in the activity. (Using materials from lambs avoids any religious problems issues with using pigs or calves)  When studying organs cover the table with paper or a bin liner and dispose of it with the remains in sealed opaque bags via kitchen waste.  After activity wash surfaces with hot soapy water.  Wash hands after handling.

In addition CLEAPSS have a range of documents GL132 –GL135 Looking at (dissecting) various animal organs in primary schools. http://www.cleapss.org.uk

3.3 Driver licence checks Where staff are driving work vehicles i.e. minibuses etc. then there must be effective arrangements in place to ensure they have the right licence and qualifications, this includes an annual check of their licence to identify any penalties which might affect insurance cover.

Since 8th June 2015 the paper counterpart to the photocard licence has not been valid or updated by the DVLA. So to check for entitlement to drive and endorsements the DVLA have introduced an online method for this. ‘Check driving Licence’ has been added to GOV.UK to allow you to check the licence using a code provided by the driver. Individual drivers should visit https://www.gov.uk/view-driving-licence

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submit their driving licence number, National Insurance number and postcode on their driving licence. They will then be issued a unique code , valid for 21days which can be passed on to the school enabling you to view driving licence details e.g. the vehicle categories they are entitled to drive and any endorsement or penalty points.

4. In the Courts 4.1 School swimming http://press.hse.gov.uk/2015/councils-sentenced-over-safety- breaches-in-stonehaven-pool-incident/ During an offsite visit to a council run open air swimming pool an 11-year- old primary school pupil became submerged under water and was recovered unconscious from the bottom of the pool by a member of the public. He was not breathing and had no palpable pulse, CPR was successfully administered by lifeguards and the pupil has since made a full recovery.

The subsequent Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found issues with staffing levels and lifeguard positioning at the pool, and the effective management of educational excursions at the school.

Whilst such incidents are rare it must be ensured that supervisory levels and competencies to deliver such sessions are in place.

Primary schools in-particular may find this checklist helpful to ensure issues such as teaching and lifesaving qualifications, ratio of pupils to swimming teachers etc. are considered and recorded. http://www.thegrid.org.uk/info/healthandsafety/documents/risk/secondary_ school_pools.doc

4.2 Child loses fingertips in park gate http://press.hse.gov.uk/2015/child-loses-fingertips-in-park-gate/ Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council was fined for safety failings after a 2 year old child had two fingertips severed when they were trapped in a gate at a playpark designed for children under 11 years old.

It’s believed that the child was by the gate when one of the other children opened it, causing the hinges to close, and creating a guillotine effect which severed his fingertips.

The risk assessment in place at the time of the incident had only assessed the locking side of the gate and not the hinge side. There had been a stopper mechanism fitted to the gate but that had been removed and not replaced, some 12 to 18 months prior to the accident, and despite several inspections of the play park by various different members of Rochdale Council staff, nobody noticed that the stopper had been removed.

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Gates which are able to be opened by pupils /visitors during the day, in- particular those utilised by young children should be checked to assess if the gap between the gate and the hinge post reduces and creates a risk of finger trapping as a result (gaps closing to less than 25mm are likely to present such a risk).

4.3 Pupil severs finger on a lathe http://press.hse.gov.uk/2015/county-council-in-court-after-schoolboy- severs-finger-in-class/

North Yorkshire County Council has been prosecuted after a 14-year-old boy needed a finger amputated after it got tangled in a lathe during a DT lesson.

The pupil was using a polishing cloth by hand on a work piece as it rotated on a manual metal lathe, his right hand became entangled severing part of his index finger. There were six other mini lathes in use by pupils in the same class.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigated and brought the prosecution after finding the Council had failed to identify that the practice of hand-polishing on metal lathes was unsafe despite it being used for years at the 1,700-pupil school.

The risk of amputation from using hand-held polishing cloths on metal working lathes is well known and HSE has had a guidance note on this since 1993. Alternative machines or tools can easily be used to carry out polishing of work pieces, significantly reducing the risks of entanglement, a system now in place at the school involved. The guidance note from HSE can be accessed on HSE’s website http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/eis2.pdf

CLEAPSS model risk assessments for lathes in Secondary DT clearly identify potential risks of entanglement from long hair, jewellery or loose clothing with rotating parts.

4.4 Fall though fragile roof light on school site http://press.hse.gov.uk/2015/roofing-contractor-and-director-fined- over-brick-layer-death/

A framework contractor for North Yorkshire County Council and one of its Directors have been prosecuted after a worker fell to his death though a roof-light in a flat school roof.

The construction phase plan stated that before work was carried out, the plastic domes of all roof-lights needed to be removed and the apertures boarded over to prevent falls, however it was subsequently found that the domes could not be easily removed and it was decided that works could progress without any covering of the roof-lights.

The risks of falling through fragile materials are well known, this case Page 5 of 6 Nov 2015

highlights the need to ensure adequate controls are put in place for all roofing works / maintenance and also to ensure unauthorised access has been prevented as far as reasonably possible.

Information on working safely on fragile roofs can be found here: http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/geis5.pdf

4.5 Man killed by swing barrier http://press.hse.gov.uk/2015/council-fined-after-man-killed-by-swing- barrier/

North Lincolnshire Council has been fined after a man died when his car drove into a horizontal swing barrier gate to a car park at a sports ground. The horizontal barrier had been opened earlier and was not secured enabling it to swing into a dangerous position where the end profile was not clearly visible to an oncoming driver.

As the car drove towards the gate, the horizontal end section of the barrier went through the windscreen striking the driver on the head, causing fatal injuries.

If you have any such horizontal swing barriers on site ensure these are always secured (fixed to posts preferably with a padlock) so that it cannot swing into the path of oncoming vehicles. http://www.hse.gov.uk/workplacetransport/barriers.htm