A Good Practice Checklist for Newly Qualified Teachers Health and Safety Issues

A GOOD PRACTICE CHECKLIST FOR NEWLY QUALIFIED TEACHERS HEALTH AND SAFETY ISSUES

Set out below is a list of questions frequently asked by teachers new to the profession, together with the answers.

Who is responsible for my health and safety?

Your employer. In local authority schools this will be the local authority and in voluntary aided schools, academies and foundation schools, this will be the governing body. Your head teacher has day-to-day responsibility for the health and safety of staff.

All schools must have a health and safety policy, detailing arrangements for health and safety on a wide variety of areas. Find out where it is kept in the school so you can refer to it if you need to.

Do I have to administer medicines?

No, there is no legal duty for teachers to administer medicine to pupils. If you are asked to do so, remember it is a voluntary activity for which training may be required. Contact your NUT school representative or Regional Office/NUT Cymru for more support, should you need it.

What are my responsibilities on school trips?

Remember that participation in most trips is voluntary. It would be unreasonable to expect you to lead school trips in your first year of service. Take the opportunity to accompany more experienced teachers and learn from their expertise. Make sure you are familiar with the school’s policy on school visits and that you know who is responsible for trips in the school. This person is known as the ‘educational visits co-ordinator’.

What happens if I have an accident at school?

Slips, trips and falls are the major single cause of injury in schools and colleges to teachers and pupils. If you do have an accident, make sure that the accident is reported in the school’s accident book. Report any causal factors, i.e. spillages or obstacles, to the school management and to your safety representative at school. Take further advice if you sustain any injury as a result of an accident at work.

D:\Docs\2018-01-09\03cecda2dde73203ba82e02c148ac87b.doc 2

My classroom is very cold – what can I do?

There are minimum temperatures which must be adhered to in schools. These are:

 18°C in classrooms;  15°C in gymnasia and washrooms: and  21°C in sickrooms.

If these temperatures are not being achieved on a regular basis, there is likely to be a problem with the heating system which needs to be addressed. Speak to your NUT safety representative or school representative as you are unlikely to be the only member of staff affected.

In cases of sudden failure of the heating system, the head teacher may consider closing the school.

Am I entitled to a lunch break?

It is important for health, safety and welfare reasons to take the opportunity to rest during the teaching day. Teachers are entitled to a break of ‘reasonable length’ at lunchtime and cannot be required to undertake midday supervision. The NUT recommends a break of at least one hour, during which teachers cannot be required to attend meetings, supervise pupils and they can leave the premises if they wish. If you volunteer to supervise pupils you’re entitled to a free school meal.

Teachers can be required to supervise children during morning/afternoon breaks. However, this should be organised on a rota basis so only a relatively small number of staff should be involved at each break time.

My head teacher has discovered that I toured Australia in a camper van over the summer holidays and has now asked me to drive the school minibus – do I have to?

No, you cannot be directed to drive the school minibus. If you do volunteer, you must ensure that you are licensed to do so and that you have received training from your employer. Full guidance is available from the NUT‘s briefing on Minibus Safety, available from the health and safety section of the NUT’s website at www.teachers.org.uk.

Since starting my new teaching job, I frequently develop a croaky voice and a sore throat. What can I do?

Teachers are at a greater risk than most other groups of employees of experiencing vocal problems at some point in their careers.

The following tips may help. More advice on voice care is available from the health and safety section of the NUT website.

D:\Docs\2018-01-09\03cecda2dde73203ba82e02c148ac87b.doc 3

 Drink plenty of water  Before lessons, stretch and relax facial muscles to release tension from face and jaw  Find your optimum or natural pitch by making an agreeing sound (hm–hm) the sound is most likely to be close to optimum pitch.  Practice slower, centred breathing from the diaphragm.

______

Further sources of health and safety information:

 From your health and safety representative at school  From your local division. See your membership card for the phone number.  From the health and safety section of the NUT’s website at www.teachers.org.uk  From your NUT Regional Office or, in Wales, NUT Cymru  From the Health and Safety Unit at NUT Headquarters, telephone 020 7380 4775

D:\Docs\2018-01-09\03cecda2dde73203ba82e02c148ac87b.doc