Health and Safety Policy
February 27, 2025 2025-02-27 22:43Health and Safety Policy
Chapter 1: Policy and Commitment
The governors of Taunton School fully recognize their collective responsibility for providing, so far as is reasonably practicable, a safe and healthy School for pupils, employees, contractors, visitors (including parents) and others who could be affected by School activities.
As employers, they attach a high priority to ensuring that all the operations within the School environment, both educational and support, are delivered in an appropriate manner. The governors are committed to promoting the welfare of all in the community so that effective learning can take place. They fulfil their responsibilities as governors of Taunton School by appointing a governor with responsibility for overseeing health, safety and security, Ian Moncrieff.
Day-to-day responsibility for the operation of health and safety at the School is vested with the CEO. However, the governors have specified that the School should adopt the following framework for managing health and safety:
- Governors review the School’s Health and Safety policy
- The governor overseeing health and safety, Ian Moncrieff, attends the meetings of the School’s termly Health and Safety Strategy He also receives copies of all relevant paperwork.
- The School appoints a suitably qualified H & S Advisor and Fire Safety Officer, Ian
- An external health and safety consultant will be employed when necessary to provide specific competent advice, review the overall arrangements for general health and safety and fire safety, the general state of the School, and reports on actions required with recommended timescales and an action
- A termly health and safety report is produced by Ian Burgess for governors who also receive the minutes of all relevant H&S
- The School manages its risks through a robust process of risk assessment and review with a clear policy on risk
- The governing body hold ultimate responsibility for complying with the The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and delegate day to day responsibility to the CEO. The School has fire risk assessments, carried out by a competent person, that are reviewed every year for progress on completion of items in the action plan. They are updated every five years or more frequently if significant changes are made to the interior of buildings, new buildings are bought or added or there is any other change to the level of The Strategic Health and Safety Committee reviews these risk assessment every time they are updated.
- The School has a comprehensive policy in place for the training and induction of new staff in health and safety related Health and safety training that is related to an individual member of staff’s functions, such as science technician, will be provided in addition to the ‘standard’ induction training.
- All members of staff are responsible for taking reasonable care of their own safety, that of pupils, visitors, temporary staff, volunteers and contractors. They are responsible for co-operating with the heads, the COO and other members of the Senior Policy Committee and respective Senior Leadership Teams to enable the School to operate safely. All staff are responsible for reporting any significant risks or issues to management or the H&S
Signed: Chairman of Governors Date: 1 September 2022
This part of the Policy deals with the delegation of Health and Safety tasks within the Schools.
The Governing Body
The governors have ultimate responsibility for health, safety and security within the School. They ensure that there are satisfactory arrangements in place to implement this policy and that health and safety issues are considered and addressed. The governors will consider health and safety implications when making strategic decisions and will make adequate resources available so far as is reasonably practicable, to enable legal obligations in respect of health and safety to be met. They will ensure that this policy is reviewed annually to ensure its suitability. A governor with responsibility for oversight of Health and Safety matters is appointed.
The CEO
The CEO will assist the Board in directing the overall management and development of the policy, defining its aims and communicating the responsibilities associated with the management of H&S within the School. The CEO will also report to the Board on health and safety performance and assist in implementing changes in the policy which the Board have approved and will chair the School’s H&S committee and the Health and Safety Strategy Group. The governors retain responsibility for fire safety within the School, as defined in the 2005 Regulatory Reform Order (Fire Safety).
The COO
The COO will have day-to-day management responsibility for ensuring that, so far as is reasonably practicable, arrangements are in place for the management of health, safety and security for all members of the Support Staff. She will also act as line manager to the School H&S Advisor.
Heads of TS, TPS/TPPS and TSI/TSIMS
The CEO delegates the day-to-day responsibility for health, safety and security organisation to the three respective Heads of School, with the DCEO acting for TS. They are assisted by their heads of department and other staff who have responsibility for physical areas or responsibility for particular areas.
Health and Safety Advisor and Fire Safety Officer
The School appoints a Health and Safety Advisor and Fire Safety Officer. He advises School management and staff on how to carry out their H&S responsibilities. He is responsible for the overall coordination of the School’s risk assessment process by making sure that suitable and sufficient risk assessments are completed competently, authorised and in place. He monitors the associated risk register. He co- ordinates advice from specialist safety advisors and produces action plans in conjunction with the Head of Estates and Facilities. He advises management on H&S training needs and supports the HR department in the delivery of training.
As Fire Officer, he is the ‘Competent Person’ appointed by the CEO to advise him on all matters relating to fire safety. As such, his role is to ensure that the School has suitable and sufficient fire risk assessments that are reviewed annually for items in the action plan and updated every five years, or when significant changes are made to the interior of buildings, or new buildings are bought or added. He also ensures that in addition to the weekly fire alarm tests, the alarm system, together with all smoke detectors, emergency lighting, extinguishers and panic buttons are tested annually by a qualified contractor.
Ian Burgess has been appointed to both roles and his contact details are Ian.Burgess@tauntonschool.co.uk mobile telephone 07429 332205, extension 3170.
Head of HR
The Head of HR supports management and Heads of Department in identifying, organising and recording staff safety training as appropriate and issues all new staff with a copy of the Health and Safety policy. She arranges health and safety related induction training and makes sure staff are aware of their personal responsibilities as set out in this policy.
Heads of Department (Academic, Pastoral and Co-Curricular)
All Heads of Department are responsible for the health and safety of those affected by activities under their control and manage risks accordingly. As risk owners, they are responsible for maintaining up to date risk assessments for their areas and producing a departmental H&S policy when required. Specific risk assessments are required for the following departments and will be completed with support from the H&S Advisor when required:
- Science – Head of Science TS, TPS/TPPS, TSI/TSIMS, in line with latest CLEAPS advice;
- Sports Activities and PE – Director of Co-Curricular TS, Director of Sport TPS/TPPS, Principal TSI;
- Drama – Head of Drama TS, TPS/TPPS;
- Art – Head of Art TS, TPS/TPPS,TSI;
- Music – Head of Music TS, TPS, TPPS;
- Design & Technology – Head of Design & Technology TS, TPS/TPPS, TSI;
- Trips and visits – Educational Visits Officer;
- Catering and cleaning functions – Head of Home Economics / Food Technology;
- Ammunition and firearms – Combined Cadet Force Commanding Officer;
- Boarding – house staff;
- Unsupervised activities – deputy heads TS/TPS/TSI.
Heads of Department must also ensure that Personal Protective Equipment is made available and used where appropriate, that equipment is maintained properly, normally in consultation with the Estates Manager, that hazardous waste is disposed of safely and that staff are aware of occupational health, for example noise and dust levels. They will also work with the Head of HR and identify, organise and record training that is relevant to their area of control.
The Sister in Charge of Health Centre
The Sister in Charge is responsible for the implementation of the Health and First Aid policy. She also provides advice and support to the HR department on First Aid training requirements, maintains the accident book and attends the weekly ‘safety cluster’ meeting. At this meeting it is decided whether to report notifiable accidents to the Health & Safety Executive. She prepares summary accident reports for the School Health and Safety Committee in conjunction with the H&S Advisor. The arrangements for recording and reporting accidents to staff, pupils and visitors including RIDDOR are included in the Health and First Aid policy.
Head of Estates and Facilities The Head of Estates and Facilities is responsible for his personal safety and that of all personnel under his area of control (Maintenance, Grounds and Facilities) and those affected by his areas of work including contractors. In particular, he will:
- Understand and implement the School’s safety policy;
- Appreciate his staff’s responsibilities and ensure that each employee knows his/her responsibility and are equipped to play their part;
- Conduct Risk Assessments on activities within his departments ensuring that the methods and systems of work are safe. Also that the necessary procedures, rules and regulations designed to achieve this are formulated, published and applied;
- Provide written instructions of work methods outlining potential hazards and precautions, and ensure they are complied with;
- Ensure accident and near-miss reporting procedures are understood and complied with, and assist with accident investigations where appropriate;
- Ensure all employees and sub-contractors are suitably trained/competent to carry out the prescribed task and that the necessary licenses/certificates of competence are in force and appropriate;
- Ensure the Statutory Notices, the Safety Policy and Insurance Certificate are displayed and maintained in prominent locations;
- Ensure maintenance and, where necessary examination and testing, of plant and equipment (such as electrical equipment, local exhaust ventilation, pressure systems, gas appliances, lifting equipment and glazing safety).
Facilities Manager
The Facilities Manager, with the Head of Estates and Facilities, is responsible for building security, site traffic movements, maintenance of School vehicles, pest control and all domestic services. He is responsible for risk management within this area and for ensuring all areas are risk assessed accordingly. He oversees the implementation of the School’s security policy and the onsite movement of vehicles.
General Manager
The General Manager is responsible for the safe operation of all areas for which he has management responsibility. These are:
- Catering Manager
The catering manager is responsible for the safe operation of the School’s catering facilities. As such, she must be familiar with the content of this policy and ensure that all catering staff are instructed and informed to work in accordance with the latest food safety guidelines. As the risk holder in this area, she carries out risk assessments for all catering related activities. - Events and Residential Manager
The Events and Residential manager is responsible for ensuring that the premises are safe for the use of the hirer during residential lets and external functions and those hirers know their responsibilities. She is also responsible for the safe operation of the swimming pools and sports club facilities. Risk assessments are completed accordingly. - Swim School and Sports Club
The Swim School and Sports Club manager is responsible for the safe operation of the swimming pools and sports club facilities and risk assessments are completed accordingly. The Pool Safety Operating Procedure is attached as an annex to this policy.
Radiation Protection Supervisor (RPS)
The School’s Radiation Protection Supervisor (RPS), Luke Waller the head of physics, is responsible for liaison with the appointed Radiation Protection Advisor to ensure compliance with the Ionising Radiation Regulations 1999 and local rules made to comply with these regulations.
The RPS is also responsible for ensuring compliance with the Radioactive Substances Act 1993 and exemption certificates granted under them.
Radiation Protection Advisor (RPA)
The School will appoint a Radiation Protection Advisor (RPA) who will complete a bi-annual routine inspection/audit of the areas that contain Ionising equipment.
Taunton School has appointed Tony Butterworth of Safety and Health Services, University of Bristol to act as the School’s Radiation Protection Advisor and Radioactive Waste Advisor.
Tel: 07747600386 email: a.r.butterworth@bris.ac.uk
The RPA will advise on potential issues arising from any materials and equipment, and will be consulted before the commissioning or movement of Ionising equipment.
A prior risk assessment and local rules will be completed in consultation with the RPA before commissioning of any equipment that applies to IRR17.
All Staff
All staff are regularly reminded of their responsibilities below:
- taking reasonable care of their own health, safety and well-being. The School has an occupational health policy for staff;
- familiarising themselves with the detail of the H&S policy;
- co-operating fully with the School on all matters relating to their health, safety and well-being at work;
- not recklessly or intentionally interfering with, or misusing any equipment, safety devices etc. that have been provided in the interest of their health and safety at work;
- reporting promptly, in the first instance to their manager and on Firefly, any accidents, injury, significant near miss, incident of violence and aggression, cases of work-related illness;
- reporting to the relevant manager, any defect, hazard, damage or unsafe practices or other items that could give rise to an unsafe place of work or cause injury or ill health to others;
- wearing any protective clothing or equipment and using any safety devices that have been provided for their health and safety while at work;
- observing safety rules, policies and guidance, and adhering to safe working procedures at all times;
- acquainting themselves with, and complying with, the procedure to follow in case of a fire or other emergency;
- attending health and safety training as directed and undertaking their work activities in accordance with any health and safety training provided to them;
First Aiders
Full details of First Aid provision are provided in the Health and First Aid policy. The number and type of First Aiders is determined by a First Aid needs assessment. All staff receive first aid familiarisation training and others have more specific training as determined by risk assessment. The School’s First Aiders will administer first aid and will call for immediate support from the Health Centre nurses. They are required to keep their training up to date and if equipment is used, arrange for it to be replaced by contacting the Health Centre.
Visitors and Other Users of the Premises
This policy applies to all visitors to our School. Visitors are required to sign in and to wear a ‘visitors’ identification badge and where possible visitors will be accompanied by an appropriate staff member. Should a fire/emergency occur or the fire alarm be activated whilst visitors are on our premises, the person who is accompanying the visitor/s will take him/her to the fire assembly point. Should an incident/accident occur involving a visitor this must be reported using our standard accident reporting form. Where applicable, adequate consideration must be given to visitors, contractors and members of the public in risk assessments, including the provision of suitable and sufficient control measures.
Staff who host visitors issue them with the Visitors’ Safeguarding and Emergency Leaflet or alert them to the following:
- visitors are alerted to our fire procedures;
- visitors adhere to our ‘No Smoking’ policy;
- visitors park their vehicles in such a way so as not to obstruct fire escape routes, roads, access or other vehicles;
- visitors are normally accompanied or authorised to enter the premises;
- visitors remain within authorised areas and not enter any restricted area unless permission is granted and the person is accompanied;
- visitors do not take anything with them from the premises, or bring anything onto the premises that may create a hazard or risk unless authorised;
- visitors report all accidents, incidents and near misses to the
Parents
Parents are seen as part of our community and are welcome therefore to visit the campus. We expect them to observe sensible safety and security procedures in order to ensure that they remain safe and that their actions do not endanger any other members of the community.
School Trips and Off Site Visits
School trips and visits, including residential visits, are the responsibility of the Head of each part of the School and each school has an Off Site Visits/Educational Visits policy. Permission is given by, or on behalf of, the relevant Head for staff to take pupils on a School trip and all trips with heightened risk are signed off by the CEO. It is then the responsibility of the member of staff concerned to comply with the School Trip Policy for their part of the School. The Health and Safety Coordinator is not normally concerned with School Trips.
Health and Safety Emergencies
Arrangements for dealing with H&S emergencies are contained in the Crisis and Emergency policy for each school.
The Pupils
Our pupils are expected to exercise personal responsibility for the health and safety of themselves and others, observe all the health and safety rules of the School and, in particular, the instructions of staff given in an emergency and to not wilfully misuse, neglect or interfere with things provided for their health and safety.
Pupil Access to Risky Areas
Areas of high risk are identified in a whole school risk assessment that is reviewed annually by the COO. Any near misses or incidents, which occur in this area, are investigated and reviewed by the H&S Committee. A copy of the risk assessment can be found in the List of Arrangements/sub-policies section.
Contractors
Contractors are managed by the Head of Estates and facilities who ensures that they are appropriately selected and competent in terms of health and safety. Contractors are made aware of and abide by this policy so as not to endanger pupils, staff or other visitors to the site. The Head of Estates and Facilities will ensure that any temporary rules, such as exclusion from parts of the premises, are made known to all contractors.
All contractors must report to reception and be signed in before any work takes place and prior to each working session.
Fire Marshals
All teaching staff and selected support staff are trained as Fire Marshalls; full details are in the Fire Safety policy. Training is provided by the H&S coordinator and a list of trained staff maintained by the HR department. Fire marshals are responsible for familiarising themselves with their areas of responsibility, the escape routes and any issues with particular pupils. Upon hearing the fire alarm, they are responsible for:
- ensuring the safe evacuation of everyone in their area(s) of responsibility;
- checking all rooms in their area(s) of responsibility; including toilets, rest rooms and store rooms; to ensure that everyone has safely left the building;
- where possible, closing windows and doors as each room is checked;
- reporting to the Incident Control Officer at the assembly point to inform them that everyone has safely evacuated the building, or to report any problems;
- ensuring that nobody re-enters the building until the Incident Control Officer has stated it is safe to do so;
- ensuring they are available, after the evacuation, to attend a debrief meeting to discuss the evacuation, identify any problems and share information;
- monitoring to ensure that fire routes, fire extinguishers, luminaires and exits are kept clear at all
Asbestos Duty Holder
The governors act as Asbestos Duty Holder. They delegate authority for the day-to-day management of asbestos to the Head of Estates and Facilities who ensures that we have a written asbestos policy and management plan in place.
Health and Safety Governance and Management
The School has a governor responsible for overseeing Health and Safety matters. He attends the termly H&S Strategy Group Meeting and reports to governors on H&S related matters. There is a separate sub-committee, the Estates H&S and Security Group that meets termly and reports to the H&S Committee. The management structure is shown in Figure 1.
- Health and Safety Strategy Group
The Group meets once a term and sets the overall safety strategy for the short and medium term. It considers issues such as policy, audit, review, and resources, particularly financial, personnel and training. The group will review the register of risk assessments annually. - School Health and Safety Committee
Each part of the School is represented on the H&S Committee and anyone wishing to raise a health and safety concern should contact one of its members. The Committee meets termly and is chaired by the CEO. Following each meeting, its Members are responsible for communication with relevant staff to take matters forward. Minutes are distributed to the Committee; they are held by the Secretary to the Health and Safety Committee and are available to all staff on request. Copies of the Minutes are sent to governors. The Governor who is responsible for overseeing health and safety attends these meetings. The Committee members are listed on the organogram below. The role of the Committee is to:- discuss matters concerning health and safety, including any changes to legislation;
- monitor the effectiveness of health and safety within the School;
- review accident and near miss trends and discuss preventative measures;
- discuss training requirements;
- monitor the implementation of professional advice;
- review and update safety policy guidance;
- assist in the development of safety rules and safe systems of work;
- monitor communication and publicity relating to health and safety in the work place;
- Receive a termly report from the fire officer;
- Take reports from the estates and security-working
- Health, Safety and Security Sub Committee
This group focuses on the management of infrastructure risks mainly related to management of buildings. It also provides a forum for the management of security issues. The group meets termly. - Safety Cluster
This group meets weekly to review accidents and near misses and reports any significant issues to the COO.
Chapter 2: Planning and Implementing
Introduction
The Board of Governors requires mechanisms to be in place to provide assurance that policy requirements are being introduced, maintained and effectively implemented to provide high standards of environment and safety performance.
Consultation with Staff
Health and Safety is a regular item on the agenda at staff meetings and other meetings. Any points raised will be discussed, duly minuted and actioned accordingly.
Risk Assessments
Risk assessments are required by law. The responsibility for completing assessments and implementing controls falls to managers and teachers as part of their normal duties. Most risk assessments will be straightforward in nature. However, there will be instances of complex risk where it will be necessary to request assistance from the Health and Safety Coordinator or competent external advice. The outcome of the process shall be the identification and implementation of adequate control measures to minimise harm to people and the environment. Significant residual risks, or where adequate control cannot be achieved, shall be fed into the reporting system for action at the appropriate level.
The H&S Advisor maintains a list of all risk assessments and ensures that they are reviewed annually. The list is reviewed by the H&S strategy committee once a year. An action plan is generated from this list of risk assessments that is also reviewed by the committee. The H&S Advisor and the Head of HR are responsible for ensuring staff are trained in the School’s risk assessment process.
Objectives and Targets
Our School plan contains strategic objectives, including those for safety, together with targets for their implementation.
Action Plans
Governors are briefed on the School’s safety action plan. This plan is derived from H&S audits carried out internally or externally by competent third party advisors and augmented by output from the School’s risk assessment process. The H&S Advisor is responsible for producing the action plan.
Chapter 3: Measuring Performance
Reactive measurement techniques employed by our School include:
- Accident and incident reporting and associated statistics;
- Reporting the outcomes of accident and incident investigations conducted;
- Ill health data where related to occupational causes;
- Claims data, including claims settled with payment;
- Details of enforcement action from external regulators, including improvement and prohibition notices and, where relevant,
Chapter 4: Audit and Review
Audit
Audit is an essential part of our safety management system. A useful definition of audit in this context is “the structured process of collecting independent information on the efficiency, effectiveness and reliability of the safety management system and drawing up plans for corrective action”. It, therefore, involves making judgements about adequacy of performance. Our periodic audit shall aim at establishing that:
- Appropriate management arrangements are in place and effective;
- Adequate risk control systems exist, are implemented, and consistent with the hazard profile of our School;
- Appropriate precautions are in place and
Audits will be conducted by our Health and Safety Advisor, supported by competent advice as necessary and in accordance with the Competent Advice Policy.
Review
Reviewing is the process of making judgements about the adequacy of performance and taking decisions about the nature of the actions necessary to remedy deficiencies and maintain continuous improvement. Internal reviews of performance shall be undertaken at all levels within the School. Information to support reviews may be taken from the activities undertaken to measure performance including the outcomes of audits, inspections and more informal monitoring activities.
Chapter 5: Arrangements / Sub-Policies
Introduction
The School has a number of risk specific policies that provide instruction and guidance to staff on the arrangements for the maintenance of acceptable standards of health and safety. As a School, we are required to have a great many policies and some of them will contain useful safety-related information and these are listed in the table below.
List of Arrangements/ Sub-Policies
Listed below are specific policies that Taunton School has in place to manage safety. This list will be subject to review and additional policies added as the need for them becomes clear.
| Name of Policy | Description | Lead |
| Risk assessment | Process for the identification of hazards, assessment of risk and implementation of control measures | James Johnson |
| Guidance on fire risk assessment requirements, the testing of fire protection systems and management of evacuations; also the keeping of records | James Johnson | |
| Requirements for the provision and implementation of first aid for pupils and staff. (Covered in the Health & First Aid Policy.) | Ed Burnett | |
| Process and restrictions on administering medication to pupils | Emily Kane | |
| Requirements for managing asbestos within buildings, arranging for works and maintaining records | Terry Harris | |
Catering Policy | Provide quality standards and outline the responsibilities of the catering department regarding the provision of food across the School. | Graeme Barclay |
| Competent Advice | Requirement for health and safety advice from competent person (internal and external) | Nikki Miller |
| Covid-19 Pandemic | Guidance and procedures for Covid-19 Phased Return to School | Nikki Miller |
| Construction at Work (CDM) | Guidance on the role of the client under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations covering all construction work | Terry Harris |
| Guidance on the selection and appointment of any persons employed on contracting activities | Terry Harris | |
Requirements for the usage, storage and generation of hazardous substances Protocols for the handling and disposal of radioactive material | Ian Burgess Luke Waller | |
| Guidance for each area on the process for assessing, approving and undertaking of educational visits | Ed Burnett/Chris Coleman/Camilla Bryden | |
| Electrical Safety | Guidance on usage maintenance of electrical systems and portable appliance testing | Terry Harris |
| Guidance on areas for consideration when planning for School contingency plans | Nikki Miller | |
| Gas Safety | Guidance on the storage, usage and maintenance of gas systems | Terry Harris |
| General workplace safety | Guidance on general requirements including lighting, temperature control, maintenance of workplace conditions and welfare activities | Ian Burgess |
| Hot Works | Process for controlling all hot work activities such as welding, brazing etc. | Terry Harris |
| Infection Control | Guidance on notification and control of infection outbreaks. (Covered in the Health & First Aid Policy) | Emily Kane |
| Letting and hiring | Guidance on usage of School premises by third parties | Graeme Barclay |
| Lightning Protection | Requirements for testing, maintenance and usage of contractors on lightning protection equipment | Terry Harris |
| Manual Handling | Guidance on safe techniques and areas for consideration when undertaking manual handling | Ian Burgess |
| Grey Fleet Policy | Guidance on the management and usage of vehicles including driver competence | Ian Almond |
| Lone Working | Guidance for the safety of individuals working alone | Terry Harris |
| Requirements for the notification, assessment and monitoring of new and expectant mothers | Emily Chapple | |
| Noise | Guidance on the assessment of noisy activities and the provision of noise control measures | Ian Burgess |
| Occupational Health | Guidance on the areas for consideration when assessing the needs of pupils and staff | Emily Chapple |
| Risk Assessment for student access to risky areas | Nikki Miller | |
| These procedures identify the processes designed to control swimming pool admission, supervision and usage. The procedures are used in conjunction with other operational procedures to manage the safety in swimming pools | Nikki Miller | |
| Radon | Guidance on the identification, access to information and control of exposure to Radon | Terry Harris |
| Security Policy | Guidance on a template policy for schools to ensure the safety and security of their premises | Ed Burnett/Nikki Miller |
| Smoking and vaping | Guidance on smoking within School premises and on School activities | Ed Burnett |
| Stress | Guidance on the management of the workplace and activities to control stress | Emily Chapple |
| Sun Protection (currently being updated) | Guidance on protection of pupils and staff to UK exposure when undertaking outside activities | Emily Kane |
| Swimming Pools | Guidance on maintenance of pools and managing pool based activities | Nikki Miller |
| Training | Guidance on general training requirements and the need for record keeping | |
Guidance on the control of School premises when dealing with all vehicle and pedestrian movements | Ian Almond | |
| Water Quality (including Legionella) | Requirements for the testing and maintenance of water systems, including the use of third parties for specialist activities | Terry Harris |
| Wellbeing | Emily Kane | |
| Working at Heights | Requirements for deciding on the management of activities at height, including access arrangements | Terry Harris |
