Health and Safety Policy

Legal Framework

This policy has been created, is based on and is in accordance with the following Spanish national and local regulations:

• The Ley 31/1995, de 8 de noviembre, de prevención de riesgos laborales;

• The Real Decreto 393/2007, de 23 de marzo, por el que se aprueba la Norma Básica de Autoprotección;

• The Ley 2/2985 de 21 de enero sobre Protección Civil.

• R.D 1.378/1985 de 1 de agosto, con medidas provisionales para la actuación en situación de emergencia en los casos de grave riesgo, catástrofe o calamidad pública.

• Plan Territorial de Emergencias de Protección Civil de la Comunidad Autónoma de Canarias PLATECA, Decreto 1/2005 de 18 de enero por el que se actualiza el Plateca y publicado en el Boletín Oficial de Canarias (BOC) 8 de agosto de 2005. Homologado por la Comisión Nacional de Protección Civil.

• Orden de 19 de enero de 2001, por la que se dictan instrucciones sobre las medidas de seguridad a aplicar por el profesorado o acompañantes en las actividades extraescolares, escolares y /o complementarias, que realicen los centros docentes públicos no universitarios de la Comunidad Autónoma de Canarias.

Policy Statement

At Kaleide International School we understand our responsibility in providing a healthy and safe learning environment, and consider health and safety throughout the school to be one of our highest priorities. Risk assessment is an ongoing process and everyone identified in this policy has a role in ensuring new hazards can be promptly identified and actions are taken to minimise them.

Staff who are hired by Kaleide International School and entrusted with positions of supervision, whether on the school grounds or during trips and outings, have a responsibility and duty of care to ensure that the students conduct themselves in accordance with all health and safety requirements.

This statement is issued in accordance with the Health and Safety at Work Act (1974), the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, and the Spanish Ley 31/1995, de 8 de noviembre, de prevención de Riesgos Laborales.

Aims

This policy covers staff, pupils, volunteers, visitors, and other users of the school premises. The Director is committed to ensuring the health and safety of everybody involved in the school. We aim to:

• establish and maintain a safe and healthy environment throughout the school;

• establish and maintain safe working procedures for staff, pupils and volunteers both on the school grounds and during school trips and outings;

• provide and maintain safe school buildings and safe equipment for use in school;

• develop safety awareness, by appropriate training, amongst staff, pupils and volunteers;

• formulate and implement effective procedures for use in the event of fire and other emergencies;

• investigate accidents and take steps to prevent their reoccurrence.

Roles and Responsibilities

The school Director is the overall responsible person for health and safety and must:

• lay down procedures and policies, and review their effectiveness;

• provide a working environment that is safe and healthy;

• give strategic guidance;

• monitor and review health and safety issues;

• ensure that all staff are aware of, and adhere to, the school's policies and procedures on pupil health, safety and welfare;

• ensure that key staff have clearly established roles and responsibilities;

• ensure that staff are appropriately trained to effectively carry out risk assessments;

• ensure adequate resources for health and safety are available;

• take steps to ensure equipment and systems are safe;

• investigate any accident (or incident where personal injury could have arisen) and take appropriate corrective action;

• ensure that the school provides adequate training, information, instruction, induction and supervision to enable everyone in the school to be safe;

• ensure that where concerns about a pupil's welfare are identified, the risks are appropriately managed;

• ensure all contractors are informed about health and safety issues in the school;

• ensure that any work that has health and safety implications is prioritised;

• provide warning notices and signs as appropriate;

• seek advice from other organisations or professionals, as and when necessary.

The School Coordinator is responsible for the day to day running of the school. Her role will be to:

• promote a positive, open health and safety culture in school;

• report to the Director on key health and safety issues;

• ensure that all staff co-operate with the policy;

• ensure that risk assessments are reviewed on an annual basis;

• ensure relevant staff have access to appropriate training;

• report any concerns regarding unresolved hazards in school to the Director immediately;

• regularly check the grounds and building to spot any disrepair or other hazards in the play areas;

• carry out a test of the fire alarm every term.

All school staff will:

• read the Health and Safety Policy;

• comply with the school's health and safety arrangements;

• ensure that tools, apparatus, materials and equipment are in good condition with appropriate warning signs and used in accordance with the manufacturers' instructions, where appropriate. Any defects must be reported to the Director;

• take reasonable care of their own and other people's health and safety;

• leave the classrooms/playgrounds/office in a reasonably tidy and safe condition;

• follow safety instructions when using equipment;

• supervise pupils and advise them on how to use equipment safely;

• report any accidents involving equipment, tools and apparatus to the Director.

Please note the following:

1. Newly appointed employees may be particularly vulnerable to any risk and we must ensure that all relevant health and safety matters are drawn to their attention at an early stage by the Director.

2. All volunteers will be expected, as far as reasonably possible, to meet the same standards required of employees.

All students are expected, within their expertise and ability, to:

• exercise personal responsibility for the safety of themselves and others.

• observe all the safety rules of the school and in particular the instructions of any member of staff in the event of an emergency.

• use and not wilfully misuse, neglect or interfere with things provided for safety purposes.

Visitors and other users of the premises (e.g. contractors) are expected, as far as reasonably possible, to observe the safety rules of the school. All visitors must present themselves to the office, sign in and out of the visitors' book, and wear a visitors' badge. Approved visits will be displayed on the School notice board so that every member of the community is aware of who should and should not be in the school building. All contractors/workmen on site will receive a fire safety induction including emergency procedures on their first visit and not be unsupervised until this has occurred. The person responsible for the visitor should ensure their safety in case the fire alarm sounds. Staff, children, parents and other users of the school are encouraged to report any unfamiliar person or suspicious behaviour to a facilitator or to the Director.

Fire Precautions and Procedures

In compliance with Spanish Fire Regulations, regular fire inspections will be carried out and fire extinguishers will be checked and replaced as needed. We shall keep fire Safety Records and updated Certificates. The actual maintenance of the equipment is the subject of an annual contract with a specialist firm.

Fire and Emergency Evacuation Procedure

The Director shall ensure that:

• fire exits have appropriate signage;

• staff are trained in proper fire prevention practices and emergency procedures;

• a fire drill is practised and documented in the Fire Log every term;

• fire extinguishers are checked annually;

All staff will ensure that:

• evacuation times and any issues which arise are reported to the Director;

• they conduct their operations in such a way as to minimise the risk of fire. This involves keeping combustible materials separate from sources of ignition and avoiding unnecessary accumulation of combustible materials;

• the premises are kept safe from fire.

Please note that:

• all persons on the premises are expected to report immediately any fire, smoke or potential fire hazards by reporting to a member of staff;

• smoking is not permitted in any of the school buildings and grounds;

• emergency lighting is installed in exit corridors and above emergency exit doors.

Risk Assessment

Risk assessments will be carried out on all aspects of the building, grounds, resources and equipment, and also on the regular venues for school outings. Risk Assessment forms shall be kept in a Risk Assessment folder located in the office. All risk assessments will be reviewed and updated twice yearly unless changes to suppliers or products have occurred or an incident with an item of equipment deems it necessary.

Risk assessment involves the following stages:

• identifying the hazards that are present;

• deciding who might be harmed and how;

• evaluating the risks and deciding on the precautions;

• recording any significant findings;

• monitoring and reviewing the situation.

At the beginning of each session facilitators will ensure that:

• risk assessments and daily Health and Safety checks are completed before the children arrive;

• the rooms to be used are clean;

• the heating is adequate;

• the emergency exits are unlocked and free from obstructions;

• there are no trailing cables;

• any chemicals are stored safely;

• all electrical appliances are in good working order.

During sessions staff must ensure that:

• all spillages are dealt with immediately;

• children can move safely within the building and in the gardens;

• care is taken when carrying food and/or drinks around the school;

• any sharp objects are picked up or removed immediately;

• broken or damaged equipment is brought to the attention of the Director.

At the end of each session facilitators must check that:

• furniture is stacked and stored safely;

• all taps are turned off;

• all lights are turned off;

• the heating is turned down (or off during the warmer months);

• all windows and internal doors are closed, and external doors are secured;

Children's Safety

The school will ensure that:

• children are always within sight and/or hearing of a facilitator;

• children are always supervised when in the Woodwork Workshop;

• the main entrance is locked during school hours;

• playgrounds and outdoor areas comply with the relevant safety regulations;

• all staff (including volunteers) has been CRB checked and checked through references (see our Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy);

• all warning signs are clear and in appropriate languages;

• all cleaning products are kept out of reach of children;

• plastic bags are kept out of reach of children;

• ropes are only used under adult supervision.

Administration of Medicines

The Director must ensure that all children's files and health details are kept up to date and kept confidential. Allergies are made known to all staff and if deemed appropriate a care plan and or risk assessment will be formulated.

• Only staff with first aid training are authorised to administer prescribed medication. This is witnessed by another member of staff and recorded in a medication file.

• Medication is only administered to pupils when the parental consent form has been completed.

• Medicines are only administered during school time when they have been prescribed by a child's GP or other relevant medical professional.

• All medicines are to be clearly labelled and safely stored in a locked cupboard or in a container in the fridge at all times, and only authorised staff have access to them.

• The doses administered during the school day are to be kept to the minimum required.

Field trips and Outings

All off-site trips will be subject to risk assessment and the requirements of the school's educational visits guidance. Our adult to child ratios for off-site activities will be 1 adult to 4-10 children depending on the children's age and level of autonomy.

Facilitators should always work in groups of two during off-site activities. In the event of an emergency in relation to any of the children, one of them can then assist the child directly while the other remains with the rest of the group and provides indirect assistance.

Food Technology

Cooking equipment –including ovens and hobs– will only be used if fire precautions and appropriate risk assessments are in place.

Staff must be satisfied that the tasks undertaken are appropriate for the students involved.

Close supervision will be appropriate for riskier parts of the cooking process (i.e. cutting, taking food in or out of hot ovens).

General recommendations for the safe use of tools

• Use the right tool for the right task: if the appropriate tool is not available, the activity will need to be postponed.

• Assess the risk and severity of any action prior to any activity involving tools: for any given situation there will be risks. And these risks may vary in severity. Some risks may be already known (you can get burnt when playing with fire), some others may be hidden but possible to guess (your long hair may get tangled in a spinning machine), and a few won't be known until something bad happens. The first ones require training and/or experience, the second ones require observation and a certain sense of intentional awareness.

• Assess child skill: by observation, assess whether the child has the skills necessary for the task. This is more art than science, but by the way they hold a knife, how they move their hands and a general knowledge of the child can be very helpful for this. In case they don't have the right skills, then guidance is needed. If guidance is not available or not accepted, then we need to remove the hazardous tool and explain why we do so.

• Work in pairs: when dealing with dangerous tools or activities, at least two people need to be present. One directs the activity, and the other one supervises and helps in case something bad happens. Should an injury occur, the monitoring staff member would attend the injured child while the other children remain with the other staff member.

Playground Supervision

Appropriate levels of supervision will be maintained in the school gardens at all times.

First Aid Provision

We shall ensure that:

• the school has first aid kits in several locations across the site, and one of them is always in the sick room;

• portable first aid kits are taken on educational visits;

• a qualified first aider will be present on trips and outings;

• a person qualified in first aid is in attendance in the school at all times, and will assist if an accident happens;

• a record of any first aid treatment given by first aiders and appointed persons is kept at the school. This should include:

• the date, time and place of incident;

• the name of the injured or ill person;

• details of the injury/illness and what first aid was given;

• what happened to the person immediately afterwards (for example: went home, resumed normal activities, went to hospital);

• name and signature of the first aider or person dealing with the incident, and of the parent/guardian on collection.

Please note that gloves and aprons are available and should always be worn when dealing with bodily fluids.

General First Aid Recommendations:

1. Ask for help: when an accident happens and you need help, use the walkies if you have them with you and make a call starting with a call "PAN PAN PAN" and providing your location (north or south garden, woodworks, fractal, etc.) . If you need any material (portable first aid kit, for example) say so. Responders should answer the call so everyone knows if someone is coming. If you don't have a walkie-talkie, children can be very effective at getting messages across.

2. Isolate the child: if possible, accompany the child to Mirus to be attended to quietly without other children looking around.

3. If there is blood, confine the affected area: blood can carry contagious agents and diseases and must be handled with care. We do not know the total health status of that blood. If there is food around the place where the accident occurred, we must dispose of it so that no one eats food contaminated with blood. Protect yourself and other children and staff by clearly marking the area where there is blood. If the cut has been washed in public toilets, then they should be thoroughly cleaned before anyone else uses them.

4. If a child has fallen, always ask if anything hurts. It is vital to know if they have hit their head. Parents must be informed of any head injuries at the time of pick up. Even if we just ice the injury, a First Aid form must be completed and signed by the parent.

Sick children

All parents are informed that children should not come to school if they are sick. Parents are responsible for keeping their children at home if they have a contagious illness or infection. A child who has diarrhoea, fever or sickness must be kept at home until it has stopped for at least 24 hours. The Director must be informed so that other parents can be alerted to keep all children and adults as healthy as possible.

Tree-climbing

At Kaleide International School children are able to climb trees. Knowledge of the child and an awareness of the hazards is required on the part of any staff observing and supporting.

Sandpit

Regular inspection of the sandpit is carried out. In addition, the sand needs to be topped up on a regular basis and replaced as deemed necessary.

Hazardous Plants

Children need access to plants but we make every effort to ensure that they know what plants in the garden and on the premises can be hazardous. A list of local plants is available in the risk assessment folder in the office.

If in doubt as to the toxicity of any plant or substance, call the Centro Nacional de Toxicología helpline (91 562 04 20).

Insurance

The school has a Public Liability Insurance and an Accidents Insurance.