Head teacher health

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Head teacher health safety briefing

• Contractors
• New Mothers Pregnant Women
• Stress
• 16th March 2006

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Safety management standard for controlling
contractors David Kempson
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Safety management standard for controlling
contractors including the safety management
standards for- Construction, design
engineering projects- Permit to work
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Contractors

• City Council
• Contractors working nearby school access ramp
• Manhole cover removed
• Partially sighted pupil fell into hole.
• Sustained serious leg injuries
• Estimated overall cost to council 100K ?
  (disruption, investigation, communication,
  meetings, potential claims etc.)

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What is a contractor?

• Any person or organisation, external or internal
  to the Council who provides you with a service.
• Often direct labour in the form of building /
  plant installation, maintenance or repairs
• Includes other services supplied e.g. provision
  of transport

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Contractor standards

• There is a joint HS responsibility between
  council clients and contractors
• Where different organisations share a workplace,
  (temporary or permanent), both shall cooperate
  with the other to coordinate any necessary HS
  arrangements
• No contract work to commence until safety method
  statements / risk assessments received and
  evaluated
• Contractors to display identification at all
  times when on site
• NB for brevity, not all standards are described
  in full

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Contractor standards

• Certain types of construction, engineering and
  all demolition works requires compliance with CDM
  Regulations (See Safe management of construction,
  design and engineering projects SMS)
• Certain types of high risk activities shall
  require a formal written safe system of work to
  be in place. (See Safe management of permit to
  work SMS)
• Job registration will be undertaken for all
  building related / construction type work
• NB for brevity, not all standards are described
  in full

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Planning and achieving the SMS

• In practice, risk assessments for contract work
  must consider the hazards and risks associated
  with the tasks involved and the impact on the
  people at the location.
• When appointing contractors
• - Select from approved list
• - Carry out your initial risk assessment
• - Request contractor safety method statement
• - Evaluate / discuss / amend / agree
• - Site / location induction
• - Job registration
• - Monitor throughout duration of work

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CDM Standards

• Determine whether any works fall under the
  Construction (Design and Management) regulations
  flowchart tabled
• Head teachers to appoint a contact person for
  projects
• Anyone who gives input to the specification of a
  project will be classed as a designer
• The client will appoint competent designer,
  planning supervisor, principal contractor and
  provide the planning supervisor with information
  to include in a pre-tender health and safety plan
• Before the project starts make sure that a
  construction phase health and safety plan is in
  place
• Ensure the HSE are notified of the project where
  necessary
• At the end of the project keep the health and
  safety file

NB for brevity, not all standards are
described in full
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Permit-to-Work (PTW)

• A PTW system is a formal written system used to
  control certain types of work that are
  potentially hazardous by ensuring a safe system
  of work is identified and adhered to.

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PTW Standards

• Certain types of work shall only be undertaken
  following the completion of a PTW by an
  authorised person(s) prior to its commencement
• Confined Space Entry
• Hot Work
• Isolation of services, e.g. electricity
• Excavations
• Demolition

NB for brevity, not all standards are
described in full
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Training

• Supervising Health Safety (CIEH)
• Managing Safely in Schools (IOSH)
• Risk Assessment (CIEH)

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New Mothers Pregnant Women
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Background

• 350,000 women continue to work during pregnancy
• 69 return to work soon after giving birth
• Year 2001 out of 1,434 potential tribunal cases
  involving pregnancy/maternity related
  discrimination 1,387 involved some breach of HS

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DEFINITIONS

• A worker who is pregnant
• A worker who has given birth in the previous six
  months
• A worker who is breastfeeding

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Legislation

• Management of Health Safety at Work
• Regulations
• Risk assessment to be undertaken in respect of
  all employees
• Consider specifically risks to new mothers and
  pregnant women
• Do what is reasonably practicable to control
  those risks
• Carried out when employee advises employer in
  writing they are pregnant

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New Mothers Pregnant Women SMS

• Risk assessment will be conducted for all new
  mothers and pregnant women
• If there is a significant risk steps will be
  taken to reduce the risk
• Risk assessments will be reviewed monthly
• Provide area for pregnant women / breastfeeding
  workers to rest
• Provide an area where breastfeeding mothers can
  express and store breast milk securely

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Risk Assessment

• Consider
• Risks to females of child bearing age
• Risks to mother
• Risks to unborn child
• Risks to child of a woman who is breastfeeding

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Areas to consider in risk assessment

• Exposure to Physical Agents
• Movements and posture- nature, duration,
  frequency tasks- pace, intensity, variety of
  work- patterns of working time and rest breaks-
  ergonomic factors, working environment-
  suitability, adaptability work equipment

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• Other Physical Agents
• Manual Handling
• Shocks and Vibrations
• Noise
• Radiation (ionising non-ionising)
• Exposure to Biological Agents
• Infectious Diseases
• Exposure to Chemical Agents
• Toxic chemicals
• Mercury, lead, carbon monoxide
• Pesticides

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• Working Conditions
• Facilities
• Resting Facility
• Hygiene Facilities
• Storage Facilities
• Mental Physical fatigue

• Occupational Stress
• Passive Smoking
• Temperature
• Working Alone
• Work related violence

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• If risk is identified and cannot be avoided by
• preventative and protective measures Employer
• must
• Temporarily adjust working conditions and/or
  hours of work if it is reasonable to do so and
  would avoid the risks
• If this cannot be done
• Identify and offer suitable alternative work if
  any is available. (must also be subject to risk
  assessment)

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• If that is not feasible
• Suspend her from work for as long as necessary to
  protect her safety and health or that of her
  child (Full pay)
• Risk Assessment should be kept under review
• TRAINING
• Risk Assessment (CIEH)
• Managing Safely (IOSH)

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Stress

• Lorenzo Visentin

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Why bother?

• About half a million UK employees experience work
  related stress that makes them ill
• Up to 5 million UK employees feel very or
  extremely stressed by work
• 12.8 million working days were lost to stress,
  anxiety or depression in 2004/5

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Stress

• Walsalls Stress SMS a definition
• Pressure drives us to succeed (eustress)
• Stress when pressure exceeds our individual
  ability to cope (distress)
• HSE stress management standards
• Demands
• Control
• Support
• Role
• Relationships
• Change
• Stress survey work
• Stress risk assessment

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Support services

• Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) (PPC)
• Teacherline (from Teacher Support Network)
• Virtual CAB
• Face-to-face counselling
• All available 24 hours on 08000 28 28 50
• Plus
• Critical incident debriefing (at your cost)
• Occupational Health
• Proposal for HT psychology support service
• Headspace
• Occupational Health Psychology

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Next steps

• Training
• Foundation Cert. in Stress Awareness (CIEH) ½ day
• Assertiveness
• Time management
• Managing personal stress
• Domestic violence
• Proposal for Foundation Cert. in Conflict
  Management (ICM)
• Consider stress survey work, which will lead into
• Stress risk assessment and reduction plan

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Thank you for your attention

• Any questions