Health and Safety in Schools -Myths and Reality

There are lot of myths about health and safety in schools that have been gaining ground for the past few years in Britain. The HSE has now stepped in, and it is about to bring out updates on a regular basis in order to debunk all such myths.

Many myths have been circulating related to health and safety in classrooms, the latest being that health and safety rules lead to teachers halting experiments in classrooms. Another myth is that the school tie has been banned following concerns that children can be strangled if they wear a tie. There is also the myth that health and safety is being implemented in the playground as well, with the result that children at play cannot enjoy themselves thoroughly.

Yet another misconception is that the teacher is subject to prosecution and is liable to pay compensation if a student suffers a physical injury inside the school compound. However, HSE categorically states that there has not been a single case in the last five years when a teacher has been prosecuted for a student getting hurt.

HSE has added that prosecution of teachers has only been in case of serious lapses, like when teachers went against their prescribed code of conduct and did something deliberately that caused hurt to the pupils.

In order to increase awareness of head teachers on health and safety, a new online leaning guide titled ‘HeadSafe,’ has been launched. This guide, or ‘resource’ to be more precise, is meant for school governors, school bursars, head teachers and members of the school management. Rob Castledine is the main person responsible for the development of HeadSafe. Castledine is an Associate Director at Workplace Law Group and a Director at Three Spires Safety - click health and safety consultancy for more info.

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