HEALTH & SAFETY NEWSLETTER MAY 2004

STRESS

LEA SAFETY COMMITTEE NEWS

NEWS FROM HQ

HEALTH & SAFETY POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

SUMMER TIME ISSUES

House of Lords says employers must act to protect teachers from stress

In a landmark decision, the House of Lords has ruled that employers must take the initiative to protect employees once they know that an individual is vulnerable to stress related illness.

The judgement overturns an earlier decision of the Court of Appeal which placed the onus for ensuring the employer is kept fully informed of an employees ill health on the employee. NUT member, Mr Alan Barber, has been awarded £72,547plus interest and costs against his employers Somerset County Council in a case brought by the Union.

In his judgement, backed by three other Law Lords, Lord Walker of Gestingthorpe, said: "At the very least the senior management team should have taken the initiative in making sympathetic inquiries about Mr Barber when he returned to work, and making some reduction in his workload to ease his return. Even a small reduction in his duties coupled with the feeling that the senior management team was on his side, might by itself have made a real difference. In any event Mr Barber's condition should have been monitored, and if it did not improve, some drastic action would have had to be taken."

"Supply teachers cost money, but not as much as the cost of the permanent loss through psychiatric illness of a valued member of the school staff."

Doug McAvoy, NUT General Secretary, said: "This is a most significant ruling and restores responsibility where it belongs. Teachers endure excessive workload and are subject to continuous monitoring. Teaching is a most stressful profession. Teachers need and deserve all the support necessary to protect their health."

This ruling provides additional protection. Any teacher who believes she or he has insufficient support for the tasks required of them, and that as a result their health is threatened, should contact the NUT

STRESS AUDITS

The NUT's "Tackling Stress" guidance document emphasises the importance of employers taking action to tackle stress.

One of the ways in which employers can identify the extent of the problem of stress in the workplace is through a stress audit. Gathering the opinions of employees can be a useful indicator of the health of an organisation and can form part of an overall strategy to identify and address potential sources of stress.

*Any teacher complaining of stress must be taken seriously by SMT.

Copies of this document from BANUT.

NEWS FROM BANUT AT THE BIRMINGHAM EDUCATION SAFETY COMMITTEE

ASSAULTS

Assault figures for Education Staff 2002 and 2003 have been published and discussed in Committee. Worryingly some schools are still showing nil returns when other similar schools in the same areas have reported several incidents.

BANUT and Birmingham LEA are agreed that all incidents of actual or threatened violence against persons and verbal assaults should be reported and this at the moment is the key issue in tackling the problem.

BANUT has requested an alteration to the reporting forms specifically requiring schools to record whether a risk assessment was carried out following assaults or not, negative responses to be followed up by letter and contact from an LEA Safety Officer.

The forms for reporting Assaults and Incidents to the LEA are known as AS96 and should be kept in the LEA's Blue A4 Health & Safety Guidance Ring Binder.

Please encourage all staff to report incidents - BANUT has copies of the forms if you cannot get them at school.

ACCIDENT REPORTING

Accident figures for 03/04 were discussed, many accidents reported were avoidable and there is a crying need for risk assessments to follow all reportable accidents and assaults.

Risk Assessments follow a 5 step process

1) Identify the hazard
2) Decide who may be harmed and how
3) Evaluate the risks and decide if more could be done to: a) eliminate or b) reduce the risk
4) Record the findings
5) Review and revise as necessary

In addition NUT members and NUT Health & Safety Reps should insist on regular (annual) health & safety training.

LEA accident forms are being redesigned to comply with the Data Protection Act and will enable schools to do away with the need for the B1510 Accident book. The DPA requires that names and personal details are not revealed.

However Health & Safety Reps are still entitled to see and examine Accident Reports concerning staff whom they represent. Health & Safety statistics are specifically granted exemption from the restrictions of the act and new forms will separate victims personal details from details of the accident (s). Studying accident reports to discover patterns and trends in workplace accidents and to ask for risk assessments is a vital part of Health & Safety Reps' functions.

ASBESTOS SURVEYS

The LEA are suggesting that these could be conducted using Dual Funding money and the City's Urban Design department contractors. This will address a serious Health & Safety issue for teachers, education workers and students, it will also mean that the information will be available when construction projects are considered in the future.

PPP CONTRACTS FOR PHASE 2

A victory for BANUT and our members. Thanks to our continuous pressure on a number of committees of the LEA, we have been told that heating systems for PPP2 schools will NOT be underfloor and will be capable of adjustment by the classroom teachers.

NEW SAFETY GROUP

Teachers in Nursery Schools will be glad to know that BANUT are taking the one seat available for teacher unions on the newly formed Nursery Safety Group. Topics discussed so far include Accident reporting, Security of employees going to the bank with cash, Food Hygiene and Preparation, Safety Policies for Nursery and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Call BANUT if you have an issue you would like discussed. The group reports to and decisions are ratified by Education Safety Committee.

NEWS FROM HAMILTON HOUSE: NUT HQ

MINIBUS DRIVING

The NUT has reviewed its previous advice on teachers driving minibuses in light of the views of DVLA and DfES on driver licence requirements.

The key messages are that:

• Teachers who passed their car driving test before 1st January 1997 may drive a minibus but
  Teachers who passed their car driving test on or after 1st January 1997 are not entitled to drive a school minibus without passing a further test.
  Driving school minibuses must be entirely voluntary
  Teachers should consider very carefully if they wish to drive a minibus.
  In particular you must comply with any requirements imposed by the school, LEA or insurers. Any breach could nullify insurance and lead to disciplinary action by employers

Further full advice from BANUT or the Health & Safety section of the NUT website www.teachers.org.uk

COMPUTERS:WHITEBOARD DANGERS

The Union's computer safety guidance document has been revised to take account of recent developments. It now includes information of wireless Local Area Networks, interactive whiteboards and ergonomic and safety issues affecting teachers and pupils within ICT suites, classrooms and at home.

Laptop Insurance

Where schools allow teachers to use school laptops at home, the NUT regards it to be the school's responsibility to ensure that this equipment is appropriately insured. Teachers should not be expected to bear the cost of insurance for loss or damage to laptops used at home.

"Working with Computers" is available from BANUT phone 0121.442.2031 or downloadable from www.teacher.org.uk

NATIONAL ROAD SAFETY WEEK

National Road Safety Week will take place from 8-12th November and is intended to provide a nation-wide focus aimed at reducing accidents and raising awareness of good road safety practice. More information from: www.roadsafetyweek.org.uk under the section "Information for Educators".

H & S policies and procedures

New from the NUT Website - "Inspecting H & S policies and procedures and H & S management"

This publication (downloadable from the website) will be useful to NUT Health & Safety Reps or NUT members who have an interest in or responsibility for management of H & S in their school.

It points out that H & S reps have an entitlement to examine the ways in which health, safety and welfare are managed in their school.

They should identify the policies and procedures that are in place and the processes for ensuring staff are aware of their contents and for monitoring compliance.

• Reps can then check the implementation by surveying colleagues.
• Finally an audit may be necessary in the form of spot checks e.g:
• Auditing the success of fire/emergency drills - do they go as planned?
  
  Does the stress policy lead to reductions in stress among teachers?
• Are accidents and assaults reported, recorded and forwarded to the LEA? Etc.

The guidance contains a list of H & S policies and procedures that the NUT believes should be in place in schools.

It is hoped that consideration of this briefing will form part of the forthcoming Health & Safety Reps training day on 30th June 2004.

HERE COMES THE SUMMER!

High Classroom Temperatures

Clearly very high temperatures affect the ability of teachers and pupils to concentrate and to work effectively, can cause physical discomfort and illness and exacerbate poor pupil behaviour and staff stress.

Although there are no specific legal maximum working temperatures for schools, the following are sources of legal protection for teachers ands pupils:

• The Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 requires employers to ensure the health, safety and welfare of their staff and others present in the workplace (e.g. pupils).
  Regulation 7 of the Workplace (Health Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 requires employers to ensure that temperatures in workplaces should be 'reasonable'.
• The WHO recommends 24°C (75°F) as a maximum for comfortable working.

What can be done?

The HSE 's approved Code of Practice for the 1992 regs., requires employers to take all reasonable steps to achieve a reasonably comfortable temperature. Workplaces (i.e. classrooms) should be ventilated with sufficient fresh or purified air, windows designed to be opened should be openable. Shade should be provided by means of blinds where necessary and extra measures such as electric fans or portable air cooling equipment could be provided. The requirement to take 'all reasonable steps' means that employers cannot use cost as an excuse except where the expense would be disproportionate.

SUN SAFETY

Teachers cannot be required to apply suncreams to pupils. NUT advises not to without parental consent and only to face, neck and arms - full advice from NUT website www.teachers.org.ukwww.teachers.org.uk