A document outlining the health and safety measures in place at the Howard School's physical environment

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Lewis Appleton 1 Miss Johnston
THE HOWARD SCHOOL HEALTH AND SAFETY
PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT
Potential falling objects
Heavy items such as heavy duty equipment should not be kept at a
height to ensure the likelihood of accidents is kept to a minimum.
Objects stored in high places must be of a light weight, one that if,
did happen to fall on a person would not cause any form of harm
or injury as an event. Items are to be organized in a formthat
prevents the likelihood of this happening. Students are advised
not to try to reach or touch items that they do not have
permission to do so, the teacher must give permission first.
Sharp edges
Worksurfaces are to be sanded down to a level where there are
no sharp or harmful edges; this includes workstations that are
used on a daily basis. Sharp edges may, although unlikely appear
on the floor,therefore adequate footwearis required. Tools with
sharp edges are to be stored safely in an area where non
employees do not have any form of access to.
Trailing leads
While true that many machines have long cables, please refrain
from allowing the lead to be of a dangerous length, one of which
has a risk of people tripping over. Accordingto the Electrical
Supply, Quality and Continuity Regulations 2002, Any trailing
leads that are essential and do not moveare to be covered with
plastic casing to prevent people tamper with the wires. Wires are
to be checked forany gaps before using, such gaps could lead to
electric shocksto a staff or non staff member. Students have a
responsibility to avoid any trailing leads and not to tamper with
any.
Evacuation assembly areas
In the event of any emergency, all staff and students are to gather
in the field to reduce the risk of any accidents, the attendance of
all staff will then be checkedto ensure that no staff are missing.
Staff that have a form class are then expected to ensure that all
students are present for the same reason.
Site building works
From time to time there will be build worksoperating in the
facility,we try our best to carry out these procedures out of work
hours but that is not always possible. When these worksare going
on you are advised to stay clear of the site so that not only the
workers can finish quicker but also to ensure the safety of staff.
According to Construction (Design and Management) Regulations
2007 wemust also be comfortablewith the chosen contractors

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Lewis Appleton 2 Miss Johnston
and that they are verifiedto be a true legitimate organization as
well as being safe.
Off site work
The Health and Safety at Worketc. Act 1974 states during off-site
worktimes you are not obliged to, but are expected to actin an
appropriate way as you willbe representing us as a school.
Meetings usually have no health and safety issues however they
can do if they are hosted abroad whichwould then have to follow
The Package Travel,Package Holidays and PackageTours
Regulations 1992. Any requirements such as vaccinationsand
travel costs are paid for. Offsiteworkfor students includes school
trips, risk assessments are carried out.
Organic infestation
In the event of infestation in food items, the fooditems are to be
cleaned thoroughly, if the food items are still inedible they are to
be replaced with fresh food.In the event of this on a large basis it
may be necessary to close the cafeteria as the safety is more
important. If students have purchased one of these items they will
be refunded for the product and an apology will be made.
Vermin infestation
In the event of a vermin infestation, such as rats, the concernis to
be reported immediately. Action willthen be taken dependant on
the circumstances, if just a few vermin then it can be easily dealt
with, however,if on a larger scale then the schoolwill be
temporarily closed.
Dampness and mould
Dampness and mould are something that we try our best to avoid
although sometimes it can easily be missed. If you do happen to
see dampness wewill try our best to reduce the effect,if the
damage is of a certain severity, further action will be taken. Any
items with mould are to be replaced to ensure the safety of staff
and non-staff.
Hazardous materials
Hazardous materials are to only be dealt with by those with the
correctpermission; this is according to The Control of Substances
Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002. Failure to comply with
this not only breaks the law but also means you put your life
potentially in danger. Certain hazardous materials must be dealt
with using necessary safety equipment such as gloves. All staff
and students are required to stay away from these areas.
Waste disposal
Waste must be disposed of on a regular basis; it is the role of the
cleaner that has to empty the bins into the necessary area. Staff
are advised to inform us if the bins are almost full or overflowing,
students are required to use the bins correctly and not to mess
with them such as kicking them over.

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Lewis Appleton 3 Miss Johnston
Disabled access
Some students or staff may have certain disabilities that are either
physical or mental. To comply with the Disability Discrimination
Act 1995 wehave to ensure that students are able to safely enter
and egress from the school. Changes must also be made to the
physical environment. Forphysically disabled students we must
have ramps for wheelchair access, there is also disabled person’s
parking available closed to the reception.
Toilet facilities
There are toilet facilities provided for both staff and students,
these are separate to ensure the safety of students and staff is at
the highest level weare able to provide. Although the school
mainly consists of male students, we do also provide female toilet
facilities forsixth formers and visitors. Students are expected not
to abuse the toilet facilities such as blocking up the toilets.
Food preparation areas
Food is to be prepared in a safe environment where only the
correctstaff have access to; this ensures the safety of consumers
when the food is prepared as no people can therefore accidently
tamper with it as wellas students not being able to tamper. Food
must be prepared by staff members with at least a “Level 2 Food
Hygiene” certificate.Vegetarian alternatives must be made.
Noise control
While it is true that the school environment is a noisy
environment, noise levels frommachinery must be kept to a
minimum to ensure that possible distractions are kept to a
minimum; this is to meet The Noise at Work Regulations 2005 and
The Health & Safety at Worketc. Act 1974. Cars must not
continuously be going in and out of the school. It is a student’s
responsibility to ensure they keep below an adequate noise level
while inside buildings.
Atmospheric Pollution
Any pollution is required to be as minimal as possible in order to
make sure that the environment is kept safe forstudents and staff.
This means the use of petrol consuming machines such as
generators is to be kept as minimal as possible.
EQUIPMENT
Safety guards
Anything that is regarded to as dangerous or unstable must have
safety guards in place to stop access or to allow safe access for
students and staff, this includes safety guards being put in place to
avoid people tampering with computer systems, forexample
stopping access from plug and Ethernet sockets. The Workat
Height Regulations 2005 may apply in high areas.

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Lewis Appleton 4 Miss Johnston
Warning Signs
There are a range of warning signs that must be used when
appropriate according to The Health and Safety (Safety Signs and
Signals) Regulations 1996, on wet floors there must be signs
stating the flooris wet.Fire exits must be distinguished with a
green sign and white font.As the school is a no smoking area
there must be signs to represent this, assembly areas must have a
sign to show this, equipment such as first aid boxes and fire
extinguishers should also have warning signs specifically
according to The Fire Precautions Act 1971, finally there should
be signs to state where staff can go and students can’t such as staff
only areas. As well as these signs within the schoolthere should
also be signs outside the school if forexample the roads are icy.
Sound Signals (fire alarms)
On fire alarms, when rung the sound must be load enough to hear
within a certain radius, anywhere outside this radius must have
additional alarms so that as a result the fire alarm can be heard
anywhere in the schoolaccording to The Education (School
Premises) Regulations 1999 and The Fire Precautions Act1971.
There must be guidelines for procedures in the event of a fire in
every classroom. Alarms should be tested on a regular basis,
usually out of schoolhours although it is necessary to have
practice drills in order tomake sure students know what to do.
Maintenance Frequency
All electronic appliances; portable laptops, computers, machinery
must be regularly checkedon at least a yearly basis to ensure they
are operating correctly.Fire alarms must be tested on a 6 month
basis, as well as lighting, heating, electricalsystems, lift equipment
and CCTV systems. Fire extinguishers must be checkedto make
sure they are not discharged on a monthly basis.
Protective clothing
Protectiveclothing must be provided in certain situations and
subjects, in art classes some form of apron must be provided to
prevent stains, in science lab coatsand protective goggles must be
worn to ensure the person has no injuries caused through
hazardous and corrosive materials, specifically according to The
Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002.
Caterers must be provided with hair nets and gloves to prevent
contamination of food.
Accessible emergency exits
Emergency exits are to be located on stairwells and high traffic
areas to ensure that possible accidents such as falling down stairs
is kept to a minimum, the emergency exits are required to have a
crash bar on it with exit signs leading to it. To meet building code
regulations there must be at least two staircases at an exit. Doors
must also swing outward not inward.
Fire extinguishers
Fire extinguishers are to be locatedwhere the risk of fire is

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Lewis Appleton 5 Miss Johnston
greatest, according to The Fire Precautions Act1971, there must
be a fire extinguisher in each classroom, and it must be fixed
where it can be accessed easily. Fire extinguishers should be
located due to standards where no one is more than 30m away
from one. Corresponding identification signs stating the type of
extinguisher must be above it. They must be checkedto make sure
they are not discharged on a monthly basis.
Sprinkler systems
Sprinkler systems must be installed to detect and extinguish fire;
this also is according to The Fire Precautions Act 1971. These
systems must be able to trigger the alarm as soon as a fire starts,
battery powered sprinklers must be checkedweekly,sprinklers
must have pressure and switch checksquarterly with an annual
test and service. They must be in an appropriate location and
records should be kept of tests.