RoSPA launches SchoolSafe programme to boost health and safety management

A new programme that checks and validates a school’s performance in areas that are critical to successful and proportionate health and safety risk management has been launched by The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA).

RoSPA’s SchoolSafe programme evaluates the systems that schools and academies have in place to ensure that risks to the safety and health of pupils, staff and parents are managed in a systematic and balanced way.

Schools taking part in the scheme will be reviewed by a RoSPA consultant on five key challenges:

• teaching safely e.g. what are the requirements for health and safety management?
• teaching safety e.g. helping students learn about risk
• children having experiences out of the classroom e.g. adventurous activities
• physical safety issues e.g. asbestos, transport and play equipment
• practical management e.g. fire and emergency systems.

An overall GCSE style rating of A*, A, B or C grade is then calculated.

David Rushton, head of education and leisure at RoSPA, said: “Many schools and academies have recently assumed responsibility for health and safety for the first time and we’re keen that head teachers, governors and staff receive practical help and advice as well recognition for good practice.

“RoSPA SchoolSafe is unique: it assesses the school’s ability to ‘teach safely’ – providing a safe environment for pupils, parents and staff – and the school’s arrangements to ‘teach safety’ – enabling young people to identify and manage risk themselves.

“As a charity that has been working on safety for 97 years, we hope the knowledge and expertise that we have built up will be really beneficial to schools and academies that want to take a proportionate approach to health and safety management – an approach RoSPA champions.”

Benefits of the programme include that comparisons can be made between individual schools, as well as local and regional school groupings, allowing for resources to be targeted effectively.

The review also aims to help schools build on their health and safety development plan and to track performance improvements. Each review will result in a report and action plan for the school, which can be easily understood by teachers, governors, trustees, parents and others.

A certificate showing the overall rating can also be displayed at the school and the school may use the SchoolSafe logo on its website and literature, enabling it to demonstrate to parents the school’s commitment to their children’s safety.

To find out more about RoSPA SchoolSafe, please call RoSPA’s education department on 0121 248 2235 or email educationhelp@rospa.com.