Swinford National School

Health and Safety Statement

Introduction

The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 1989 became effective on 1st November 1989.

The main purpose of the Act is to make all work places safer and healthier.

Employers must provide and maintain in so far as it reasonably practicable safe places of work, safe practices, safe systems and must provide their employees with information and training to ensure their health and safety. Specifically employers must produce a written Safety Statement, which specifies the manner in which the safety and health of workers will be secured.

The Safety Statement sets out the safety policy of the Board of Management of Swinford National School and sets out the means to achieve the policy. The Board of Management’s objective is to endeavour to provide a safe and healthy work environment for all our employees and pupils and to meet our duties to members of the public with whom we come in contact.

It is our intention to undertake regular reviews of the statement in light of experience, changes in legal requirements and operational changes.

The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act also confers responsibility on the employees in so far as they are required to take care to avoid injury, to co-operate with their employer in matters of safety, to use the means provided for their protection and to report to their employer any dangerous work situation or practice they may encounter.

The Board of Management of Swinford National School has selected a Safety Representative who has certain rights and duties under the Act. These include the right to appropriate training to make reports and to investigate accidents. The Safety Representative will also have the right to represent all employees on occupational Health and Safety matters. The main duties of the Safety Representative are:

  • To guide and advise on health, safety and welfare matters
  • To ensure that the school fulfils all statutory requirements in respect of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 1989

The Board of Management will undertake to carry out a Safety audit as often as it is deemed necessary. Mrs Marian Thornburgh, Acting Principal, is the Safety Representative. Mrs Mairead Monaghan is the Staff Safety Officer.

All records of accidents or ill-health will be monitored in order to ensure that any safety measures required will be put in place wherever possible to minimise the recurrence of such accidents and ill-health.

This policy was revised in December 2018 and will be reviewed again in the school year 2019/2020.

Policy Statement of Safety, Health and Welfare at Work of the Board of Management of Swinford National School

The Board of Management will ensure that in so far as is reasonably practicable, the highest standards of safety shall prevail and that as a minimum, the provisions of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Art 1989 are applied.

The Board of Management recognises that its statutory obligations under legislation  extends to employees, pupils and any person legitimately conducting school business and the public.

Hazards

The Board of Management in consultation with the employees will review and make recommendations on the elimination of hazards. All hazards shall be eliminated in so far as resources and circumstances allow.

Fire

  1. Fire Alarms in Junior Building
    • 1 to the right, outside Junior Infant classroom
    • 1 on the left of Front Door
    • 1 outside 1st classroom
    • 1 on left at Entrance door, Playschool
    • 1 on left outside 2nd classroom
    • 1 across from Changing room, on the left
    • 1 in Junior Infant halla, on right near halla doors
    • 1 on left of side door, near ASD classroom
  2. Fire Extinguishers in Junior Building:
  • 1 in front hall across from Junior Infant classroom
  • 1 outside 1st classroom
  • 1 at entrance door to Playschool
  • 1 outside 2nd classroom
  • 1 outside Staffroom
  • 1 outside changing room/Mrs Connolly’s room
  • 1 in Secretary’s Office
  1. Fire Alarms in Senior Building
    • 1 inside Front Door on the left
    • 1 outside Mrs Glavey’s classroom on the left
  2. Fire Extinguishers in Senior Building
  • 1 on left inside front door
  • 1 in Computer room
  • 1 outside Mrs Glavey’s room
  • 1 in Senior halla

The fire extinguishers are regularly serviced and maintained in proper working order.

  1. All electrical equipment is maintained in proper and safe working order and a professional inspection of all such equipment is carried out at regular intervals.
  2. Regular fire drills are carried out so that every person on the premises is familiar with the route to ensure maximum safety.
  3. Fire exit doors will be checked weekly to ensure that they open properly from January 2019.

Fire Drill:

Swinford National School Fire Drill is conducted in the following manner:

Senior School

  1. Fire alarm goes off.
  2. Everyone stands.
  3. Teacher gets roll book.
  4. Teacher is responsible for checking toilets in his/her classroom and toilets outside his/her classroom.
  5. 3rd class and 6th class exit the building through the front door.
  6. 3rd class assemble on left of front play area. 6th class assemble on right of front play area.
  7. 4th class and 5th class exit building through back door.
  8. 4th class and 5th class assemble along wall on left of Senior Playground.
  9. Each class teacher calls his/her class roll.
  10. SEN teacher leaves building from nearest point of exit and he/she is responsible for his/her children.
  11. Do not return to the building until the all clear is given.
  12. If a child is missing delegate the role of supervising the class to another responsible adult while you make appropriate investigations.

Junior School

  1. Fire alarm goes off.
  2. Everyone stands.
  3. Teacher gets roll book.
  4. Principal/Secretary checks toilets on corridor.
  5. Mrs Connolly/SNA checks halla and toilets near halla.
  6. Junior Infants Class and Senior Infants Class exit building through front door.
  7. Junior Infants assemble in front of hedge on left of school building.
  8. Senior Infants assemble in front of wall on left of school building.
  9. 1st class exits building through door opposite 1st classroom into Junior Infant yard and assemble along at top of wall on right hand side of yard.
  10. 2nd class exits building through door leading into Senior Infant playground and assemble along wall on left of Senior Infant yard.
  11. ASD class exits through main door nearest to ASD classroom and assemble in front of hedge at front of school.
  12. Each class teacher calls his/her class roll.
  13. SEN teacher leaves building from nearest point of exit and he/she is responsible for his/her children.
  14. Do not return to the building until the all clear is given.
  15. If a child is missing delegate the role of supervising the class to another responsible adult while you make appropriate investigations.

 

 

Naíonraí Montessori

  1. Seomra Dearg exits playschool through main entrance to play school into 1st class yard and assemble along wall on left of school.
  2. Seomra Glas exits playschool through side door of playschool into Junior Infant yard and assemble at bottom of wall on right hand side of Junior Infant yard.

Other Hazards

School Building:

  • Any deterioration or damage to school buildings for example loose roof slates, leaks, faulty electrical fittings, broken windows/doors etc will be reported and repaired as soon as possible.
  • School Building risk assessments were carried out in December 2018.

Classrooms:

  • All electrical equipment will be unplugged out of school hours
  • All light fittings and sockets in good working order
  • Leads are not to be trailed across classroom floor.
  • Classroom risk assessments were carried out in December 2017 and will be carried out on a regular basis from this date forward

Toilets:

  • Toilets and hand basins cleaned every school day and floors washed
  • Floors will be dried if wet during school hours

Kitchen

  • Only competent persons allowed to use the kitchen area.

Office

Photocopier and other equipment will be turned off out of schoolhours

First Aid box

  • First Aid Box kept in Office in Junior Building
  • First Aid Box kept in Mrs Glavey’s Room in Senior Building

Hallway

  • Non-slip mats inside doors to prevent hallway becoming wet and slippy
  • No running allowed in hallways

School Yards

  • Yards checked regularly to ensure surface is smooth
  • Children are not allowed out at break time if yard is icy
  • Children are not allowed out at break time if there is heavy snowfall
  • Pupils are not permitted to run around corners in the yards
  • Pregnant employees will exercise caution regarding school supervision

School Gates

The main gate into the Senior School has been fitted with a combination lock which will assist access for emergency vehicles if necessary. All permanent staff members have access to the combination for this lock.

The gate from the Senior Infant yard has been fitted with a combination lock which will assist exit from yard in an emergency. i.e. fire. All permanent staff members have access to the combination for this lock.

Chemicals

All chemicals/detergents will be stored in clearly identifiable containers bearing instructions and precautions for their use and kept in a safe area.

Risk Assessment Audit

A risk assessment audit was carried out in December 2018 using templates from the Health and Safety Authority “Guidelines on Managing Safety, Health and Welfare in Primary Schools”.

The following are areas that will need to be addressed in the coming months

  • No onsite defibrillator – nearest defibrillator is on outside wall of Council Offices which we have access to
  • Training to be organised on the use of fire extinguishers
  • Fire exit doors to be checked weekly to ensure that they open properly
  • Fire doors to be marked with ‘Fire Door, Keep Closed’ safety signs
  • Potholes in Car Park to be filled
  • Where appropriate establish protocol whereby no individual enters school building after a break-in unless accompanied by another suitable person e.g. Garda, Security Guard.
  • In the event of Slippery walkways due to ice – a plan in place regarding applying salt or grit
  • Repeat Manual Handling Training for SNAs and ASD Class teacher in two years

This Health and Safety Statement was approved and ratified by the Board of

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