NCFE2 Session eight
From Usefulwiki
Unit 2 - Understanding legal and national requirements Element 2.1 - Recognise the importance of health and safety at work.
Learning Objectives
- The student will know a range of safe manual handling and moving techniques (Unit 2.1.9),
- The student will be able to identify examples of good practice in different environments and settings (Unit 2.1.3)
- The student will be able to carry out a simple risk assessment (Unit 2.1.7)
Introduction
10:00 - 10:10
Registration and collection of last week's homework and any issues arising.
Brief description of shape of morning and learning objectives for today.
Safe Handling and Moving
10:10 - 10:50
Brief introduction including advice on not handling children.
Watch this Presentation (source HSE)
Insert link image here
Your Own Safety
There have been over 3000 staff injuries from falls in schools in the last 5 years in the UK. Classroom assistants and teachers are both at risk from falls especially in older buildings with high ceilings. At this time of year they are more likely to be stripping boards and possibly re-backing or putting up displays. Putting in that extra effort to yank out a staple, straining to reach something just beyond your grasp puts you at risk. Even quite low falls from desks and/or chairs while putting up displays can be damaging.
Be aware of your school’s health and safety policy and risk assessment, which should cover the possibility of falls. You need to not just know it but follow it! In some schools the policy is carefully displayed, perhaps in the staffroom, and then totally ignored. I’ve found myself perched, even standing on a wall mounted computer bench, or balanced on a sink trying to just reach a tricky bit. If I’d fallen I would have been in clear breach of the Staff Health and Safety policy and I’d have had no claim against the school for any injuries I sustained. The policy clearly states that you have to use step ladders but from a step ladder there is no way to reach the top of the display board. I could/should have refused to do it, but then my teacher would have done it herself and she’s shorter than me! So you probably need to get some agreement as a whole staff that none of you will take risks.
Read this example of one TAs experience:
- I am specifically responsible for nearly all the school displays (hundreds of them). What I find is that with the increased use of computer technology, computer desks are being fixed in front of long-standing display boards. I have stood on the desks, but been a bit uneasy about it, as I’m no fairy weight, and they are not designed for standing on - plus I have to tip toe my way between cables, computer screens, keyboards and printers.
- I can’t reach the display boards if I stand on a ladder. Yet I was asked to somehow re-do the displays!!!
- I approached both of the school health and safety officers, who have written to the LEA for the official stance on this. I have been told not to do the displays in the meantime. No response as yet - the LEA is taking a long time to reply.
Short Group Discussion
What would you do in this situation?
Activity
- Organise yourselves into 2 groups, as usual try to work with people you didn't work with last time.
- Choose one person to scribe for the group
- Work though the Health and Safety Advice below together and highlight keywords
- Use the flip charts to produce a bullet pointed list in your own words based on the advice.
- Decide how you will present this information to the main group (One spokesperson, more or a group presentation)
Feedback
Each group will feedback to the main group.
Remember
Your job as listeners is to be a good audience. Pay careful attention to what is said. Look out for two things to praise about the presentation and one action point for improvement.
Health and Safety Advice for School Staff
- Always ask yourself if you can avoid or minimise work at height if possible, eg use lightly weighted strings to pull display items up over beams, prepare displays as far as possible before putting them up.
- Avoid becoming another statistic
- Always use suitable equipment for working at height, eg ‘kick-step’ type stools, properly designed and maintained low steps, poles for opening high windows etc. Your school should have this sort of equipment. If you still can’t reach without over stretching, ask for help from a premises manager.
- Be aware of your school’s health and safety policy and risk assessment, which should cover the possibility of falls from height.
- Always think of your personal safety and assess the risk from what you propose to do.
- Remember that school furniture was not designed for you to stand on.
- Be aware of obstructions at all times.
- Wear suitable footwear.
- Report poor maintenance, such as damaged window mechanisms, which could create hazards.
- Be aware of slippery surfaces, particularly stairs.
- Reduce accidents on stairs by encouraging people not to run or push.
- If you are worried about the lack of equipment or its poor quality, inform your head teacher or safety representative.
Identifying good practice in different environments and settings
10:50 - 11:22
Recap our work from last week on spotting hazards.
Looking at table 1.
I will fill in first section on whiteboard to model what needs to be done
Activity
Working in pairs
- Fill in table 1 saying how you would deal safely with each situation.
- Choose one of you to feedback to the group
Feedback
Using the whiteboard to record feedback.
Coffee
11:25 - 11:40
Simple Risk Assessments
11:40 - 12:20
You may work in twos or threes.
Together choose one each from the following settings:
- Reception classroom during an art lesson,
- Playground in winter,
- Lunch hall,
- Year 2 school trip to a city farm,
- Year 5 design & technology lesson,
- Year 3 science lesson.
Talk though the possible risks, to both the children and staff. Use the blank table provided to:
1. Identify together possible areas of risk
2. State what the risk is
3. Explain briefly how this risk may be safely handled
Homework
12:20- 12:25
- Choose another setting from the risk assessment section and finish it off at home.
- Research and make notes on school policies on intruders and/or visitors
- Find out your school's fire drill procedures and make notes on it. Add to your portfolio
- Find out where your First Aid boxes are kept, mark this on a diagram/plan.
Optional tasks
If you've done all that and your learning journal and SMART targets are up to date, you could choose ONE of these optional tasks:
- Write about how you would deal with the problem of being asked to do something you think could put you at risk. Be sure to consider your safety but also think about maintaining a good relationship with your school staff.
- Do an internet search to find out about the different unions teaching assistants belong to and write some notes about each of them.
- Write about one of your SMART targets, how you decided what to choose and what happened. Did you complete it? Was it helpful to use the target? Write about how meeting your target has impacted on your behaviour at work. Was it worthwhile? Why? What have you learned?
Then share your work in the e-mail group and invite others to comment.
Tutorial Time
12:25 - 12:50 Reviewing ILPs
