Health and Safety at school
 A general overview
(Extracts from a thesis by Mr. Omar Schembri, formerly H&S Teacher at St.Francis of Assisi B.S.S. Sta. Venera)
 

Everett and Jenkins (1991) believe that the development of necessary safety skills and attitudes should be encouraged. Most accidents can be prevented through suitable knowledge and adequate planning. Referring to the teaching profession, the authors believe that educators are to make sure that the safety of others as well as one’s own is of particular importance.

"It is the duty of every teacher to organise his classes in a way which reflects both his responsibility for their welfare and his commitment to teaching his pupils appropriate safety- conscious attitudes and behaviour."

(Everett and Jenkins (1991).

Jeremy Stranks (1995), believes that an understanding of health and safety requires a broad knowledge of many disciplines such as psychology, engineering, chemistry, ergonomics and medicine. Other main areas in this matter are safety committees, a health and safety policy and reporting of accidents.
 
If implemented in local schools, health and safety can be a very valuable and interesting subject. According to Barton and Stout (1988), the major components of health and safety as a subject comprise general knowledge on:

Personal health - how the body works

Ways of keeping healthy

Problems of emotional well being

Addiction and handicaps

Hygiene and Personal Health food preservation

Hygiene

Infectious diseases

Hazards like pollution and noise

Safety protection from dangers at home

Road safety

Safety at work

The Health and Safety at Work Regulations UK (1992) affirm that, given the necessary training and incentives, the set up within an organisation, ought to make and give effect to such arrangements as are appropriate for the effective planning, organisation, control, monitoring and review of the preventive and protective measures.

Brief history and organisational setup of Health and Safety teachers in Malta

After lengthy talks, representatives from the Education Division, the Malta Union of Teachers and the General Workers Union agreed to have a special post for Health and Safety teachers. Some time later, the duties for such a post were established as indicated in Appendix 3. The first priority was to assess the physical and environmental condition of schools regarding health and safety issues, something which had never been done before. Mr G Abela was appointed as Education Officer and the Education Division established ‘The Committee for Health and Safety in State Schools’. The board viewed the prevalent physical hazards and gave recommendations on how these can be improved or controlled. The reports of the assessments showed that various schools had an unacceptable standard. The government allocated more funds towards the maintenance of schools, and nowadays funds are managed by ‘The Foundation for Tomorrow Schools’. In the early nineties, the total annual budget of the Education Division for health and safety in Maltese schools was around three thousand liri (Lm 3,000). Last year, the ‘Foundation for Tomorrow Schools’ received six million liri (Lm 6,000,000) which apart from health and safety matters includes repairs, maintenance, refurbishment of Maltese State Schools and the financing of new schools. In 1998, the discussions regarding the role of Health and Safety teachers were finalized. A year later, the first 35 Health and Safety teachers were appointed and this number increased to 65 by the year 2000. In 2004 Mr. G. Abela retired and in December was replaced by Mr. Philip M. Bonello.

A Health and Safety Policy

A very recent proposal was the draft document ‘ A Health and Safety Policy for Maltese Schools’ The Planning and Development Department, within the Education Division, aims to develop such strategic policy and it aims to implement them in all Maltese Schools. This policy is intended to ‘reflect the needs of the present while embracing developments that would create a healthy and safe learning environment in our schools’. The policy refers also to the Health and Safety Authority Act (Act 27 of 2000). The draft policy (Appendix 4) consists of General Guidelines which concern mainly the health and safety issues of the staff, pupils and visitors at school:

‘maintain all areas under the control of the School Council and the Head teacher in a condition that is safe and without risk to health….’

(General Guidelines no. 5)

The school council and the Head teacher are responsible for implementing this policy at school. The proposed responsibilities of the Health and Safety teachers and officers delegated to assist in the management of health and safety are also included. The policy also mentions that the role of a Health and Safety teacher is different from that of a Health and Safety Representative. This policy includes the responsibilities of staff towards pupils and others in their care:

‘Whenever an employee is aware of any possible deficiencies in health and safety arrangements s/he must draw these to the attention of the Head teacher.’

(Responsibilities of all Employees no. 8)

Amongst other responsibilities, the pupils are expected to:

‘exercise personal responsibility for the safety of themselves and
their fellow pupils’

(Responsibilities of Pupils no. 1)

Other areas covered by this draft document include fire prevention equipment, emergency evacuation procedures, first aid and accident reporting procedures.

Maltese National Minimum Curriculum (NMC)

The role of the Health and Safety teacher must be viewed in context of the National Minimum Curriculum. Health and safety can be viewed with regards to its educational value. This is not simply a document with guidelines, but it is intended to direct educational goals and foster both intrinsic and extrinsic values which are the core to the Maltese Educational System. This applies to Health and Safety teachers and related principles. The legal framework of the Maltese NMC and education in Malta can be found in the Education Act (Chapter 327) as approved by the Maltese Parliament in 1988 (Appendix 1). Apart from entitlement to education, the state is to regulate the national minimum conditions for all schools:

‘the ultimate aim of the NMC is to develop an educational ethos that stimulates the development of students’ potential – quality of education for all.’

(NMC Principle 1 pg 29)

Every teacher aims to educate through his/her subject. All of the above can be transmitted through health and safety. An awareness of health and safety principles prepares students for the work setting. Some examples include signage, evacuation drills, personal protective equipment, minimum health and safety requirements at the workplace, assessing risks, ergonomics, stress and health surveillance. The role of the Health and Safety teacher can be part of the lifelong experience which

‘Entails that students emerge from the obligatory curricular experience with skills and attitudes that enable them to continue to learn and live effectively and productively in a world which, though exciting, is unpredictable.’

(NMC, pg. 27)

There are also other regulations to ensure health and safety at work. These include First Aid Regulations, Minimum Health and Safety Requirements for VDUs, Workplace (Minimum H/S Requirements) Regulations and Workplace Provisions of Health and/or Safety Signs. The European Union Directive on Personal Protective Equipment, (PPE), (89/686/EEC) deals mainly with the issuing of PPE to workers. These regulations were supplemented by the PPE regulations 1992, which refer to the manufacture, marketing and certificate of conformity of PPE. Health and safety is also relevant for every day life because it establishes a link with personal experiences such as traffic safety, fire safety, electricity safety, hazardous substances … (NMC, pg. 32, Principle 4). Objective 9 (NMC pg. 59) deals with effective and productive participation in the World of Work. Focus is on the pedagogical strategy and students are to be exposed to direct work e10erience. Health and safety as a component of work deals with the laws and regulations governing the workplace, the rights and duties of the workers, an awareness of occupational hazards and the prevention from causing harm.
 
This enables pupils to make informed, responsible choices and decisions about personal health. Students need to take care of their own health and that of others and live a healthy life.

Collaboration with others

Health and Safety teachers are to collaborate with other workers on the schools’ premises, especially with those working in laboratories, workshops, libraries, as well as administrative and ancillary staff. According to Everett and Jenkins (1991), the Health and Safety teacher and those responsible are to ensure that:

Dangerous apparatus and other material not in use, are stored safely.

There is no obstruction to emergency escape routes and emergency equipment.

Fire equipment, gas/fire detectors and first aid provisions are in place.

The height of working surfaces is correct.

There is proper guarding of machinery.

The use of personal protective equipment is at hand where required.

Particular attention is paid to handling, storage and transportation of chemicals.

Waste disposal procedures are carried out.

Other specific considerations include the safety arrangements that go in the preparations during educational visits, field work trips and other activities organised at school, such as sports day.

This entails collaboration with other entities: Education Division, Foundation For Tomorrows Schools, School Medical Services, Medical Officer, school department psychologists and nutritionists in the Education Division.

Students with Special Needs

Pupils with special needs have the right to be part of a setting in which the teaching-learning situation is designed in a way to remove or at least minimise those hazards which hinder the learning process. Having the appropriate mindset on positive policies on medication and supporting pupils’ medical needs will help them take part in the activities organised and shows them that the school cares for them.