Health and Safety

School of Health, Sport and Bioscience Health & Safety Policy

Introduction to the Health and Safety Policy

A health and policy is a legal requirement under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. Its purpose is to describe, in simple terms, the school’s general aims towards health and safety. Improved health and safety can only occur with the cooperation and communication of all members at all levels of the school. The following document will address the following points

Key Messages
General policy on health and safety
Arrangements for carrying out the health and safety policy
Organisational Responsibilities for health and safety
Policy Revisions

Key Messages

It is a legal duty for all members of the school (staff, students and visitors) to become familiar with the policy and co-operate with the arrangements for safety.

Key points for students

To comply with the health and safety requirements
Report any accident, incident or near miss to a member of staff
Inform a member of staff of any individual circumstance that may need consideration (i.e. pregnancy, etc)
To be familiar with the evacuation procedures

Key Points for staff

To comply with the health and safety requirements
To conduct a suitable and sufficient risk assessment for teaching and research activities.
Report any accident, incident or near miss
Ensure that anyone (student, visitor, etc.) that they are responsible for is appropriately trained and supervised.

Key points all members of the school

To read this policy
To read the fire evacuation policy
To read and follow the policies specific to their activities

General Policy on Health and Safety

The policy of the school is to promote the safety, health and welfare of all its staff, students, visitors, contractors and members of the public on school premises and to protect them elsewhere from any adverse effect on their health or safety arising from school activities. The School estate is comprised of general and staff offices, teaching and research laboratories along with preparation rooms and storage facilities, all of which are covered by this policy document. The School is staffed by academic, administrative, research, secretarial and technical staff. In addition the school plays host to undergraduate and postgraduate students as well as other university staff (i.e. cleaners, caretakers, maintenance staff), outside contractors, visitors and members of the public. All these personnel groups are covered by this policy.

The School is committed to ensuring that appropriate risk assessments are carried out as required by the Management of Health Safety and Welfare Regulations 1999 and other regulations. The risk assessments will be carried out by staff responsible for the work, in writing and signed by the relevant supervisor. No work is permitted unless it is covered by a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks involved.
The School is committed to ensuring that all work activities are performed by competent persons, and that all members of the school receive such information, instruction and training as required for them to be able to undertake their tasks and duties in a competent manner.
A person can only be deemed competent in undertaking a duty if they accept that duty, understand the responsibility of that duty and are allocated sufficient time to be able to undertake that duty.
The School is a school of the University of East London and as such is responsible to the Vice Chancellor, through the Management Safety Group, for the implementation of the arrangements in the University Health & Safety Policy.
The preparation and updating of the School Health & Safety Policy, local rules and procedures that implement the University Health & Safety Policy, is the responsibility of the Dean of School.
It is a legal duty for ALL staff, students, and visitors in the school to co-operate with the arrangements for safety set out in this document.
To give effect to this policy, the organisation and arrangements as described in this document have been approved and authorised by the Dean of School, upon whom rests the ultimate responsibility for the standard of safety within the school.
This policy is intended to reflect the current state of affairs within the school. To this end it will be revised upon any substantial change of organisation or arrangements within the school, and in any case, annually.
This policy and its revisions will be communicated to all persons affected by school activities.