Like wellbeing, the health and safety of our school community runs through the school’s Expected Learning Outcomes.
It is one of the four organising themes of the ACS Education Strategy, which identifies the prioritisation of health, safety and wellbeing in our schools as an essential component. ACS follows the guidance outlined in the Department for Education document ‘Health and safety: responsibilities and duties for schools’. Citation UK are employed by ACS in regard to health and safety management and advice.
In schools sensible health and safety is about creating a safe learning environment, giving students an appreciation of risk and how to deal with it.
ACS International Schools provides and maintains a safe and healthy working environment for all its employees, students and visitors, by:
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taking all reasonable steps to comply with health and safety legislation.
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taking all reasonable steps to ensure that all plant and equipment is maintained in safe working order and that risk assessments are carried out in connection with the use, handling and transport of equipment used, or activities undertaken, in the day-to-day life of a teaching establishment
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ensuring that all employees are made aware of their responsibilities and duties in respect of health and safety, and to ensure they are given sufficient information, instruction, training and supervision to enable them to carry out their duties and responsibilities effectively and safely and to contribute positively to their own health and safety and to that of anybody who may be affected by their work.
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drawing up disaster and recovery plans for any foreseeable incident which could reasonably be expected to happen.
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consulting employees with a view to securing their co-operation in the development of measures to ensure the health and safety of themselves and all school constituents and to check the effectiveness of those measures.
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ensuring that means of access to and egress from all areas of a campus are established and maintained in a safe condition.
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maintaining an environment that is as safe as possible and provides adequate hygiene, sanitary and welfare facilities.
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ensuring that universal precautions are instituted during possible exposure to body fluids in order to prevent the transmission of communicable diseases.
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routinely checking active measures employed within the health and safety management & systems.
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communicating health and safety performance to all staff.
Health & Safety Management
ACS schools have appointed a Health, Safety, and Wellbeing (HSW) Lead who works proactively with Citation, ACS Trustees, Heads of School, Principals, and line managers.
The purpose of the HSW Lead is to establish and maintain a programme of continual improvement in the management of health and safety within the ACS organisation. In addition, they look to develop a positive health and safety culture amongst staff, students and parents of ACS.
The HSW Lead chairs the monthly school health and safety meetings on behalf of the Head of School. These groups discuss matters relating to the safety of staff, programmes of work, visitors, contractors, public, and the environment as regards their school and are made up of representatives from each division and department within the school.
