1 Introduction
1.1 The health, safety and welfare of all the people who work or learn in King´s College Murcia (KCM) are of fundamental importance. We aim to provide a safe, secure and pleasant working environment for everyone.
2 The school curriculum
2.1 We teach the children about health and safety in order to equip them with the skills, knowledge and understanding that will enable them to live positive, successful and healthy lives. Teachers take every opportunity to educate children in this regard as part of the normal school curriculum. Through the science curriculum we teach children about hazardous materials, and how to handle equipment safely. We organise visits by the Fire Service and Ambulance Service to talk about dangers there and trips to teach about Road Safety.
2.2 We teach children respect for their bodies, and how to look after themselves. We discuss these issues with the children in PSHE lessons, and we reinforce these points in Science, where children learn about healthy eating and hygiene. We also show them how to move and play safely in PE lessons, emphasizing the importance of exercise to keep the body healthy.
2.3 We believe that everybody in our school can and should promote everybody else’s safety, so we teach children to spot hazards in the classroom or around the school, and inform their teacher.
2.4 Our school promotes the spiritual welfare and growth of the children through the PSHE curriculum, through assemblies, celebration of multi-cultural festivals, and through the reinforcement of our Golden Rules taken from the Jenny Moseley Model.
2.5 Each class has the opportunity to discuss problems or issues of concern with their teacher. Teachers use Circle or Tutor Time to help children discuss and overcome any fears and worries that they may have. These concerns are handled with sensitivity. Teachers will refer anything back to the Head of Primary or Secondary if they feel the need to.
3 School meals
3.1 Our school provides the opportunity for children to have a meal at lunchtimes. We do all we can to ensure that the meals provided have a suitable nutritional value, and we encourage the children to eat properly with their knife, fork and spoon, learn good table manners and eat healthily.
3.2 Our school promotes a healthy lifestyle. As sweets can damage children’s teeth, we do not allow sweets to be eaten in school.
4 School uniform
4.1 It is our policy that all children wear the school uniform when attending school, or when participating in a school-organised event, even if outside normal school hours during a school trip (except where the conditions require different clothing).
4.2 It is the responsibility of the Head of Primary to ensure that the school uniform policy is enforced.
4.4 We ask parents to equip their children with the necessary uniform and school equipment. If a child repeatedly attends school without the correct uniform, we will inform parents and request that they make sure their child leaves home wearing the proper uniform. Lost property is handed to the school Caretaker. A second-hand uniform room will be established when appropriate.
4.5 On grounds of health and safety we do not allow children to wear jewellery in our school. An exception is ear-ring studs in pierced ears.
5 Child protection
Please refer to the separate policy statement.
5.1 A list of the named people with responsibility for child protection in our school should be prominently placed in the Teachers Staffroom.
5.2 If any teacher suspects that a child in their class may be the victim of abuse, they should not try to investigate, but should immediately inform a person named in 5.1 about their concerns.
5.3 All the adults in our school share responsibility for keeping our children safe. We may on occasion report concerns which, on investigation, prove unfounded. It is better to be safe than sorry, and we trust that parents, while they will naturally be upset, will nevertheless accept that the school acted in the child’s best interests.
6 School security
6.1 While it is difficult to make the school site totally secure, staff must do all they can to ensure that the school is a safe environment for all who work or learn here. Security measures should be revised regularly in collaboration with the school Conserje/Caretaker, and draw upon the advice of experts (e.g. police officers, fire officers, architects and other consultants).
6.2 The pedestrian and vehicle access gates must not be left open unless the school Conserje/Caretaker or Head is on duty there.
6.3 We require all adult visitors who arrive in normal school hours to report to the Office. All visitors ton the school sign in and out and wear a visitor’s badge while they are in school.
6.4 Teachers will not allow any unknown adult to enter their classroom unless they are escorted by a member of staff, or the teacher has already been advised that they are coming.
6.5 If any adult working in the school has suspicions that a person may be trespassing on the school site, they must inform the Office immediately.
7 Safety of children
7.1 It is the responsibility of each teacher to ensure that all curriculum activities are safe. Similarly, curriculum coordinators will always be vigilant for hazards concerning equipment or activities related to their area of responsibility. If a teacher or curriculum coordinator has any concerns about pupil safety, they should bring them to the attention of the Head of Primary or Secondary before that particular activity next takes place.
7.2 We do not take any child off the school site without the prior permission of the parent.
7.3 If an accident does happen, and it results in an injury to a child, the teacher will do all s/he can to aid the child concerned, until the school nurse takes over. Children should not be aided or moved in any way if the injury appears serious. All incidents are recorded by the school nurse. In all these cases we inform the parent or carer.
7.4 If necessary, the school secretary or nurse will telephone for emergency assistance.
7.5 Should a child be quite seriously hurt, we contact the parents through the emergency telephone number that we keep on file. We update these numbers annually, but it is essential that parents inform us when contact details change.
7.6 There may be rare occasions where it is necessary for staff to restrain a pupil physically, to prevent them from inflicting injury to others, causing self-injury, damaging property, or being disruptive. In such cases only the minimum force necessary may be used, and any action taken must be only to restrain the pupil. If restraint has been required, the parents will be informed.
8 Fire and other emergency procedures
8.1 Procedures for fire and other emergency evacuation are displayed prominently in all rooms. Fire drills are held twice each term. Arrangements are made to monitor the condition of all fire prevention equipment regularly. This includes the visual inspection of fire extinguishers, and the testing of the fire alarm system.
9 Educational visits
9.1 The school takes very seriously its responsibilities for ensuring the safety of children whilst on school trips. No child is taken off school premises without the receipt of a permission slip from the parent. A trip file is kept in the primary office for staff to write feedback on the trip. Any concerns on safety are reported immediately to the Senior Management Team.
9,2 All trips are fully risk assessed according to our risk assessment scheme and the trip only goes if the Head is satisfied with the risk assessment and the nature of the trip.
10 Medicines
10.1 Most pupils will at some time have a condition requiring medication. For many the condition will be short-term – perhaps the duration of a short absence from school. However, although a child may soon be well enough to be back at school, medication may perhaps still be required during the school day for a short period. In such cases the school nurse will administer the medicine having received instruction from the parent.
11 Internet safety
11.1 We regularly use the Internet in school, because it has many educational benefits. In order to minimise the risk of children coming across unsuitable material, we provide constant supervision, and we use only a filtered service, selected links, and child-friendly search engines. We seek parental permission before using photographs of children or their work on the school’s website.
12 Monitoring and review
12.1 King´s College Murcia has a named working party with responsibility for health and safety matters (Maria Eugenia Mazzariol, Robin Silk, Stefan Rumistrzewicz and Maree Wood).
12.2 The working party, in consultation with professional advisors, carries out regular risk assessments, with the object of keeping the school environment safe.
12.3 The Head of School implements the school’s health, safety and welfare policy on a day-to-day basis, and ensures that all staff are aware of the details of the policy as it applies to them.
12.4 Staff should report any concerns to a member of the working party.
January 2012
