Highlighting the importance of Safety education in schools

2. Safety education is the responsibility of
all staff in the school, including
teaching and non-teaching staff,
through the formal and informal
curriculum.
If safety education is to be effective,
safety should underpin the whole
culture and ethos of the school.

3. What can safety education
achieve?
Safety education can enable children and
young people, and their parents/carers,
to put effective safety measures into
practice. For example, young cyclists can
be taught how to plan safer routes to
avoid difficult junctions where most
accidents happen. Fitting smoke alarms
and rehearsing escape routes can save
lives in fires.

4. What pupils learn about risk assessment in
school can be applied to life outside the
school gates and can increase receptiveness
to safety information and advice from other
sources. Safety education can help young
people make decisions about, and
undertake, a wide range of activities - sport,
adventurous activities, travel, work
experience - confidently and competently.

5. What is safety education?
 Safety education should enable pupils to keep
themselves safe and to contribute to keeping
others safe. It helps them be aware of possible
hazards in different areas of their lives, and be able
to take appropriate decisions and actions.
 Safety education is not about isolating young
people from all hazards – the bumps, cuts and
bruises which are a normal part of growing up -
but about equipping them to deal safely with a
wide range of situations.

6. Safety education includes:

7.  The skills of hazard awareness and
recognition, and risk assessment and
management. Pupils will be taught about risk
assessment in subjects such as design and technology,
science and physical education. Safety education enables
pupils to transfer this learning to other areas of their lives.
 The factors which influence attitudes and behaviour
which relate to safety. Safety education should include
consideration of the stereotypes and pressures which affect
risk taking, for example, media images linking driving and
speed, or the influence of fashion trends on the wearing of
protective equipment.

8.  Personal and social skills like assertiveness are
important in enabling pupils to take responsibility for
their own and others’ safety: for example, when asking
for help or calling the emergency services, or asking an
adult to wear a seat belt or to drive more slowly.
 The role of emotions in recognising and
managing risky situations. Being able to control
anger and deal with stress and fear are valuable safety-
related skills.
 Playing a part in making communities safer. Safety
education involves learning to take responsibility for
social and moral issues. Discussing safety issues to do
with their school and local environment can lead on to
pupils taking part in activities to improve safety. It
should include discussion about social and political
issues, which impact on improving safety.

9. Contexts for safety education
 Effective safety education should include a
range of contexts appropriate to the age and
developmental stage of the pupils. Account
should be taken of the immediate
environment of the pupils, for example,
urban or rural roads, as well as unfamiliar
environments that pupils may encounter, for
example, driving, field visits, family holidays
or work experience settings.

10. Contexts and Issues for Safety
Education
 play
 sport and leisure
 construction sites
 Water
 roads
 rail
 Fire
 electricity, gas
 agricultural settings
 school
 community safety
 the world of work
 home
 personal safety
 socio-political issues

11. Effective planning for safety education will
help teachers to promote key skills
and thinking skills:
Key skills
 information technology
 improving pupils’
learning and
performance
 information processing
 enquiry
 evaluation
Thinking skills
 working with others
 problem solving.
 Reasoning
 creative thinking

12. The general teaching
requirement for health and
safety requires teachers to
teach pupils how to:

13.  Recognise hazards: A hazard is something with the
potential to cause harm (this can include objects,
substances, machines, ways of working and the working
environment).
 Assess risk : A risk is the likelihood of potential harm
from the hazard being realised. The extent of the
risk will depend on :
1) the likelihood of that harm occurring
2) the potential severity of that harm
3) the number of people who might be affected.
 Control risk : The purpose of the risk assessment is to
determine what measures should be taken to control the
risk, taking into account existing precautions and their
effectiveness.

14. POINTS TO PONDER UPON

15.  Is student safety a priority for your school and your
community?
 Do parents have access to reports that include
information about the number of violent or other
unsafe incidents at the school?
 Does your school have procedures for responding
quickly to unsafe situations?
 Is your school addressing ways to prevent as well as
respond to crises?
 Are the school board, school principal, school
superintendent, teachers, school staff, parents,
students, and community professionals all involved in
these efforts?

16.  Has someone been designated to coordinate activities
to maintain a safe and healthy environment?
 Are counselors and psychologists available to work
with students who are troubled or disruptive?
 Do students in all grades participate in classes to help
them develop conflict resolution and other life skills?
 Do school health service providers help or refer
students who come to them with concerns about
safety?
 Does the school emphasize promoting self-esteem and
respect for others in all aspects of the school program?
 Are parents and students involved in activities that
promote school safety?

17.  Are teachers encouraged to set examples of positive
physical, social, and emotional health?
 Does the school have fair, firm, consistent discipline
policies?
 Are school facilities attractive and hazard-free?
 Is safety addressed in all aspects of the school
program-the cafeteria, physical education, classrooms,
playgrounds, after-school programs, etc.?
 Do school staff, parents, and community members
working on school safety collaborate?

18. Unhealthy Building

19. Contaminated air
 If the children frequently has symptoms similar to
a cold, an allergy, or the flu—and if the doctor has
eliminated other causes—watch your child to see if
the problem clears up on the weekends.
 Another sign is when people with asthma or
allergies have more reactions to these conditions
when they are inside the school building than
outside it.

20. Pesticides in School
 Because their young bodies are still
developing, children are more susceptible
than adults to harm from pesticides and
other lawn-care products.
 Some schools are employing firms that use
safer alternative pest control methods.

21. Unsafe Drinking Water
 Occasionally, schools are found to have
contaminants such as lead in the drinking
water. Lead pipes in older buildings can be
one of the culprits. All schools should have
their water tested periodically.

22. COMING TO THE SCHOOL
 Safety measures can take a variety of forms, everything
from stepped-up traffic enforcement to in-class
education on such topics as school bus safety rules.
 Many schools have adult crossing guards and school
safety patrols, for example. Still, there probably are
traffic situations that could use improvement.
 A safety audit with the help of a school safety
committee should be done that includes staff, parents,
police, and someone from your community's traffic
engineering department.

23.  The engineer can look at signs, traffic lights, street
markings, and other features of the streets around
your school and make recommendations on additional
traffic control measures that might be needed, for
example.
 One project of the school safety committee should be
preparing maps that show the safest routes to school.
 The maps should be big enough to incorporate the
entire enrollment area.
 Many of the traffic problems around schools are
caused by parents. Some ignore the pick-up zones,
double park, or block the buses.

24.  Schools can alleviate congestion by taking such steps
as staggering the dismissal of walkers and riders,
having them exit on different sides of the building, and
creating more pick-up-lane space if possible.
 Traffic rule violations put kids in danger. If this is a
problem at your school, talk to the parent-teacher
association or the school staff—both about ways to
ease congestion and to enforce the rules.
 School Bus Safety: Kids should be taught school bus
safety rules. For example, they should stay away from
the wheels and the back of the school bus. If they cross
in front of the bus after deboarding, they should move
to at least 10 feet in front of the bus and wait for a
signal from the driver that it's safe to cross.

25. Safety of Playgrounds
 If the equipment is metal, it should be painted or
galvanized to prevent rusting. Otherwise, the structure
can become weakened or develop sharp, broken edges.
Parts used for climbing and gripping are safest if
covered with slip-resistant material.
 Wooden equipment can deteriorate and become
splintered. Bolts can loosen.
 Moving parts can pinch or crush a child's finger. Give
special scrutiny to merry-go-rounds, seesaws, and
suspension bridges.

26.  Exposed mechanisms, such as joints or springs, are
prime places for injury. Moving parts should be
kept lubricated.
 Kids should never wear clothing with drawstrings.
The strings can get caught on playground
equipment—and other places—and strangle
children.
 Make sure elevated surfaces, like platforms and
ramps, have guardrails to prevent falls.

27. Fire and Safety drills
 Have monthly drills and time them to be sure that
students are exiting in a timely manner.
 Hold fire safety assemblies to review procedures.
 Review each fire drill over the intercom or on the
schools television broadcast. Provide
recommendations for improvement and commend
exemplary behavior.
 Use of fire extinguishers should be known to all.

28. Earthquake Simulation and
Evacuation Drill
 Give your students several opportunities to ask
questions and discuss their fears and concerns. They’ll
have plenty of “what if’ questions. Don’t feel that you
must provide all the answers. Let your students hold
problem-solving sessions. Class and group discussions
provide opportunities for students not only to express
their negative feelings, but also to develop pride in the
positive competency they have gained.

30. Classroom Hazard Hunt
 Are free-standing cabinets, bookcases, and wall
shelves secured to a structural support?
 Are heavy objects removed from shelves above the
heads of seated students?
 Is the TV monitor securely fastened to a stable
platform or securely attached to a rolling cart with
lockable wheels?
 Are wall mountings secured to prevent them from
swinging free or breaking windows during an
earthquake?
 Are hanging plants all in lightweight, unbreakable
pots and fastened to closed hooks?

31. Laboratory safety measures
 Use of Lab-gear viz. lab coats, hand gloves etc.
 Adequately trained lab staff.
 Safety drills for the lab in case of an emergency.
 Training the students for safety precautions related to
use of chemicals, electric points, hazardous equipment
etc.