The Health and Safety Service have published revised Audit and Assessment Protocol and Escalation Procedure for schools causing concern.
The Audit and Assessment Protocol was agreed between the Health and Safety Service and Somerset Council’s Service Director for Education Partnerships and Skills.
The purpose of the Audit and Assessment Protocol is to provide a clear understanding of the purpose, scope, requirements, and expected outcomes relating to the school Health and Safety Audit and Fire Risk Assessment programmes within Somerset Council.
Each audit and assessment involves a combination of document scrutiny, interviews, and observation of premises/ activities to assess the quality of the health and safety/ fire prevention management systems in place. At the conclusion of the audit a summary percentage score or risk rating is awarded and action plans created.
As part of the Council’s arrangements for monitoring performance the outcomes of school audits and Fire Risk Assessments may be reported to the School Improvement Panel (SIP) or the Learning Infrastructure Board.
Any Health and Safety audit score below 80% will be highlighted as a school of concern. Any Health and Safety audit score below 70% will be assessed on case-by-case basis as they may be subject to the Escalation process especially if there is an immediate concern.
3 months after the audit, the Health and Safety Service will contact the school to review progress associated with any actions identified during the audit. 4 months after the publication of the Fire Risk Assessment on Civica, the school will receive a reminder to update their action plan. Schools who are not taking appropriate action to manage identified risks arising from either a school audit or Fire Risk Assessment may also be reported to the Schools Improvement Panel.
The Escalation Procedure applies to the Governing body and Headteacher of a community or voluntary controlled school, or a community special school, and outlines how to comply with any direction given to them by the local education authority concerning the health or safety of persons on the school’s premises or taking part in any school activities elsewhere.
The review included the addition of Fire Risk Assessments, and the Direction Levels were assessed and reduced from 6 to 4 as the Health and Safety Service felt there were overlaps in the previous system and the levels did not reflect our current practices. Consequently, the time frame for a school staying on a Direction Level 1 may be increased and this would be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
In order to ensure that schools are aware of the content of the Audit and Assessment Protocol and Escalation Procedure, they are in the Burgundy Pack available on the Health and Safety website and regularly cited by the service.
