Health and Safety Policy

1. Commitment

We are committed to:

• Promoting a positive safety culture.
• Setting and regularly measuring health and safety performance.
• Providing training and resources.
• Co-operating with other organisations to promote health and safety.

2. Organisation

Roles and responsibilities for health and safety are indicated below. Whilst actions may be delegated, accountability remains with the role stated below:

• The Senior Manager, Employment and Skills has responsibility for ensuring service standards and procedures are set and that systems for checking compliance are in place.
• The Service Management Team (SMT) maintains an overview of service policies, practices and procedures in order to support their implementation and efficacy.
• The Senior Operations Manager along with Operations Manager have responsibility for developing standards and procedures and monitoring service compliance to these.
• Curriculum Officers and Senior Tutors act as a source of guidance for tutors and other colleagues regarding curriculum specific health and safety issues arising in the classroom environment. They are also responsible for monitoring and reviewing health and safety risk assessments completed by tutors to ensure all requirements are met and course delivery conforms to DDA requirements within a safe learner environment.
• The Senior Tutors with support from Senior Customer Service Officer is responsible for risk assessing external venues to ensure a safe learning environment. If a Learn Devon course is being undertaken on external premises it is the responsibility of the post holder to ensure the venue is adequately risk assessed prior to any programme being delivered and for all sub-contracts/partners contractual compliance in respect of meeting both health and safety and welfare are met in line with funding body requirements and reviewed annually.
• Senior Customer Service Officer with Support from Operations Manager take operational responsibility for risk assessment and health and safety standards reporting to the Senior Operations Manager. This includes:
  • ensuring emergency procedures are known and followed
  • ensuring fire drills and risk assessments are carried out and recorded
  • routine maintenance and repairs are carried out
  • ensuring initial risk assessments of outreach venues are recorded
  • ensuring that the service complies with PAT testing requirements
  • premises conform to DDA requirements
  • external hire of rooms adheres to Prevent and Safeguarding guidelines and all course visitors/guest and speakers are assessed to minimise any risk. Visitor Policy and Visiting Speaker Agreement.docx (sharepoint.com) (SharePoint)

Some tasks may be delegated to other staff with suitable and sufficient knowledge and training to perform them effectively.

Customer Service Officers are responsible for carrying out health and safety duties as requested by their Senior Customer Service Officer.  All Learn Devon staff and visitors to Learn Devon premises, they have a duty of care to themselves and others.  All staff are required to (a) be pro-active in the prevention of accidents and/or incidents and (b) ensure that hazards, concerns, and/or enquiries arising on a day-to day basis, are dealt with appropriately in the first instance, for example: by reporting the matter and/or taking immediate action to reduce any risk.

• Staff ID is worn at all times when in Learn Devon Buildings and/or external premises when representing Learn Devon
• Staff sign in/out where required in both internal and external buildings
• Tutors and Senior Tutors are responsible for:
• Ensuring Health and safety practices and procedures are followed within the classroom environment.
• Completing activity risk assessments for each course they deliver.
• Reporting any incidents or hazards that they identify on premises used by Learn Devon and external venues.
• Learners are responsible for taking reasonable steps to protect their own safety and that of those around them. Learners are responsible for ensuring the safety of their own equipment (and surroundings when studying in their own home).

Learner information videos introduced Sept 2022.

• Sub-contractors are responsible for ensuring the health, safety and wellbeing of their learners. Any incident must be reported to the contract manager, the Area Co-ordinator who will follow Learn Devon’s procedures as described in this policy.
• Compliance is ensured through close working with, and reference to HROne with the council’s policy.
• Safety on-line – All internet usage across the service will be monitored. As part of Safeguarding and Prevent, Learn Devon E-devices and Wi-Fi. will be monitored for activity on specific key words accessed and alerts will be sent to the Safeguarding team.​Online Delivery Policy and Guidance for Staff
• Staff travel – ALL STAFF are responsible for keeping diaries up to date to reflect any travel outside DCC premises. All calendars to show the following:
• Name of organisation – with postcode and/or address
• Name of person visiting
• Travel arrangements if applicable
• Line Managers to ensure staff are accountable for movement across the county is tracked for staff safety
• Single household staff are checked for safe arrival when working out of hours via text to line manager or alternative check

3. Policies, practices and procedures

• • Policies, practices and procedures are guided by DCC. Learn Devon has developed a specific health and safety policy and guidance, copies of which are held in SharePoint for Learn Devon centres. SharePoint – Policies and Documents
  • A service level agreement has been developed with HROne to define their role in supporting Learn Devon.
  • The service Continuity Plan ​Learn Devon Business Continuity Plan

4. Monitoring and auditing

Monitoring and auditing will operate on the following basis:

• Curriculum Officers/Senior Customer Service Officer will ensure that completed risk assessments, the accident report form (completed online) and other health and safety reports are either sent to the relevant member of staff within Learn Devon or HROne, and/or retained on file for monitoring as appropriate.
• All Line managers receiving completed risk assessments will monitor these to ensure that they are appropriately completed and that outcomes are effectively acted upon.
• Health and safety audit visits will be conducted by DCC on an annual basis to monitor the compliance in Learn Devon offices and venues. Audit outcomes are saved within H&S folders within the SharePoint Library.
• Curriculum Officers, Operations Manager and Senior Operations Manager will monitor audit performances along with accidents/incidents occurring within the service. Findings will be reported on a monthly basis.
• Learn Devon is supported by the county health and safety team who will:
  • Visit Learn Devon Offices and Venues on annual basis to conduct risk assessments, liaising with the Operations Manager and/or Senior Operations Manager over any issues identified.
  • Provide regular updates on health and safety legislation that impact upon the practice of Learn Devon.
  • Provide on-going professional advice to managers and staff.
  • Provide reporting in line with Learn Devon operational requirements.
  • Liaise with the health and safety executive where required to do so in law or at the request of Operations Manager/Senior Operations Manager.

5. Reporting of accidents / incidences

• • Accident/Incident reports will be submitted by email except in exceptional circumstances (such as an individual has been advised to do so by HROne or online access is not available). All accident reports should be recorded online using OSHENS. Full details for accessing OSHENS: Reporting an incident or accident.docx

For more information: Discover how to report accidents accurately.

6. Training

• • Line managers are responsible for identifying training and the support needs of their staff.
  • The Operation Manager /Senior Operations Manager are responsible for any training programmes and reviewed on an annual basis. HROne will provide specialist support and training as identified.

Appendix 1 – Lone Working

This policy is to be read in conjunction with:

RA13B Working alone in premises.docx

RA13C Individual lone worker risk assessment.docx

RA13A Personal safety – working away from work base.docx

Home working policy.pdf

HS54 Working Away from an Office Base.pdf

Learn Devon will, so far as is reasonably practicable, ensure that:

• Employees who are required to work alone or unsupervised are protected from risks to their health and safety /well-being. A Risk Assessment will be carried out to reduce/identify risk by staff member and their line-manager.
• The risk to employees’ health and safety are identified by suitable and sufficient risk assessments and, where appropriate, by the introduction of control measures to eliminate or reduce risks to an acceptable level or within statutory requirements.
• Employees who believe themselves to be in serious or imminent danger and, for reason of their own or another person’s safety, remove themselves to a place of safety, will be supported by the Council.
• Employees should be suitably briefed before being expected to work alone.

Briefing

All employees of Learn Devon will be made aware of the service processes with regards to lone working as part of their Induction. Line Managers will continue the conversation with staff during supervision sessions.

Responsibilities

Line Managers are responsible for ensuring that staff have read and understood the policy and ensuring staff have been briefed in lone working through supervision or 121/emergency meeting

Line Managers are responsible for:

• Ensuring suitable and sufficient risk assessments are carried out to consider the potential hazards and risks to which the lone worker may be exposed. This assessment will include the task involved, the working conditions, the environment, equipment, any substances being used, the time and any members of the public that the employee may encounter or is visiting. RA13B Working alone in premises.docx (sharepoint.com)
• Assessing the physical capability of the staff member to carry out lone working in respect of experience, training, physical state (i.e. being pregnant or suffering from any medical condition that could place themselves or others at risk).
• Ensuring the person concerned has received sufficient information and briefing and is provided with all of the necessary tools and protective equipment and clothing, e.g. disposable gloves, head/eye protection, fluorescent and/or waterproof clothing and gloves.
• Any emergency arrangements are in place and known to all relevant staff.

Employees who work alone need to:

• Ensure they are traceable in that someone knows their location or itinerary, including the vehicle being used, and their expected time of return, all staff with access to Microsoft Outlook should use the calendar to record their location during the working day.
• Ensure they use the signing in/out arrangements at their place of work/ Comply with signing in/out arrangements at all sites visited.
• Inform appropriately of unexpected changes of plans.
• Always report any incidents, potential hazards or near misses. Report any breakages or damage to protective equipment.
• Comply with safe working practices/procedures, giving input to updating risk assessments especially if changes are made which increase the risk.
• Understand the impact of their own body language, words and phrases on managing conflict and requesting further training on this where necessary.
• Assess their own vulnerability and know how to remove themselves from harm referring to and updating the risk assessment where necessary.
• Follow Guidelines for internal and External Safeguarding and Prevent Policies.

All staff should follow latest guidance shared, and ensure they are working in line with the risk assessments shared.  All Risk Assessments are available on SharePoint H&S pages for each venue.  External Venue Risk Assessments and Learn Devon Venue Risk Assessments should be reviewed for changes/updates before arrival. Updates are shared by Operations Team to team leads for sharing/team meetings.

The following Managers are responsible for ensuring that Risk Assessments (and RA13B Working Alone in Premises) are completed, shared with relevant staff and held centrally for the following staff groups:

Teaching and Support staff lone working outside of main centres

Learn Devon teaching and support staff, by the nature of their role, will undertake lone working in external venues on a frequent basis. To further minimize the potential for risk, Learn Devon will:

• Include lone working as an activity within the Health and Safety audit of premises used for Learn Devon delivery, in order that each venue is risk assessed for lone working.
• Involve Area Co-Ordinator’s in the ongoing conversation with teaching staff and support regarding the risks posed in outside venues.

If you have concerns or questions,
please raise with your line-manager as soon as possible.

Updated September 2024