With the new school year fast approaching it is a good time to reflect on what provisions you have in place for first aid and safety, and what you need to do to get ready for September.

September is traditionally when many staff changes can take place which can lead to some gaps in your provision that you need to fill.

So what things should you be doing and what should you be looking for?

Below we have listed some of the top things to look at to get your school prepared for the new school year:

• Trained personnel – do you have the correct level of trained staff and are their qualifications current or do they need renewing? You should keep track of these in a database for ease of access.
• Accident book – review your accident book/s for employees and pupils to ensure that all actions have been taken and nothing is outstanding.
• Risk assessments – are all your risk assessments up to date or do they require updating?
• Check policies – review your health and safety policies to see whether any need updating especially if there have been any changes within the school.
• Safety equipment – do you have sufficient stocks of safety equipment for completing tasks within the school and for classroom activities such as safety goggles for science and DT classes?
• First aid supplies – have all first aid boxes been replenished and do store cupboards have sufficient supplies? Also, check all expiry dates to ensure none are beyond the date or close to it.
• Audit your facilities for safety signs – is there sufficient safety signage around the site and is it in good condition? Replace and add new signs where needed.
• Pupil health – at the start of the new year with many new pupils starting you should collect information from parents about the pupils’ health needs and any medical requirements. This information collected should then be logged centrally and shared with staff where appropriate such as allergies and medical conditions to be aware of and any medication needs. Any medications required in school should be arranged to be brought in and stored in an appropriate location and the right conditions.

The important thing about all of these is to ensure that they are up to date and staff are fully aware of them, so you should ensure that first aid and safety form part of your staff training when they return or start with the school. Particular care needs to be taken with pupil health requirements and ensuring all staff in contact with the pupil are aware of their needs.

Good luck with the new school year!