Aims
The aims of our first aid policy are to:
- Ensure the health and safety of all staff, pupils and visitors
- Ensure that staff and Trustees and Local Academy Councilors are aware of their responsibilities with regards to health and safety
- Provide a framework for responding to an incident and recording and reporting the outcomes
Legislation and guidance
This policy is based on the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage, advice from the Department for Education on first aid in schools and health and safety in schools, and Safety Executive (HSE) on incident reporting in schools, and the following legislation:
This policy complies with our funding agreement and articles of association.
Roles and responsibilities
Appointed person(s) and first aiders
The academies appointed person(s) are
Waycroft – Shannon Todd and Richard Palmer Woodlands – Victoria Amey
Wicklea – Abby Weber
They are responsible for:
- Taking charge when someone is injured or becomes ill
- Ensuring there is an adequate supply of medical materials in first aid kits and replenishing the contents of these kits.
- Ensuring that an ambulance or other professional medical help is summoned when First aiders are trained and qualified to carry out the role (see section 7) and are responsible for:
- Acting as first responders to any incidents; they will assess the situation where there is an injured or ill person and provide immediate and appropriate treatment.
- Sending pupils home to recover, where necessary
- Completing Medical Tracker on the same day, or as soon as is reasonably practicable, after an incident
- Keeping their contact details up to date
Our MATs appointed persons and first aiders names are displayed prominently at each academy.
The Board of Trustees
The Board of Trustees have ultimate responsibility for health and safety matters in the academies. Operational matters are delegated to the Executive Business Manager and day-to-day tasks to the caretakers, Headteachers and staff.
The Headteacher
The Head teacher is responsible for the implementation of this policy, including:
- Ensuring that an appropriate number of appointed persons and/or trained first aid personnel are always present in the academy.
- Ensuring that first aiders have an appropriate qualification, keep training up to date and remain competent to perform their role.
- Ensuring all staff are aware of first aid
- Ensuring appropriate risk assessments are completed and appropriate measures are put in place
- Undertaking, or ensuring that risk assessments are undertaken as appropriate and that appropriate measures are put in place.
- Ensuring that adequate space is available for catering to the medical needs of
- Reporting specified incidents to the HSE when necessary (see section 2)
Staff
School staff are responsible for:
- Ensuring they follow first aid procedures
- Ensuring they know who the first aiders in the academy are
- Completing medical Tracker for all incidents they attend to where an appointed person is not called
- Informing the Headteacher or their line manager of any specific health conditions or first aid needs
First aid procedures
In-school procedures
In the event of an accident resulting in injury:
- The closest member of staff present will assess the seriousness of the injury and seek the assistance of a qualified first aider, who will provide the required first aid treatment.
- The first aider will assess the injury and decide if further assistance is needed from a colleague or the emergency services. They will remain on scene until help arrives.
- The first aider will also decide whether the injured person should be moved or placed in a recovery position.
- If the first aider judges that a patient is too unwell to remain in the academy, parents will be contacted and asked to collect their child. Upon their arrival, the first aider will recommend next steps to the parents.
- If emergency services are called, a senior leader will contact parents immediately.
- The first aider who dealt with the accident/injury will complete Medical Tracker on the same day or as soon as is reasonably practical after an incident resulting in an injury.
Off-site procedures
When taking pupils off the academy premises, staff will ensure they always have the following:
- A mobile phone
- A portable first aid kit
- Access to Medical Tracker with information about the specific medical needs of pupils
Risk assessments will be completed by staff prior to any educational visit that necessitates taking pupils off academy premises.
There will always be at least one first aider with a current paediatric first aid certificate on academy trips and visits, as required by the statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage.
There will always be at least one first aider on academy trips and visits for all other year groups.
First aid equipment
A typical first aid kit in our academies will include the following:
- Regular and large bandages
- Eye pad bandages
- Triangular bandages
- Adhesive tape
- Safety pins
- Disposable gloves
- Antiseptic wipes
- Plasters of assorted sizes
- Scissors
- Cold compresses
- Burns dressings
No medication is kept in first aid kits. First aid kits are stored in:
- The medical room
- Reception (at the desk)
- The academy hall
- The academy kitchens
- The classrooms
Record-keeping and reporting
Medical Tracker
- Medical Tracker will be completed by the member of staff on the same day or as soon as possible after an incident resulting in an injury.
- Parets/carers will receive an email alert which will indicate read once
- Records held on Medical Tracker will be retained by the academy for: – Date of incident + 12 years in the case of serious accidents a further retention period will need to be applied, in accordance with regulation 25 of the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations 1979, and then securely disposed of.
Reporting to the HSE
Medical Tracker has a report function where all accidents which result in a reportable injury, disease, or dangerous occurrence as defined in the RIDDOR 2013 legislation (regulations 4, 5, 6 and 7) which can be downloaded.
Delegated Services will report these to the Health and Safety Executive as soon as is reasonably practicable and in any event within 10 days of the incident.
Reportable injuries, diseases or dangerous occurrences include:
- Death
- Specified injuries, which are:
- Fractures, other than to fingers, thumbs and toes
- Amputations
- Any injury likely to lead to permanent loss of sight or reduction in sight
- Any crush injury to the head or torso causing damage to the brain or internal organs
- Serious burns (including scalding)
- Any scalping requiring hospital treatment
- Any loss of consciousness caused by head injury or asphyxia
- Any other injury arising from working in an enclosed space which leads to hypothermia or heat- induced illness, or requires resuscitation or admittance to hospital for more than 24 hours
- Injuries where an employee is away from work or unable to perform their normal work duties for more than 7 consecutive days (not including the day of the incident)
- Where an accident leads to someone being taken to hospital
- Near-miss events that do not result in an injury, but could have Examples of near-miss events relevant to academies include, but are not limited to:
- The collapse or failure of load-bearing parts of lifts and lifting equipment
- The accidental release of a biological agent likely to cause severe human illness
- The accidental release or escape of any substance that may cause a serious injury or damage to health
- An electrical short circuit or overload causing a fire or explosion Information on how to make a RIDDOR report is available here:
How to make a RIDDOR report, HSE
http://www.hse.gov.uk/riddor/report.htm
Notifying parents
The first aider will inform parents of any accident or injury sustained by a pupil, and any first aid treatment given, on the same day, or as soon as reasonably practicable.
Reporting to Ofsted and child protection agencies
The Executive Headteacher or Headteacher in her absence will notify Ofsted of any serious accident, illness or injury to, or death of, a pupil while in the academy’s care. This will happen as soon as is reasonably practicable, and no later than 14 days after the incident.
The Executive Headteacher or in her absence the Executive Business Manager will also notify Bristol City Child Protection Team of any serious accident or injury to, or the death of, a pupil while in the academy’s care.
Training
All first aiders must have completed a training course and must hold a valid certificate of competence to show this. The academy will keep a register of all trained first aiders, what training they have received and when this is valid until.
At all times, at least 1 staff member will have a current pediatric first aid (PFA) certificate which meets the requirements set out in the Early Years Foundation Stage statutory framework and is updated at least every 3 years.
Monitoring arrangements
This policy will be reviewed by the Executive Headteacher every year.
Links with other policies
This first aid policy is linked to the
- Health and safety policy
- Policy on supporting pupils with medical conditions
