Identify the correct procedures for recording and · correct actions have not been taken, this will also be recorded, and later can be looked at so that lessons can be learned and

Identify the correct procedures for recording andreporting accidents, incidents, injuries, signs of illnessand other emergencies.The importance of policies and procedures

You must read safety-related policies and procedures if they are available, because

they are the backbone of health and safety action in schools, and without the correct

up-to-date information you are not providing a full duty of care to the children whom

you support.

Although procedures and policies may differ from school to school, the majority of

them rely on well-known health and safety tenets and typical lines of accountability.

All schools will have a procedure around recording and reporting accidents and

incidents, and as a staff member, you will be expected to follow this procedure to the

letter if the situation arises.

If you were not present at the scene of the incident, you may not be asked to

complete the incident form, but you should know the kind of information that is

needed for that, and you should be prepared to assist someone else in the

completion of the form. You should also ensure you know who to give the completed

form to, and what happens to the information after you pass it on.

Sample incident / accident form.

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Isn't incident reporting just too much paperwork?

This is not paperwork for the sake of paperwork; it is a tried-and-tested way to

ensure that the staff in schools are able to adequately deal with incidents, using well-

thought-out processes, and that all action taken at the time is recorded, preferably at

the time, in order to assure others (including emergency services, governors,

parents, other pupils and so on) that the correct actions have been taken. If the

correct actions have not been taken, this will also be recorded, and later can be

looked at so that lessons can be learned and the situation can be properly

evaluated.

Most incident policies will require staff to complete an incident form in the event of an

accident, incident, illness or emergency; however, they may also require near misses

to be similarly recorded.

The completion of an incident form has a dual role. Not only does it ensure that

witnesses to the incident provide first-hand information about what happened; it is

also partly because all of the information that is collected can be used to inform and

further educate staff about what happened and why.

Lessons learned

There is a very corporate concept that has been used in many large organisations,

known as 'lessons learned', where the paperwork and reporting mechanisms feed

into meetings and group work that enables staff members to learn from incidents in

the hope that they will play out differently in the future.

Near misses help with this learning process, and add to the information that means

the incident might not happen again, or it might play out differently next time. All

experience is valuable experience, provided that something is learned each time.

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Why do illnesses have to be recorded?

Not all illnesses will need to be recorded; however, some are more contagious or

more serious than others, and sometimes it may be necessary for school to contact

parents to let them know about the incidence of a particular illness in school. You

should check through the relevant policy at school and do your own research if you

are not familiar with the way an illness can look.

Some illnesses have incubation periods that can be quite long and during which

children may not show signs of being ill. This is often the time when they are most

contagious.

Health and safety is very much a sensible, common-sense way of dealing with

accidents, incidents, emergencies and illnesses, and should not be dismissed for

being overly protective. Instead, it should be embraced and policies and procedures

should be read and digested.

If you find that a school's polices do not make sense to you, it may be worth your

while flagging up the issue at a meeting in order to either ensure that the policy is

better written, or to check your understanding.

The most important thing is that you fully understand what to do and who to contact

in any given situation.

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