Accident prevention at school

Every year, over two million children attend hospital emergency departments as a result of accidents — a figure that surprises many teachers. About a million of these accidents happen to children outside the home, including while they are at school. But how can you prevent you or your pupils swelling the statistics? This article looks at developing your own sense of safety awareness in the classroom and helping children themselves understand the need to be safe.

The Child Accident Prevention Trust (CAPT) organises Child Safety Week. According to the charity, there is minimal information about the type and location of accidents that happen at school. Due to the varied levels of detail kept about accidents in schools, the statistics are vague.

What is known is that well over 160,000 children in the 5-11 age group visited hospital accident and emergency (A&E) departments in 1999 as a result of accidents at educational establishments. Over 80,000 of these visited A&E after being bumped into, and over 9,000 as a result of pinching, crushing, cutting, tearing or puncturing themselves.

How school staff can help

The Child Accident Prevention Trust sees awareness of accidents being raised through teachers. In particular, those teachers involved in delivering Personal Social and Health Education. The theme of Child Safety Week this year is ‘one moment can change everything’. The message is that ‘accidents happen in seconds but the effects can last a lifetime’. As a CAPT spokesperson said, ‘we would like to encourage teachers to use the week to focus on accident prevention, particularly serious accidents with long-term consequences’. To support teachers in this, an Ideas Booklet, containing information about the most serious accidents and how to prevent them has been produced. It is free and has been created in a format that can be photocopied. CAPT also distributes other literature designed to help children to get over accidents (see below for contact details).

The Handbook for Newly Qualified Teachers by Elizabeth Holmes carries extensive advice on accident prevention. It also covers what to do in the immediate aftermath of an accident. The handbook points out that while some areas of schools may be more hazardous than others, all classrooms present potential risks. The following steps can reduce accident risk:

• Take a look round your classroom regularly throughout the day to make sure there are no obvious hazards (such as chairs out of place or broken furniture).
• Ensure that the windows in your room are all safe; that the catches work and there is no cracked or broken glass. If necessary, make the window area a pupil-free zone.
• Check your room for leaks. One teacher had to spend a lesson that was being observed by an Ofsted inspector finding suitable receptacles for rainwater that was dripping through the ceiling onto her desk.
• Check the furniture in your room regularly for damage, cracks and splinters. Ask your classes to inform you of broken items.
• Make sure any necessary repairs are carried out promptly. You may have to remind the powers-that-be about what needs doing.
• Be strict about the way pupils enter and leave your room. Bundles can quickly become dangerous. Also be firm about the way pupils move around the classroom.
• Make sure pupils’ bags are stowed away during lessons. Many a teacher has tripped on stray bag straps while moving around the room to work with children.
• Be strict about food consumption in your room. Children who are trying to chew gum or suck sweets surreptitiously are more likely to choke.
• Check that any leads and wiring in your room are safe. If you are not sure, ask a colleague to check for you.

Health and safety issues are particularly important when pupils are dealing with information and communication technology. Teachers should be mindful about workstation design and electrical cable safety. You can also teach good postures for sitting at computer terminals (forearms horizontal and parallel with thighs).There are many potential hazards to be avoided when studying this area of the curriculum.

Influencing safety awareness

Pupils are also vulnerable to accidents on their way to and from school. Teachers might do the following:

• Encourage children to get someone to help them to check the condition of their bike, particularly brakes, tyres and lights. This should happen every few weeks.
• Remind children to wear cycle helmets whenever they are on their bikes. The latest research from the Department for Transport shows that injuries for boy cyclists are about five times the rate for girls. The number of boys wearing cycle helmets has now fallen from a pitiful 16% to a dangerously low 12%.
• Stress the need for children to wear something reflective on their clothing when out after dark. This is particularly important in the winter months when being out in the dark is unavoidable.
• Reiterate the importance of choosing safe places to cross roads.
• As the Child Accident Prevention Trust is reminding us, one moment can change everything.

Resources

The Child Safety Week Hotline number is 020 7689 4535.

The CAPT website has general information about child safety and accident prevention, as well as about Child Safety Week.

The Newly Qualified Teacher’s Handbook by Elizabeth Holmes is published by RoutledgeFalmer (ISBN 0749438576).

Originally published on Teachernet