Health and Safety - Guidelines for handling of incidents

Health and Safety: Guidelines for handling of incidents

When there is an emergency situation, all employees need to take responsibility for their particular areas and manage the procedures accordingly (such as guiding learners through evacuation routes)

In addition, the head teacher needs to handle the incident in the following manner:

1. Delegate responsibilities to employees where necessary and make sure that emergency procedures are being adhered to.
2. Assess the situation and determine what action needs to be taken to prevent the problem escalating.  For example, if a fire can be extinguished fairly safely and easily with a fire extinguisher before emergency services arrive.
3. Consult with the school health and safety committee as well as the health and safety representatives.
4. Conduct a preliminary investigation to gather all the necessary facts.  This will help him/her plan a course of action.
5. Parents must be called, if learners are involved, to be informed of the problem.  
6. It may be necessary to collect evidence from the scene of the incident.
7. In addition to calling emergency services (such as the fire brigade, ambulance and police) they may need to call social workers in certain instances.
8. The incident must be reported to the Department of Education and the appointed health and safety officer.
9. The safety officer, in turn, will assess the type of support the school needs.

A written report must be compiled after the incident and an immediate evaluation made thereafter.  Future changes to the health and safety policy may need to be made if risks not factored for were involved.