25 Health and Safety Policy

Purpose

This policy sets out how the school protects the health and safety of pupils, staff and visitors in the learning it provides: in online lessons and recordings, and in any activity the school arranges in person.

Responsibilities

• The Principal holds overall responsibility for health and safety and for making sure risks are assessed and controlled.
• Staff follow the school's arrangements, report hazards and incidents, and act sensibly in an emergency.
• Families look after their child's learning environment at home and tell the school of anything that affects their child's safety or access to learning.

Health and wellbeing in online learning

• Sessions are timetabled to avoid long unbroken periods of screen time, with short breaks built in and a lesson length appropriate to the pupil's age.
• Pupils may keep cameras off by default, and are asked to turn a camera on only where a member of staff has a clear reason for it.
• Workload and set activities are proportionate, and a pupil is never kept in a live session beyond its scheduled time.
• Pupils are told to speak up, through the school's reporting route, if they feel unwell, distressed or unsafe during a session.
• Where a pupil has a known medical or access need, the school records it and makes reasonable adjustments where it can.

Activity in person

Growing Roots teaches online. Where the school arranges any in-person activity, such as an exam sitting, an assessment, a club or a visit, it is planned before it happens and includes:

• a written risk assessment, approved before the activity, following the school's Risk Assessment Policy;
• checks on the venue and on any third party providing it;
• suitable adult-to-pupil supervision, with adults whose safer recruitment checks are complete;
• first-aid arrangements and a route for an emergency;
• written parental consent where the activity needs it;
• insurance cover appropriate to the activity.

Emergencies

• A pupil or family in immediate danger calls 999 and then tells the school.
• The school holds up-to-date emergency contact details for every pupil and knows the address where a pupil learns during a live session.
• Staff follow the school's emergency and safeguarding procedures and report to the Designated Safeguarding Lead where a child may have been harmed.

Equipment and working environment

• Staff use equipment provided or approved by the school, keep devices secure and updated, and report faulty or unsafe equipment.
• Staff working from home arrange a safe working space and keep pupil information out of sight of others.

Recording and reporting

Accidents, injuries and near misses involving pupils or staff are recorded with the date, what happened, the people involved and the action taken. Where a matter also raises a safeguarding or online safety concern, it is reported under the relevant policy as well as recorded here.

Review

This policy is reviewed at least once a year and before any new in-person activity is offered.