Health and Safety

HEALTH & SAFETY

The safety of the children in our care is of paramount importance and we have to act in accordance with national legislation set down by law and the local regulations set down by Leicester City Council. Furthermore, we strive for the best possible practice in this area. At the same time, children learn by taking risks - about their capabilities, about overcoming obstacles, about testing boundaries and exploring their emotions. We aim to create an environment therefore which allows children to take appropriate risks and to develop responsibility for their own safety.

Health and Safety is everyone's responsibility. Our Health and Safety Working Party consists of: Jatinder Mahil - Headteacher, Stuart Monksfield - Premises Officer, Paul Archdeacon - Vice Chair of Governors.

Our Health and Safety Policy can be viewed on our Policies page. Paper copies are available upon request in the school office.

ASBESTOS

Asbestos is on our school site. It is checked quarterly by our Premises Officer and managed correctly. The last council inspection of the asbestos was in the spring (2019).

ROAD SAFETY

Children receive regular inputs on road safety and have opportunities throughout their school life. Children are to use the zebra crossing (with the School Crossing Patrol Officer) to cross Mere Road and we ask parents to support us in this by setting a good example. Parents who drive to school are asked to carefully consider CAR PARKING. Parking around school is at a premium and you must not park on or opposite the yellow zig zags in Mere Close.

SITE SECURITY

The school site is kept locked whilst children are in school during the day and before and after school activities. This means that no-one can enter the site without coming through two secure doors, and signing in with the office. Only those visitors who are known to us and have a Disqualification and Barring Service (DBS) certificate are allowed to move around school unsupervised. Staff are not allowed to give access to anyone, other than through the office; and staff and visitors should wear their badges/sticker at all times. Staff will challenge any adult not wearing a badge.

In the event of a fire, all doors open easily from the inside and comply with fire regulations. School staff can unlock the gates if needed to evacuate the playground. Our fire drill is regularly practised and we also drill the children for an invacuation - bringing them inside school from the playground in the case of an emergency. Children respond very well to these drills, take them very seriously and achieve very quick times, very safely.

ADMINISTRATION OF MEDICINES

At the discretion of the Head Teacher, we can administer prescribed medicines which have to be administered four times a day or more often. Medication can only be administered on completion of the appropriate form which can be provided in the Office. 

Children’s inhalers for asthma, epiPens/Jext pens for allergies and other medicines are labeled and kept in the Medical Room. They are taken on school trips by staff and placed back in the Medical Room swiftly upon return.

We do not administer non-prescription medication.

ILLNESS

We know that children will catch coughs and colds, tummy bugs and other childhood illnesses. Our main priority is to prevent the spread of these germs for the protection of all children and staff in school. We request that children are taught to covers their mouths and noses when sneezing and coughing, and to turn away from other people.

If a child has sickness and/or diarrohea, please keep them at home for a full 48 hours after the last episode. This kind of sickness spreads through the school so quickly and we really want to try and contain it as far as possible. Sometimes parents are certain that sickness is caused by something other than a tummy bug, (for example, due to a cough, travel sickness or reflux). Unfortunately, we aren't medically qualified to ascertain this, and so even if you think it's not a tummy bug, we cannot accept children into school until 48 hours has elapsed.

If your child has chicken pox, please keep them away from school until the blisters scab over. The symptoms usually show up between 7 and 21 days after coming into contact with the virus. It is infectious for a day or two before the rash appears - so it is hard to know that your child is infectious! They remain infectious until all the blisters have crusted over. This usually takes around 5-6 days from the start of the rash. (See www.nhs.uk for more information).

We appreciate your support in reducing the spread of infection.

HEALTH SCREENING

Your child may be seen by a variety of health professionals whilst at Bridge, including the administration of vaccinations. You will be given advance notice of any such visits.

FIRST AID

A large proportion of our staff are first aid trained and where necessary, first aid will be administered. If a child injures themselves whilst at school, we will send a letter home advising you of the location of the injury and requesting that you keep a close eye on the child for any reaction. If there is a more serious accident, we will telephone you so please ensure that you keep all your records up to date and inform us of any change in your telephone number. All accidents and minor ailments are recorded. 

E-SAFETY

Our ICT Acceptable Use Policy is available for viewing on Policies webpage. We have robust filtering systems in place to regulate what children can see and do on the internet whilst in school and internet use is carefully monitored. We regularly provide age-appropriate guidance for children on using modern technologies and offer sessions to parents too.