Traded services to schools

A wide range of traded support to schools and settings, organised and delivered by teams within Oxfordshire County Council.

Schools health and safety

The Health, Safety and Wellbeing Team assists customers in meeting their statutory responsibilities. The team provides competent, practical advice and guidance to create safe, secure and rewarding environments. View prices for this service.

Available to maintained, academy and converting schools.  

Maintained schools

We offer this support service for schools where it is the employer. Other schools, such as voluntary aided, can also purchase a similar service.

It is important to note that the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 places overall responsibility for health and safety on the employer, which will be the governing body for voluntary aided schools.

How we can help your school

  • Provide a safe environment, work processes and activities for pupils, staff and visitors by having an identified management system in place
  • Comply with health and safety legislation, identify any significant risks and implement procedures to control those risks
  • Ensure staff are competent to carry out their duties in a safe manner
  • Arrange inspections of equipment at a preferred rate, including radioactive sources, play equipment
  • Convert to academy status
  • Assist in completing the school’s pre-checks on contractors if they are registered with the Contractor Health and Safety Assessment Scheme (CHAS)

Key benefits to the school

  • Assistance in fulfilling statutory health and safety duties and responsibilities through the improvement of safety management measures as a result of regular monitoring, access to information and employee training and supportive visits together with our dedicated helpdesk and email facility
  • Access to a team of competent, qualified health and safety professionals who have experience of working in and with schools
  • We issue Safety Action Bulletins to schools advising of potential dangers of equipment and/or as a result of an HSE alert on safety measures or as a direct result of incidents happening in schools
  • We provide specific health and safety advice for schools, such as arrangements for dealing with communicable diseases and infections
  • Access to data and lessons learnt from previous issues and resolutions
  • Checks to see if contractors have current registrations with CHAS

What does the service offer?

  • A team of health and safety professionals who can provide technical and practical advice, assistance and support, including on-site visits and advice
  • Advice on keeping people safe and healthy – your employees and those who are affected by your activities, i.e. pupils, contractors, members of the public, visitors
  • Advice on maintaining safe and secure sites, buildings and equipment to meet legislative requirements
  • Access to the health and safety information on the school intranet
  • Annual pre-use inspection of school-based seasonal swimming pools and annual inspection of indoor pools
  • Annual condition inspection and report of specialist equipment undertaken by competent contractors for PE (inspection and services included), Outdoor play, ceramics and radioactive sources
  • A health and safety site visit will assist you in fulfilling your statutory and delegated health and safety responsibilities, to include advice on good practice related to your activities and processes and a site safety tour of buildings and grounds to identify any actions needed to improve health and safety
  • Access to specialist and technical advice, including CLEAPSS  and the Radiation Protection Adviser (RPA) Service
  • Assistance in emergency situations such as dangerous occurrences, e.g. asbestos exposure, contamination issues, legionella, hazardous substance releases, critical incident arrangements
  • Assistance with investigations into serious accidents that the Health and Safety Executive and other external bodies may involve you in. If additional visits are required in relation to significant issues, an additional charge may be applicable
  • Library of DVDs which can be borrowed free of charge
  • Support for schools in school swimming, including the provision of Oxfordshire Safe Practice in School Swimming Policy Spring 2018. Training for Schools in Swim England Fundamentals of School Swimming and Aquatic Skills of School Swimming qualifications through the Bucks Schools Swimming Partnership (BSSP).  Support and advice for schools in school swimming.  School staff will be able to email the BSSP for advice about school swimming (email: swimming@ahs.bucks.sch.uk)

Academies

The Health and Safety Team assists the Trust in meeting its statutory health and safety responsibilities by providing competent, practical advice and guidance.

What the team does

  • Ensures safe, secure sites, advises on ensuring robust safety management
  • Offers specific advice (based on the Trust’s safety management arrangements) to assist in partnership with the Trust to address and manage statutory requirements based on industry standards.

How we can help your trust

  • Provide a safe environment, work processes and activities for pupils, staff and visitors by advising on your identified management system and operation in place
  • Comply with health and safety legislation, identify any significant risks and implement procedures to control those risks and meet statutory requirements
  • Advise on training and competency for employees to carry out their duties in a safe manner
  • Help complete the schools pre checks on contractors if they are registered with the Contractor Health and Safety Assessment scheme (CHAS)

Key benefits to the school

  • Assistance in fulfilling statutory health and safety duties and responsibilities through advice on improving your safety
  • Management measures as a result of:
    • An annual visit and termly contact by phone or email
    • Access to information and employee training
    • Dedicated helpdesk and email facility
    • Objective advice based on the Trust’s individual management arrangements and sharing of tools developed  for academy support
  • Access to a team of competent, qualified health and safety professionals who have experience of working in and with schools
  • We issue Safety Action Bulletins through a managed list of headteachers and business manager emails, articles published in Schools News and advising of potential dangers of equipment and/or as a result of an HSE alert on safety measures, or as a direct result of incidents happening in schools
  • We provide specific health and safety advice for schools
  • Access to data and sharing lessons learnt from previous involvement with pre/post-conversion issues and resolutions
  • Checks to see if contractors have current registrations with CHAS

What does the service offer?

  • A team of health and safety professionals who can provide technical and practical advice, assistance and support including on-site visits and  advice
  • Advice on keeping people safe and healthy – your employees and those who are affected by your activities; i.e. pupils, contractors, members of the public, visitors
  • Advice on maintaining safe and secure sites, to meet legislative   requirements
  • Access to the health and safety information on the Schools Intranet
  • Termly contact through phone calls emails or visits (One visit per year. Additional visits can be purchased).
  • Direct phone contact to the Health and Safety Officer assigned to your School or an alternative if they are not available.
  • Assistance to identify previously centrally managed Health and Safety activities and actions required by the Trust to manage them.
  • Annual condition inspection and report of specialist equipment undertaken by competent contractors for:
    •  Fixed indoor PE/fixed outdoor play equipment will be inspected by Sports and Playground Services Ltd from September 2021.
    •  D&T (MSS)
    •  Ceramics  (Keltic Kilns)
    •  Radioactive sources (five-yearly visits)
  • A health and safety site visit which will assist you to fulfil your statutory health and safety responsibilities,
    •  to include advice on good practice related to your activities and processes;
    •  site safety tour of buildings and grounds to identify any actions needed to improve health and safety
  • Access to specialist and technical advice including:
    • Access to CLEAPSS
    • Radiation Protection Adviser (RPA) Service
  • Assistance in emergency situations such as dangerous occurrences:
    • asbestos exposure, contamination issues,
    • legionella, hazardous substance releases, 
    • critical incident arrangements
  • Assistance with investigations into serious accidents that the Health and Safety Executive and other external bodies may involve you in. If visits are required in relation to significant issues an additional charge may be applicable
  • Health and Safety DVD library for training purposes which can be booked and borrowed free of charge
  • Assist in the process and checks when managing contractors by checking if they have current registration with CHAS
  • Documentation on key changes and considerations for Academies during conversion
  • A servicing template to use as a storage system to identify when H&S activities, servicing and checks are required. This is based on statutory requirements
  • Support for schools in school swimming including: Provision of Oxfordshire Safe Practice in School Swimming Policy Spring 2018.  Training for Schools in Swim England Fundamentals of School Swimming and Aquatic Skills of School Swimming qualifications through the Bucks Schools Swimming Partnership (BSSP).  Support and advice for schools in school swimming.  School staff will be able to email the BSSP for advice around school swimming (email: swimming@ahs.bucks.sch.uk)