Health and Safety : Cumbria County Council

Following the Young Report on health and safety the Occupational Safety and Health Consultants Register (OSHCR)has been established to give organisations confidence when selecting a consultant. If you select an external consultant you are advised to check that they are on the register http://www.oshcr.org An entry on the register appears under the name of the Corporate Health, Safety & Wellbeing Manager, Julian Stainton, referring to the services which we offer.

What do the Health & Safety Executive and Government Departments advise with respect to offering services to schools other than Community & Voluntary Controlled Schools?

As an employer the County Council has responsibility for providing health and safety support and educational visits advice directly to Community & Voluntary Controlled Schools. Health and Safety Executive and Central government department guidance states that it is good practice for the Local Education Authority to offer this service to other educational settings.

Does your consultant offer the resilience, breadth and depth of skills, and experience that the Corporate Health & Safety Team can offer?

The Corporate Health & Safety Team is made up of a greater number of staff than were previously available to you under the old arrangements. This increases our resilience to staff vacancies and unavoidable absence. Our skill base is now even wider. Examples of the skills and experience available include: Staff with past experience of teaching and other work in schools, staff who have worked in outdoor learning environments, staff with food safety qualifications including one member who used to work as an Environmental Health Officer, past experience of working in health and safety / asbestos management consultancy, experience in the private sector as well as the public sector. As well as retaining the schools health and safety auditors we also have a further member of staff who carried out this role in the past

Does your consultant have the links that the Corporate Health & Safety Team can provide?

The Corporate Health & Safety Team works directly with Directorates and teams in the County Council including Children’s Services Directorate, Property Services and the Emergency Planning & Resilience Team. This allows us to offer a joined up approach, especially in the event of an incident

Does your consultant offer the range of services that the Corporate Health & Safety Team can provide?

As well as the core services the Corporate Health & Safety Team is able to offer other related services either directly or indirectly through partnerships. Such services include occupational health services, training in food hygiene, manual handling and health and safety, food safety advice and practical support in the event of incidents. As the Local Education Authority we are able to provide you with access to the CLEAPSS advisory and Radiation Protection Adviser services, to EVOLVE (the online educational visits monitoring and approval system) and we have the back up of the full range of Local Authority services

Does your consultant hold the credentials & facilities to be able to offer an Educational Visits Advisory & Approval Service?

Health & Safety Executive guidance states that the adviser must have experience in education, teaching or youth work and occupy a position of sufficient authority in the LEA to influence change and people. The HSE Document “Standards for LEAs in overseeing Educational Visits” describes the role fully and amplifies on the likely experience of the person holding this role. Our Outdoor & Experiential Learning & Educational Visits Advisor is the former Centre Manager at Eden Valley Centre, Head of Physical Education and A Level Sports Studies at Scarborough Sixth Form College and Deputy General Manager at Outward Bound Ullswater. He holds a range of National Governing Body Awards and is a British Canoe Union Level 5 Coach and Chair of Cumbria Canoeists. He is a current full member of the Outdoor Education Advisers’ Panel.

Will your consultant offer true value for money for a full range of services?

We are offering two packages under the Service Level Agreement. One is for general health and safety support, and the second relates to educational visits notification and approval. We believe these both offer good value for money but are particularly attractive if taken together. If you represent a buying consortium for school services you may wish to contact us to discuss your specific needs

What will be covered by the general health and safety services package?

This will essentially be what you have been used to in the past as below:Access to telephone advice during office hours on all health and safety matters including, for example, fire safety, food safety and asbestos management.Out of hours emergency access to health and safety support.Provision of safety advice notes, guidance, model assessments, etc. including through the School Portal.On site assistance with all health and safety matters.Audit of your health and safety management system where you request this to be provided, at the same intervals that we audit Community and Voluntary Controlled schools (three yearly programme).Reporting of serious accidents (Form F2508) to Health and Safety Executive.Assistance with accident investigation.Access to an accident recording system which will be upgraded to a web-based process in the near future, and analysis of the data reported.Liaison with external bodies such as the Health and Safety Executive and District Council Officers.Provision of a Schools Health and Safety Bulletin issued at least termly.Access to the CLEAPSS advisory service.Provision of a Radiation Protection Advisory Service through CLEAPSS via the team’s Radiation Protection Officer role.Access to health and safety related training courses at preferential rates.

What will the Outdoor and Experiential Learning and Educational Visits Advisory Service Provide?

This will essentially be what you have been used to in the past but with some enhancements. The service will cover the following:Access to the EVOLVE website and online approval system to allow recording and notification of all educational visits (Level I EVC approved and Level 2 EVA approved).Online approval through the EVOLVE website for those visits that require approval and which meet the approval requirements in accordance with DfE guidance for Educational Visits and Cumbria County Council requirements (Level 2 EVA approved visits).Access to Cumbria County Council policy and guidance on outdoor and experiential learning and educational visits, including access to generic risk assessment templates for customisation.Advice and support on effective risk management in all aspects of outdoor and experiential learning and educational visits. Advice, guidance and recommendations on health, safety and current best practice regarding outdoor experiential learning and educational visits.Leader Competence endorsement including Duke of Edinburgh Award Supervisors.Serious incident back up and support. Access to Educational Visit Coordinator and Visit Leader Training at preferential rates.

What Is ‘EVOLVE’?

The following information is taken from the EVOLVE website:EVOLVE is an online Educational Visits notification, approval and database system that has been developed over the last 6 years and is now used by approximately 90 Local Education Authorities in England and Wales.The main features of EVOLVE are:A robust notification and/or approval system, based on a consensus of the requirements of Local Authorities and which contributes to the Every Child Matters framework.100% web-based, no need for any additional hardware/software.All data incorporated within a powerful database environment.Stores and cross-references individual pupil records. Upload pupil details from school information management systems (e.g. SIMS), track pupil visits attended, and download pupil reports in a format compatible with the national Children and Young Person Information Sharing Index. Powerful search and sort facilities to assist monitoring procedures.Comprehensive built-in, and self-specified, set of monitoring and reporting tools.Incorporated messenger facility linked to notification/approval system.Clear audit trail. Ability to upload attachments to Visit Forms.Comprehensive visit and provider evaluation tools.More than a database - a one-stop shop for Educational Visit planning, monitoring and evaluating. Powerful online web-page editor and document manager with access to Guidance, Document Library, Training Courses and Contact Details sections.Full data back-up and ‘quick access hardcopy backup’ facility.Fully managed and reliable service infrastructure. The hosting infrastructure is housed in a UK based high-performance, secure data centre, which benefits from ‘no single point of failure’. The infrastructure is protected by sophisticated and effective firewalls, and it utilises aggregate direct connections to the internet backbone.Cumbria County Council will represent your views on the Evolve User-group ensuring the system is constantly updated and improved to meet our needs.

What Should I Do Now?

You should have received an email communication through the school portal offering you a Service level Agreement. This will also be sent to you by post. To take up the service(s) offered pleas complete the agreement form and return to the address given. If you have not received the communication please contact the Corporate Health & Safety Team as belowCorporate Health & Safety Team, Safer & Stronger Communities Directorate, Cumbria County Council, Nisi Prius, The Courts, Carlisle, Cumbria CA3 8LZ Tel 01228 227169 Email healthandsafety@cumbriacc.gov.uk Fax: 01228 226291