Health and Safety Responsibility

Health and Safety Policy

‘Kalma recognises that not only are adequate provisions for health and safety a legal requirement they are also essential for a healthy working life. Injuries and illness caused in classes cause pain and suffering not just to our children but to their families also. In order to protect our customers and their children total commitment from our teachers to health and safety in our classes and working with our venues is our utmost priority’. You have a legal duty to pay strict attention to our company health and safety policy and ensure all risk assessments, safety checks and health checks are done in line with our procedures. Details of which are in our procedures section. All teachers must hold a Paediatric first aid certificate and this must be updated in line with first aid requirements.

Safety and security of children/parents/franchisees/employees/licensees in outside centres

Ensure safety by:

Contact the persons in charge of centre in emergency, via telephone and HQ
all staff must challenge visitors who are not meant to be in their session
Push buttons operate on the main entrances to school, Children’ Centre and Nurseries;
External doors to be kept closed and windows to be secured.
Rooms containing equipment that may pose a risk to be kept locked
Visitor visits must be pre-planned and must identify themselves.
Local Authority and Linked to School Agency Staff
Parents/Volunteers DBS clearance
Children given to parents as they are seen, challenge those not named as collector.
Contractors will only work in facilities when the children are not in the building. ID shown
Unexpected visitors can not be in sessions on their own without a validated DBS check.

The following documents our Health and Safety procedures in order to ensure our environment we work in are safe and we think smartly. It is your responsibility to ensure that your business complies with all Health and Safety Laws and the policies outlined in this manual. The latest Health and Safety information can be found:

www.businesslink.gov.org and www.hse.gov.uk. Use this guide to work safer and smarter and have an effective delivery of health and safety as a company.

Health and Safety Responsibility

Kalma Statement

Health and Safety means keeping Kalma a safe place to work within and is the responsibility of every employee/franchisee/licensee. This means safe environment, safe equipment and safe behaviour. All staff receive detailed health and safety training which is included in this manual and, as and when policies are updated with changes. Those who do not follow the policies outlined in this manual will face disciplinary action.

You have a legal duty to pay strict attention to our company health and safety policy and ensure all risk assessments, safety checks and health checks are done in line with our procedures. You must: help maintain a safe place of work, follow the safe system of work provided, and follow all instruction/training they have been given.
All teachers must hold a Paediatric first aid certificate and this must be updated in line with first aid requirements.
They must take reasonable care for the health and safety of themselves and others, who may be effected by their work activity.
Employees/franchisees/licensees must make use of equipment and personal protective equipment supplied, for example, gloves, aprons, overalls and shoes. Always take care of equipment and return it in the condition you got it.
Take care when handling chemicals, dangerous substances and when lifting, carrying using or cleaning equipment.
Report any hazards, accidents, dangerous occurrences or near misses no matter how minor, to the Senior Managers of the business or mangers of venues.

All franchisees or licensees are ultimately responsible for their own Business for health & safety this includes:

Coordinating all Health & Safety activities in the Venue, including the management of wet areas and the risk of legionella within their Venue.
Ensuring that all Employees receive correct training and are aware of their health & safety responsibilities in each venue
Ensuring that ALL accidents, incidents and near misses are comprehensively recorded in the book provided in line with RIDDOR (RIDDOR which puts duties on employers, the self-employed and people in control of work premises (the Responsible Person) to report certain serious workplace accidents, occupational diseases and specified dangerous occurrences (near misses).
All employee accidents resulting in three or more working days off are reported as RIDDOR and documented as such.
All generic and specific risk assessments are reviewed with the venue manager on an annual basis (as well as updating it in line with the risk assessment policy); after any major injury; following a refurbishment; or when the venue Manager changes.
All risk assessment precautions relating to new and expectant mothers; work experience, disabled children are highlighted to all employees/teachers and risk assessed also.
All standard Safe Systems of Work & manual handling job tasks have been distributed and are being complied with by all.
Attending health & safety reviews/updates as appropriate
Highlighting matters of health & safety and welfare to those appropriate
Helping the formulation of practical health & safety initiatives in venues.

All Employees of franchisees will receive Health and Safety training during their initial training and then you should know the policies at each venue they will teach:

Fire Evacuation and procedures, you will complete a tour of the building with any other emergency procedures, Fire Exits & Extinguishers, Fire Evacuation points, Fire Assembly points
Emergency procedure such as Fire/ Bomb/ Gas/ Chemical, Missing Child, Security/Incidents, Disabled/ Utility Failure, First Aid / Accidents
Complete risk assessments for your venues
The safe use of chemicals should you need them
You will hear about any other H&S information relevant for example children’s disabilities
You will be shown other relevant health and safety documentation such as the venue Health and Safety Guide.

Before commencing a session, you must ensure your venue is checked in line with the following:

Slips and trips, anything sticking up or sharp edges, slippery floors
Comfort of room cold or warm
Radiators covers or off or warm
Sockets covered
Wires moved
Chairs stacked in 3 high
Doors closed (fire doors) or gates shut
Fire exists clear from clutter
Cupboards shut locked
Equipment safe

Emergency evacuations

In case of emergency please ask all parents/staff to vacate the rooms to nearest exit, take register if you have time with you. Leave belongings and meet at the evacuation point:

In the event of a fire determine if there is one, if present sound the alarm at break glass point and coordinate to the nearest exit.
Dial 999
Check head count from register
Assist fire brigade on arrival let them know if everyone is accounted for
Inform managers

Bomb procedure

If any bomb is thought to be in the buildings or grounds of the venue, the venue should be evacuated immediately and the local Police contacted.

Letter Bomb

Should a suspicious package, parcel or letter, be delivered that could be a bomb, the person suspecting it should contact the Venue Manager present. It should be isolated in a locked room and the local police called. Their advice should be taken with respect to the package.

Suspicious Package or Bag

Giving due consideration that members often leave their bags in places they should not, if all steps have been taken to find the owner of the package or bag. The area around the suspicious package should be cleared and cordoned off. At the discretion of the venue manager present the venue should be evacuated using the fire alarm system.

Telephoned Threat

Most telephone bomb threats are hoaxes intended to cause panic and confusion. They could be the result of someone being upset by the actions of the venue or our team, i.e. being banned for reasons. Should a call be received the person answering it should be alert and note as much as possible. Dials 999 for the police and advise them of the incident. Check around for anything suspicious. If something has been found, the fire alarm should be sounded and everyone must leave the building, meeting at the fire assembly point following the fire procedure. The suspicious item must not be touched. If the location is given as the car park or outside the building the procedure below under ‘Advised of Bomb Outside’ should be followed. If the decision is made to evacuate, the fire alarm should be sounded and all persons must leave the building and go to the assembly point which is behind the building. Liaises with the Police on their arrival.

Advised of a Bomb Outside

If the police warn of a bomb in the locality, or the bomb threat telephone call states it is in the car park, anyone in the venue must be evacuated to a safe area within the venue. Inform anyone who will need to know, manager etc. Contact the local police to await it being safe.

Disabled help

A disabled person may find it difficult to vacate the venue without help for whatever reason. This could be artificial limbs, blind, deaf not just in wheel chairs. Ensure a route is talked about wit each when enrolling in class making them aware of the procedures and what help they may require.

Gas Water and Electricity

It is upto you to decide whether you can run a session without water. Electricity during daylight hours maybe be acceptable to work in, this must be risk assessed. In the vent of smelling gas contact the venue manager and evacuate immediately. In all cases a manager must be informed of your findings/issues. Ensure all are off when you leave a venue.

Terrorist attacks

Come in various forms, internal or external, specific to Kalma or in the locality, serious or trivial. It is essential that all such threats are treated as serious until the Police can confirm otherwise.

Persons in/outside Venue-In the event of such an occurrence, all necessary actions must be taken to safeguard our members and guests as well as team members. When it is feasible, the Police should be notified. No ‘heroic’ acts must take place by team members or other persons in the venue and venue team members should take all necessary steps to prevent this happening. Whatever the demands of the terrorists are, as far as is reasonable, and a person’s life is not put at risk, their demands should be agreed and met. It must be remembered that cash and valuables can be replaced and are usually insured. Persons lives cannot be given back if taken by a terrorist act.

Letters and Parcels-Terrorist threats have, and can, include delivering letters or parcels containing biological hazards including anthrax, smallpox etc. If a letter or parcel is received thought to be a threat, e.g. by its postmark, the way it was delivered, the look of the article, steps should be taken in the same way as a letter bomb. If you suspect contact the venue manager present. Place it in an isolated locked room and call the police. Their advice should be taken with respect of the package.

First aid

All franchisees and employees are first aid trained and hold a valid certificate as a requirement of the job. However should you become involved in a situation where this is needed then by law this decision to give first aid is up to you. All franchisees and employees carry a regularly replenished first aid box with an accident book to each session. It is a business owners responsibility to ensure these are replenished replaced and dates checked on each.

Incidents and Crisis Management

An incident can be defined as a near miss, a breach of security, an act of violence/ verbal abuse. In all cases all team members and managers have a responsibility to record it on the company incident form. Available on dropbox. If you witness an incident you must inform the venue manager straight away do not put yourself in danger.

An incident or a crisis is something which happens and could:

Put our people, members or our guests at risk
Damage our reputation with members, guests, suppliers or the local community
Disrupt the business
Be adversely reported in the media

A crisis is an event, action or situation which:

Results or could result in the death or serious injury of a guest or team member(except suicide or death by natural causes which would be incidents)
Could affect more than one venue
Could result in major reputational loss for your brand Examples include: Child abduction, e-coli outbreak, violent or sexual assault

Who do I need to contact if there has been a crisis?

Contact your Manager, the centres manager or director.

The difference between a major incident and a crisis is that a major incident:

Only affects one Venue
Nobody has been seriously hurt or has died as a result of something which has happened in one of our venues/classes but it could still adversely damage our reputation with members, guests, suppliers or the local community, could attract negative media coverage and our employees may have been affected either physically or emotionally as a result of the incident.

Who do I need to contact if there has been a major incident?

All Major health and safety issues and accidents need to be reported to HQ. Within 48 hours during office hours if there is an incident which could have affected, either physically or emotionally, any team member.

What do I do if I have a crisis?

A crisis is any situation, incident or action that could potentially put our colleagues, members or guests at risk and/or damage our reputation with members, guests, suppliers or the local community and might be reported negatively by the media

Step 1. Make sure that you, venue members and guests or the general public are not in danger – close the business or any part of it if they are.

Step 2. Contact the Emergency Services if necessary.

Step 3. Contact your Venue Manager immediately if the situation is serious or support is required. Report to Director. Otherwise contact them within 24 hours.

Step 4. Log details of any incident on Incident Report Form and keep any evidence if appropriate. Report all incidents under RIDDOR in the usual way if necessary.

N.B. Should you be contacted by a journalist, don’t give out any information. Just take their name, where they are calling from and a telephone number and contact the director.

Visitors to classes

From time to time we understand you will need to collaborate or have visitors in class other than parents. All those visiting classes must:

Sign non disclosures (if competitive business)
Have current DBS you have seen
Follow our health and safety in the venue
Sign disclaimers

Housekeeping

Never block any emergency exits or exit routes. Keep all corridors clear.
Clear rubbish away frequently. All waste materials must be taken away from the venue, not placed in Venue bins
Ensure nappies are disposed of correctly working with your venue
Mark all hazardous areas of work clearly with hazard warning signs. Use barriers where necessary.
Clear up any spillages immediately.
Follow safe working practices to ensure your safety and that of others.
Clear / clean the area when the work has finished, leaving the area fit for use.

COSHH

Regulations are designed to protect franchisees/employees from the risk associated with hazardous substances at work. Wherever possible we try not to use hazardous substances but sometimes it is necessary. We reduce the risks to you by:

Identifying and controlling these substances
Minimising the risks to you from exposure to these substances
Provide you with information and training in order to carry out the tasks safely

Hazardous Substances

A hazardous substance is any solid, liquid, dust, fume, gas or microorganism that may be harmful to your health. The types of health hazards could include:

Poisoning
Skin burns and irritation
Asphyxiation
Long term health effects such as cancer

Label, Data Sheets and COSHH Assessments

The manufacturer must label every container that holds a hazardous substance. Labels normally contain:

The name of the substance
The nature of the risk words- toxic, corrosive, explosive, HSammable
A description of the hazard e.g. toxic by inhalation and if swallowed.
Safety Basics such as “ keep away from sources of ignition- no smoking”.

Data sheets provide the vital details on the substances you’re working with, physical and health hazards, safety procedures and possible emergency actions, handling and storage, recommended PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) and First Aid Measures.

COSHH Assessments provide chemical and product information, assessment and control measures to take as well as method of storage and disposal.

Individual responsibilities

Cooperate with your franchisor/employer in meeting COSHH regulations
Make full and efficient use of control measures such as ventilation and storage
Wear PPE and return it after use.
Practice good hygiene and follow company rules
Know what to do in the event of an emergency
Report any defects in control measures or PPE to your Line Manager

Personal Protective Equipment

Personal Protective Equipment PPE is provided for use as needed and in line with risk and COSHH assessments.

Risk Assessments

In order to make your tasks and responsibilities as safe as possible generic assessments will be shown to you at training of risks that you should be aware of. In reading and reviewing these assessments it is important that the precautions are made specific to any particular variations relating to your venue. It is your responsibility to ensure Risk Assessments are completed for all venues you work in.

Steps to completion of a specific safe system of work

Several standard safe systems have been completed throughout the Venue to cover generic tasks and activities. These standard tasks can be used for guidance and format when completing locally specific safe systems of work.

Step 1: Identify task and define

How and what is involved in the task in terms of machinery, substances, manual movement and foreseeable incidents such as accidental operation/machinery failure.

Include non-routine and infrequent work

Who is involved in the task i.e. their responsibilities; training level; foreseeable human errors; action in an emergency.

Where is the task performed: environment; limited space; adverse weather.

Step 2: Team Member Awareness

Bring the nature of the task and potential hazards to the attention of the Team Members through verbal instruction; training short takes; written procedures/guidelines by:

Defining the levels of authorisation and responsibility required to undertake the task

i.e. level of competency.

Defining clear, chronological sequence of events necessary to safely complete the task.

Specifying safe work methods, including access, egress and emergency escapes
Defining procedures for completing and leaving a task.

Step 3: Monitoring

Safe systems of work should be monitored on a regular basis to ensure they are workable, effective and safe. This can be completed in conjunction with the review of risk assessments; through department ‘short takes’ and daily observation of work practices within the department.

Step 4: Audit

The effectiveness of safe systems and monitoring are regularly audited through: regional internal audits; independent audits by external agencies on a yearly basis; inspection by Local Authorities and Enforcing Agencies; review by Company Safety Manager.

Blood / Body Fluid Spillages

ALWAYS

Ensure cuts or abrasions to your skin are covered by a waterproof plaster
When cleaning up blood or body spillage:

– wear waterproof gloves

– use paper towels to mop up excess fluid

– wash area with disinfectant

– clean area with solution of one part bleach to ten parts water

– dispose of paper towels and gloves used in tied yellow plastic bag

– wash hands with soap & water when finished

NEVER

Handle broken glass or crockery on which someone could have cut themselves without wearing gloves
Attend to someone who is bleeding without wearing gloves

Blood and Body Fluid Disposal Kit

When attending an incident where someone has been sick or if child has urinated/ defecated or if someone is bleeding. The area must be cleaned and disinfected to prevent cross infection. Depending on what your venues have available clean using absorbent powder; a spray disinfectant and a body fluids disposal biohazard bag containing disposable gloves (latex); apron; scraper; sick bag; disinfectant wipe. When you have cleared and cleaned the area, put everything into the biohazard bag, seal and dispose of it into the clinical waste bin. Ensure all equipment is also cleaned.