This one day course will enable you to find out how the role of the Health & Safety Rep can achieve positive change in the workplace.
NEU health and safety representatives play a vital role in promoting safety in the workplace by representing members and employees’ interests on health and safety issues.
This course is for elected NEU health and safety representatives at workplace level and runs over five days.
This briefing lists the most common sorts of school infestation, together with control measures that should be in place in all schools.
Advice on working through the menopause, guides and checklists for leaders and school reps and the NEU's model menopause policy.
Advice on your legal rights and NEU union policy on the maximum and minimum temperatures under which staff and pupils should be expected to work in schools.
NEU Guidance for Members, Reps and Local Officers on how health and safety reps can use their powers can work with members to address excessive workload.
NEU Guidance for Members, Reps and Local Officers around the development and implementation of photograpic policies in schools
The most common queries NEU members have on health and safety policy in academy trusts.
This policy forms part of the employer’s overall commitment to safety, good employee relations and the promotion of health, safety and welfare at work.
This harassment and bullying model policy is comprised of two sections: a model policy statement and a model procedure for dealing with complaints of harassment and bullying.
The most common queries NEU members have on harassment and bullying in schools.
Educational visits can be of substantial benefit to the education and development of pupils.
A model letter which can be sent by parents to the head teacher of their child’s school to request information about asbestos in the school
This briefing sets out advice on the safe use of photocopiers in schools.
This briefing sets out NEU advice on the requirements of the fire legislation covering schools and on fire safety precautions to be followed in schools. It takes account of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
NEU Guidance for Members, Reps and Local Officers
This guidance document is aimed at NEU members who are worried that their mental health is suffering because of the demands of their work. It will also be of use to NEU members who are considering returning to work following a spell of absence due to a mental health condition.
This page outlines the key legal requirements for drivers and operators of school minibuses and describes the support school staff should be given before they agree to drive a school minibus.
This NEU briefing provides guidance to safety representatives and members on taking action to reduce the incidence of accidents and injuries due to falls from height, including the legal requirements on employers, practical steps which can be taken and sources of further advice and information.
Safety representatives play a vital role in promoting safety in the workplace. This briefing covers the appointment of safety reps and their rights and functions.
This briefing sets out the objectives and benefits of safety committees, in addition to advice and guidance on their composition, inception, and remit.
This briefing advises safety reps on the steps to be taken in arranging and carrying out safety inspections and preparing inspection reports
In response to requests for assistance with undertaking stress surveys, a system has been developed which enables the NEU to provide an online staff stress survey as a resource for local officers, reps and safety reps.
The NEU offers an online staff stress survey as a resource for local officers, reps and safety reps to assist them gather evidence about stress levels within a school and establish the causes and impact of this workplace stress.
NEU Guidance for members, reps and local officers.
This briefing considers the management of health and safety in schools and colleges and the respective roles of the employer, governing body, head teacher and other staff of the school.
This NEU briefing tells you about the framework of health and safety law - in particular about the legal duties placed on employees, employers and others by the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and about other sources of health and safety law.
This briefing examines the various means by which branches can attempt to secure adequate levels of paid time off for health and safety advisers to perform their various functions and the legal provisions which can be used to support them.
NEU Guidance for Reps and Local Officers
NEU Guidance for Reps and Local Officers
As a school leader, it is important to ensure that your school is a great place to work, with a happy and healthy workforce and low levels of sick leave.
It is important to understand the extent of governing body’s responsibilities for managing health, safety and welfare of teachers and ways in which the NEU and governors can work together to safeguard the mental health of teachers.
Advice on radon and preventative measures that should be taken in schools to avoid exposure.
This advice explains the ‘resilience’ approach, why it does not lead to meaningful improvements for employees and how safety reps should instead seek to tackle work related stress in their school or college.
This advice gives information on the legal requirement for employers to carry out risk assessments and the extent to which teachers and school staff can be required to assist in the process.
This advice gives NEU guidance on the law’s requirements on assessing the safety of practical activities and on taking steps to ensure that these do not pose risks to the safety of staff or pupils.
This advice considers a number of health and social issues which may affect older school staff and suggests sources of further information and support.
This advice sets out advice and guidance on playground supervision to allow children to play safely.
This advice contains advice about health and safety matters which both newly qualified and student teachers should be aware of when entering the profession.
Mould is a health and safety issue as it can cause a variety of health problems.
This advice focuses on the potential of mobile phone photography to lead to bullying and harassment of others within the school community.
This is a guide to using the data which has been made available via the DfE Asbestos Management Assurance Process (AMAP). It aims to assist local officers in extracting information about asbestos in schools in their area, and in seeking to fill in some of the gaps.
The menopause is an occupational health issue for women educators, as well as being an equality issue. It is important that schools and colleges are suitable workplaces for menopausal women. The purpose of this guide and checklist for reps is to signpost you to advice, and to support you in improving workplace conditions for menopausal women.
NEU leadership members are key to supporting women going through the menopause in the workplace. As a leader, you’re not alone. Collaboration between leaders, governors, workplace reps, health and safety reps and a staff support network can go a long way towards creating a supportive environment for women experiencing menopause symptoms at work.
The purpose of this guidance is to suggest practical ways in which the school and college environment can be improved for women who are going through the menopause.
NEU advice on risks of lone working and what can be done to counter them.
This model policy sets out how employer will seek to prevent workplace violence in its schools, and the procedures that will be followed if a violent incident occurs.
This briefing gives information about tuberculosis (TB) and steps to be taken when cases arise in schools among students or teachers.
It is essential that health and safety in schools should be gender sensitive and appropriate.
How to deal with cases of harassment and bullying of NEU members.
Employers must seek to ensure, again ‘so far as is reasonably practicable’, that non-employees are not exposed to risks to their health or safety.
Health and safety issues for supply teachers, including those employed directly by local authorities, schools and academy trusts and those employed via supply agencies.
Advice for teachers on voice care, including spotting problems, simple preventative measures and information on how and when to seek appropriate specialist help
Excessive workload and working hours are continually cited by teachers as one of the main causes of their workplace stress. This advice explains how to tackle stress at a local level in your workplace.
Advice about violence issues in schools, in particular how this should be tackled by employers.
It is common for teachers to offer private tuition to students. Before doing so, there are several important issues to consider, such as legal and insurance protection and health and safety issues.
A quick guide on what to do in severe winter conditions or adverse weather.
Advice for teachers and school staff who teach swimming or supervise swimming, including qualifications, training and safety.
How schools can help protect pupils from sun exposure and advice around sunscreen.
If someone is threatening imminent suicide call 999 and stay with them until the emergency services arrive.
A stress risk assessment is a careful examination of what in a workplace could cause staff to suffer from work-related stress, so that you can weigh up whether you have done enough, or should do more to prevent harm.
There is a vast range of legislation on health and safety matters which applies in whole, or in part, to schools in Wales. This briefing identifies those which will be most relevant and the areas which they cover.
There is a vast range of legislation on health and safety matters which applies in whole, or in part, to schools. This briefing identifies those which will be most relevant and the areas which they cover.
Every year, many schools are damaged or destroyed by fires, affecting the education of thousands of pupils, and causing millions of pounds worth of damage. The impact of fires is significantly reduced by fitting sprinklers in schools.
How to reduce the incidence of accidents and injuries in schools due to slips, trips and falls.
The basic framework of health and safety law for sixth form colleges
Advice for school staff to support the uninterrupted education of children with sickle cell disorder and thalassaemia.
Information for school staff who transport children in their own car on the law and regulations regarding child car seats and seatbelts.
Our NEU policy and advice on screening and searching pupils for prohibited items in schools in England and Wales.
Advice about health and safety on school trips, including legal rights and obligations.
Advice about school security, in particular at security arrangements and methods to deal with intruders.
Excessive workload is a key cause of mental health problems among teachers and education professionals. This advice explains what to do if you are struggling with mental health and outlines the different ways you can get support.
Information about meningitis and what should be done when an outbreak occur in a school.
Who is responsible for the management of health and safety in schools and colleges and the respective roles of the employer, governing body, head teacher and other staff of the school.
As teachers and school staff often work on their own, there are some key health and safety issues that employers must consider.
Advice on the health and safety issues relating to lifting and handling that school staff face while at work
The symptoms, treatments and preventative measures that should be taken in schools to avoid outbreaks of Legionnaires’ disease.
Advice for teachers and support staff on the administration of medicines
Advice on classroom acoustics and reducing the risk of vocal strain on teachers
Advice on what to do when reporting accidents and injuries which happen in schools.
General advice about how to manage cases of infectious illness in schools, including when children should be absent.
Advice on the ways in which violent or threatening pupil behaviour can successfully be tackled using standard risk management techniques.
Advice on the role of the Health and Safety Executive in schools
Advice on the appropriate hygiene procedures for schools which will help to prevent the spread of blood-borne viruses such as HIV and hepatitis A, B and C, and conditions such as dysentery.
Hot summers bring regular queries about the maximum temperatures under which staff and pupils should be expected to work in schools.
Advice on what precautions to take when a case of viral hepatitis arises in a school or where a known carrier of the disease is a pupil in the school.
How to tackle the problem of head lice in schools, including facts about head lice and head lice treatment
Advice on the heating levels in schools and classrooms in England, and how to deal with the various types of heating problems which are commonly encountered during cold weather and snow.
Advice on the heating levels in schools and classrooms in Wales, and how to deal with the various types of heating problems which are commonly encountered during cold weather and snow.
Advice on the requirements for first aid provision in schools
Advice on how to deal with epilepsy and seizures in schools, including how to recognise when a pupil might be having a seizure.
Advice on the procedures for dealing with emergencies in schools.
At least 86 per cent of schools contain asbestos, all of it old and much of it deteriorating. Unless your school was wholly built after 1999, it is extremely likely that it contains asbestos.
Advice on dealing with asbestos problems in schools, including the law on asbestos removal and management in schools.
Supporting NEU members in schools which suffer particularly badly in times of extreme heat.
A model health and safety policy for academy trusts, where no such policy is in place or where the existing policy is considered to be inadequate.
Advice on legal requirements and good practice for construction work in schools and a stage-by-stage guide to the role of safety representatives.
NEU guidance on the law and practical advice on electrical safety in schools
NEU guidance on health and safety issues with safe preparation of food in schools.
Precautions to be taken to avoid discomfort and possible damage to the eye when using data projectors
Guidance on issues regarding pupil incontinence, and how schools can adopt policies to help.
Advice on responding to flood alerts in schools and dealing with the aftermath.
Guidance on health and safety precautions for teachers and pupils working with information and communications technology (ICT) equipment.
Advice on what employers need to do to protect staff from the problems caused by wood dust and MDF dust.
The issues around ergonomics in classrooms and good practices for school staff.
Frequently asked questions in relation to staff car parking on school premises. It includes information on provision of school car parks, charges for car parking, car park safety and malicious damage to cars.
Guidance on maximum class and room sizes
Guidance on what asthma is, what can trigger it, and how to support pupils at risk
A guide to what anaphylaxis is, and how to support pupils at risk
Advice on the main health, safety, welfare and legal factors surrounding animals in schools.
Information and guidance for school staff to support the uninterrupted education of children with diabetes.
Schools should only remain open to those whose parents are key workers. The vast majority of children should stay at home. This is the safest place for them.
The National Education Union has called for testing of education staff to be made an urgent priority in efforts to tackle coronavirus.
We welcome this announcement from Government. Evidence shows teacher-assessed grades are reliable and valid.
It is vitally important that parents follow Government advice and keep their children at home where possible.
This is a very long list and could result in some schools having the majority of pupils attending. This will not achieve the goal of slowing the spread of the virus.
NEU Cymru statement on school closures in Wales.
We welcome the Government’s announcement that, for public health reasons, schools will now close.
We welcome the Education Minister’s announcement to close schools from Friday. We are pleased that Wales is the first UK nation to take this practical and pragmatic approach.
NEU has written to the Prime Minister asking that he close all schools and colleges, and we are hoping that the this will be the same for Wales.
This announcement is as welcome as it is overdue. Schools are operating in extraordinary circumstances and must be able to focus on what is essential.
Why aren’t schools closing if mass gatherings are to be suspended?
As COVID-19 spreads, schools need to focus on what is important.
NEU calling for school closures "at least for some time and at least in some areas"
Schools have an important role to play, but we are concerned about suggestions in recent days that larger class sizes will be recommended for indefinite periods.
The British Lung Foundation (BLF) and the National Education Union (NEU) has produced guidance with support from Living Streets, the UK charity behind the National Walk to School campaign.
This two-day course is suitable for NEU health and safety reps who have completed the induction course.
Many issues that members face in the workplace, for example workload, have a health and safety perspective.
This is a one-day induction course for all new NEU H&S representatives and will provide initial training on the role and responsibilities of the rep as well as an update on current issues.
