Safe Practice in PESSPA

Cotton Wool Child

The Risk Continuum Appropriate challenge & Acceptable risk Totally Range of Increasingly high Danger safe acceptable levels of risk risk Events to be as safe as necessary, not as safe as possible (ROSPA) SP 2016 Ch 1 Sec 7 Minimising risk (apathy, paranoia, incompetence) Best practice? (challenge v risk) Irresponsible/incompetent/ unfortunate Appropriate challenge & Acceptable risk ROSPA ‘As safe as necessary not as safe as possible’ The Young report discussed a shift from risk assessment to risk benefit. Prof Lofstedt Nov 2011 in reference to schools as a specific sector to be addressed “Care should be taken to ensure that the regulations do not prevent children from being exposed to new or exciting activities that contribute to their education and development” (Page 40 Chapter 4 23). Also report by House of Commons Science & Technology Committee (Sept 11) re practical experiments and field trips –concluded that there was no credible evidence to support h & s as the reason for the decline of practicals and work outside the classroom. Situations can and should be challenging but still safe because of the ways in which the risk is managed. Too often children are not sufficiently challenged as a result of a number of things: Teacher lack of knowledge Fear of risk Lack of support from management Children can become bored as a result.

De-mystifying the term Risk Management All staff must be fully aware of the PE school policy on health and safety and their personal responsibilities in relation to it. This responsibility may cause anxiety often because of the term ‘risk’. Risk management is an increasingly used term for what is often called ‘safe practice.

What does the term “Risk” mean……. Risk is about the likelihood that a person may be harmed. In PE there will always be an element of risk. Our intention is to help teachers reduce risks to acceptable levels

The Risk Continuum Appropriate challenge & Acceptable risk Totally Range of Increasingly high Danger safe acceptable levels of risk risk Events to be as safe as necessary, not as safe as possible (ROSPA) SP 2016 Ch 1 Sec 7 Minimising risk (apathy, paranoia, incompetence) Best practice? (challenge v risk) Irresponsible/incompetent/ unfortunate Appropriate challenge & Acceptable risk ROSPA ‘As safe as necessary not as safe as possible’ The Young report discussed a shift from risk assessment to risk benefit. Prof Lofstedt Nov 2011 in reference to schools as a specific sector to be addressed “Care should be taken to ensure that the regulations do not prevent children from being exposed to new or exciting activities that contribute to their education and development” (Page 40 Chapter 4 23). Also report by House of Commons Science & Technology Committee (Sept 11) re practical experiments and field trips –concluded that there was no credible evidence to support h & s as the reason for the decline of practicals and work outside the classroom. Situations can and should be challenging but still safe because of the ways in which the risk is managed. Too often children are not sufficiently challenged as a result of a number of things: Teacher lack of knowledge Fear of risk Lack of support from management Children can become bored as a result.

Practice needs to be as safe as necessary, not as safe as possible

Safe Practice 2016 From: 1st4sport Chelsea Close Off Amberley Road Armley Leeds LS2 4HO enquiries@1st4sport.com Author Angela James and Jill Elbourn contributions from many including NGBs Used by professional and courts References case law They have this in their schools?

Format colour coded chapters

Chapter 1 Legal Responsibilities Risk Assessment Policy and Procedures

What are your legal responsibilities? Know and apply employer’s policy for H&S Show reasonable forethought = common sense Implement the policy Assess and manage risk (participate in risk assessments) Pass on guilty knowledge Expand – guilty knowledge

Statutory/Regulatory/ Requirement- MUST DO’

Safety standards are set by…. The law of the land Employers’ requirements National Governing Bodies of Sport

‘SHOULD’ Advisory/Guidance/Choice

....“SHOULD”.... Regular and approved practice (LA guidelines/schemes) Other expert advice (afPE) Common sense (e.g. your experience and expertise)

And if we don’t follow guidance…. “careless conduct which injures another and which the law deems liable for compensation”

Negligence

Other sections in Chapter 1 Risk Assessment Policy and Procedures

Your policies, routines, and procedures School/department policies, procedures and risk assessments need to be: -Comprehensive -Specific to school -Regularly reviewed -Regularly communicated -Consistently applied by all

Chapter 2. Section 1: Teaching and managing safely good organisation, teaching and management is safe organisation, teaching and management. pp64-67/ table 6

Competence to teach PE Chapter 2 Section 2 (2.2.10) p.70 paragraph understands the importance of “forethought” in their planning can teach the relevant techniques, skills, tactics or choreography accurately at a level appropriate to the ability, confidence and previous experience of the students involved provides appropriate progressive practices to enable student improvement applies the safety issues relevant to the particular activity knows and applies the rules if the activity is a sport knows the group – their abilities, confidence and particular needs has the observation and analytical skills to ensure what is going on is safe and amend anything that is deemed unsafe has effective class control.

Who can teach PE? Chapter 2 section 2 pp.81-84/Table 7 “Specified work (i.e. teaching) may not be carried out by a person in a school unless s/he holds QTS or satisfies the specific requirements…” (Education Act 2003, s133). Provided they: only assist or support the work of a nominated teacher in school; are subject to the direction and supervision of a nominated teacher; have satisfied the head teacher, through a risk assessment, that they have the skills, experience and expertise required to carry out the specified work. i.e. Are managed effectively

Chapter 3: Learning about being safe “Teaching Safety”

Teaching safety Safeguarding Assessing and managing risk First aid Exercise safe practice Space Tasks Equipment People

Fear of Injuries in PESSPA is Unfounded Ratio of injuries to participant numbers very low – PESSPA 0.001%. Most could not be prevented – “no fault” accidents – could not be anticipated Mostly minor injuries - top five injuries: bruise/minor cut or graze/ sprain/ nose bleed/ head injury Top five causes: contact with object/ contact with wall or floor/ contact with person/ slip/ trip

Some key messages Good teaching is safe teaching Use common sense; think before acting; look and check it is safe Improvement through simple teaching points Trust your judgement