2a. Hazards and Risks

Managing risk should be at the core of every WHS program and is critical in working safely in schools.

An effective program to manage risk:

is a legal and moral requirement.
makes good sense as it leads to better safety practices and fewer injuries.

To assist us to manage risk it helps if we look at the data collected about injuries and their causes:

Top causes of injury

The most common causes of injury include:

manual handling and repetitive movement eg typing, lifting or moving objects
stress eg from work demands, harassment, bullying
slips, trips and falls
injuries caused by aggressive and unpredictable people, including students.

Note: the first and third above are the most common injuries in all workplace injuries in NSW

Common hazards

You need to know what the hazards are in your business so you can assess the risk they pose. To help you get started, we’ve prepared information on how to identify hazards and manage the risks common to the education and training industry, including:

lifting heavy objects
unsafe floors, grounds and walkways
psychological stress
fatigue.

2. What is a hazard? What is a risk?

2a. Identify Hazards - remember - A hazard is anything that is an actual or potential cause or source of harm.

Hazards can be identified by performing inspections, observing the environment and gathering feedback from colleagues and students.
Common hazards in schools include:
- - Overcrowding in classrooms and halls
  - Environmental hazards such as cracked paths and uneven playgrounds, not enough soft fall under equipment
  - Damaged or aging equipment - equipment that has cracked, or has broken edges
  - Physical / psychological / psychosocial hazards - bullying, harassment, parental pressure, challenging students
  - Biological / chemical hazards - blood not being managed when an injury first occurs, unclean eating and work surfaces, transmission of disease through close contact with others (hand to hand, sneezing and coughing, shared food and drinks).

Find Out More: Review the information published by Safe Work Australia to learn about how to identify hazards (Step 1).

How many hazards can you find

Hazards can be identified in the workplace by performing inspections, observing the environment and gathering feedback from clients.

In general, hazards can be grouped into the following broad categories:

1. Physical hazards

Electrical hazards - Bring your own device (BYOD) cords and equipment including laptops and iPads, lights, power cords, power tools and equipment near wet environments or faulty
Fire hazards
Slipping/tripping hazards
Heat and cold
UV radiation

2. Biological hazards

people and animals (vermin, insects etc) (blood, vomit, saliva, urine, faeces, fur which might carry viruses or bacteria)
viruses (Hepatitis, HIV, avian flu, Q-fever, Covid-19)
toxins produced by animals and plants (poisons that cause illness or death - pertussis/whooping cough, diptheria, venoms, botulism)
fungi and spores (causing moulds and mildews etc)

3. Chemical hazards

chemicals or other hazardous substances: dusts, cleaning agents, paint and glue
fumes, vapours from chemicals

4. Mechanical hazards

Ergonomic hazards including manual handling
Vehicle hazards
Operating tools and equipment

5. Pyschosocial hazards

occupational stress
bullying and harassment (which can lead to medical conditions and lost productivity or attendance issues)

Before we go further

Come up with some examples of each type of hazard in the school environment and make a note of where you might find that hazard. Consider particularly the type of school you might work in it (high school, primary school, Kindergarten class, additional needs class, class for students with ASD, Early Childhood Service)

Choose one to focus on during this learning...

You might choose one of the following:

extension cords for a student laptop...
desks or chairs that are too tall or too small for you to sit properly at whilst supporting students...
heavy boxes of books that need to be taken to classrooms ...
putting up a classroom display above head height ...
split timber on bench seats in the playground ...
stepped walkways where steps are not even distances or heights ...
sinks in classrooms for washing hands, cleaning up after art, cleaning teeth etc ...
a student vomiting on the floor in the corridor ...
or one you have thought of

Firstly, work out what type of hazard it is using the information shown above.

2b. Rate the risk

Once you have identified a hazard, the next step is to rate the potential risk to yourself or others. Remember that risk means the probability and consequence of injury, illness or damage resulting from exposure to a hazard.
Assessing risk is all about understanding the nature of the harm that could be caused by the hazard, that is:
- - How serious is the potential harm?
  - How likely is it to happen?

Find Out More: Review the information published by Safe Work Australia to learn about how to assess risks (Step 2).

A risk assessment enables us to prioritise or rate hazards and their possible effects so that resources can be allocated to eliminate or minimise the hazard.

A risk assessment should always be done when:

there is uncertainty about a hazard or the proposed controls
multiple interacting hazards exist
workplace changes occur.

Let's look at some common risk assessment tools used in schools and services:

School risk assessment (this one has a risk assessment rating system)
Undertaking a risk assessment in science classes
Excursion risk assessment (this has rating system and example form completed)

2c. Establish Controls

Taking prompt action when you’ve identified a hazard is critical.
Your aim is to eliminate where possible, or if it can’t be eliminated, then minimise the risk as much as you can.
Monitor the risk to ensure it remains at an acceptable level, or if eliminated, that it does not happen again.
Once you’ve rated the risk (severity and likelihood), you’re going to think about how you can control the risk to:
- - Reduce the risk
  - Eliminate the risk
Australian workplaces use a prioritised list of controls called the ‘Hierarchy of controls’ when developing control options to manage WHS risk.

Safety signs and symbols

In the Hierarchy of Control, signs are an administration preventative measure.
Safety signs and symbols in a workplace are used as part of a safety awareness strategy that helps us to identify hazards.
Employees need to be familiar with the safety signs and symbols in your workplace; this should be covered in induction/training.
Signs you should be familiar with include those giving information about dangerous goods, emergency equipment, PPE and specific hazards like sharps and radiation.
Signs and symbols in Australia
- https://nationalsafetysigns.com.au/regulatory-safety-signs/

Signs and symbols in the school setting

Discuss: Why might signs and symbols not always work as planned in a school setting?

Visual communication

Because you are working with students, many of whom will be too young or not have reached a stage of intellectual or emotional development to appropriately assess hazards and risks, part of your job will be ensuring that there are ways to communicate hazards and risks that do not rely on the person being able to read text.

The best way to do this is through visual communication. Visual communication in this instance will be mostly through:

a) signage

b) sign language.

Some common signs and AusLan that you might need to teach children to read are:

Dangerous goods (chemicals) in schools

In most schools there will be very few signs for dangerous goods (chemicals) because schools try to limit the goods they have to ensure the safety of students. Where there are dangerous goods there will be Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) which guide us in the storage and use of the goods and how to treat if there is incorrect contact with students or staff.

Discuss:

Where will we find dangerous goods in schools?

What dangerous goods might we find?

Remember, when implementing controls in a school or education setting consider:

- - Consultation
  - Assessment of potential effectiveness
  - Residual risk
  - Realistic timeframes
  - Responsibilities

‘…you must do whatever you can in other words, what is reasonably practicable, to eliminate or minimise health and safety risks arising from your business or undertaking.’

(SafeWork NSW, 2019, p. 7).

2d. Monitor and report

Treating risks promptly should be your priority, however you should always record the risk and the action you have taken to reduce or eliminate the risk following workplace policies and procedures.
Once you have ‘treated’ the risk, you should rate it again with your controls in place to ensure that the residual risk is acceptable.
Your organization will have policies and procedures that will guide you in how to do this appropriately, generally it will include a risk assessment form at least.
Report hazards and risks to a senior member of staff; the risk assessment form is one way to keep a track of what’s happened to keep everyone safe.

Remember that failure to identify, appropriately manage, and monitor risks in schools poses a risk to your safety, and the safety of your colleagues and students.
Failure to promptly identify hazards and manage risks can leave you, or your school / Department / organisation open to litigation.
Incident reports should be completed promptly when things like injury, accident, or other unusual occurrences happen at work; this is part of your duty of care. In most schools these are now done online.

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