General school activities

It's not easy looking after the health and safety of a large group of people, especially when they are excited young people.

Adequate controls and systems are required to ensure safe access and the efficient running of the school timetable. Many buildings operate one-way traffic-systems for stairs and corridors.

Basic common sense does not always prevail and so some level of supervision may also be needed.

Break-time

Hopefully your playground will already be physically safe with no sharp surfaces or trip hazards, and be kept in good condition (cleaned, and checked for dog faeces, refuse and harmful materials like glass and discarded needles, for example). But a safe environment also has to be used safely. There should be enough people staffing the playground to make sure that rules are followed and accidents or emergencies are properly dealt with. In deciding how many staff are enough, the following factors should be considered, as part of the risk assessment:

• the size and shape of the play area: can all areas be seen?
• the presence of any fixed-play equipment
• the numbers of children playing
• any special needs of the children.

As with any other risk assessment, this one must be recorded and circulated to all staff involved in playtime supervision.

Help and support

For further advice on this issue, ATL members can speak to their school rep, their branch secretary or their regional official. They can also call the London (020 7930 6441), Cardiff (029 2046 5000), Belfast (028 9078 2020) or Edinburgh (0131 272 2748) officesor emailinfo@atl.org.uk

For out of hours enquiries, call the out of office hours helpline on 020 7782 1612 (Monday-Friday, 5-8pm during term time).

If you are not a member,join now.

Further information

• Can teachers be held personally liable for accidents involving pupils?
• How do I know if an accident should be reported?
• What you should do if a pupil has an accident