I know… health and safety isn’t the most glamorous of topics.

But it’s something that at some point is bound to be a part of your agenda…

So here are 10 Top Health and Safety Tips for you this week.

1. Do Your Risk Assessment. Decide what could cause harm as a result of what you do and decide what precautions you need to take, if you write it down this will be your risk assessment.
2. Create a Health and Safety Policy. Decide how you will manage Health and Safety within your business and write it down this will be your Health and Safety Policy.
3. Show Your Credentials. Display a current Employers Liability Insurance Certificate and the Health and Safety Law Poster.
4. Train People. Provide the appropriate Health and Safety Training for your staff; this should be based on the findings of your risk assessment.
5. Ask Around. Ensure you have sufficient competent Health and Safety advice from an employee, an external consultant or a mixture of both.
6. Keep the Conversation Going. Keep safety and health on all school meeting agendas.
7. Keep it Up. Consult with your staff about matters, which may affect their Health and Safety.
8. Have the Right Processes. Make sure you know what incidents, accidents and diseases need to be notified to the HSE and set up a procedure for doing so.
9. Maintain a Duty of Care. Don’t forget vulnerable members of staff/vulnerable children – an additional duty of care is owed to them.
10. Remember the Essentials. Asbestos management (if applicable) and fire safety are both critical to safety in your settings. Make sure you have plans and assessments in place.

One of the main things to remember is to keep the conversation going. Your health and safety concerns will change over time and it’s important to keep your policies and procedures updated.