Accident Reporting

The sample Record of Accidents and ‘Near Misses’ shown opposite (click to enlarge and again to download) provides one possible format on which to record the facts relating to an accident or incident during a Design and Technology session. This example is referred to as Appendix 4 in the sample D&T Safety Audit.

General:

All teachers of Design and Technology are required to report any accidents occurring during their lessons. All accidents, incidents or ‘'near misses'’ should be recorded because, by investigating these, action may be identified to prevent a re-occurrence.

Reporting Accidents and Near Misses:

Schools should ensure that accidents and incidents are reported promptly and accurately using an Accident Report Book or Form designed for this purpose. The Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) advises schools to retain accident reports involving a pupil for 15–20 years for the following reasons:

• A parent or guardian can commence legal proceedings within three years of the date of the accident.
• Alternatively, the pupil can do so within three years of his or her 18th birthday so staff could be asked to recall events that occurred many years previously.

Contacts:

A well run Design and Technology Department will have essential contact information clearly posted so that appropriate help and advice can quickly be brought to bear on any accident or incident – e.g. :

School Contact: ###	Doctor’s Surgery: ###	Police Station: Dial 101
Fire Service: Dial 999	Electricity Supplier: ###	Gas Supplier: ###

Major Injuries or Incidents:

The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR) requires that school Senior Management must report certain accidents, diseases and dangerous occurrences arising out of or in connection with work.

Injuries to pupils and visitors who are involved in an accident at school or on an activity organised by the school are only reportable under RIDDOR if the accident results in:

• the death of the person, and arose out of or in connection with a work activity; or
• an injury that arose out of or in connection with a work activity and the person is taken directly from the scene of the accident to hospital for treatment (examinations and diagnostic tests do not constitute treatment).

Guidance on what constitutes a 'Reportable Incident can be found on the HSE publication Incident reporting in schools ‘’(accidents, diseases and dangerous occurrences)’’ which can be freely downloaded from their web site.

The lists of specified injuries and diseases described in Section 1 only apply to employees. If a pupil injured in an incident remains at school, is taken home or is simply absent from school for a number of days, the incident is not reportable.

All reportable incidents can be reported online but a telephone service remains for reporting fatal and major injuries only - call the Incident Contact Centre on 0845 300 9923 (opening hours Monday to Friday 8.30 am to 5 pm).