Posts Tagged ‘asbestos in schools’
NUT publishes all-party report on Asbestos in Schools
This report, from the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Occupational Safety and Health, exposes the level of danger from asbestos in Britain’s schools, and makes a compelling case for urgent action. It not only outlines the problem but makes six clear and simple recommendations on how future asbestos exposure in schools can be prevented.
Published by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Occupational Health and Safety the report makes six clear recommendations:
Report Recommendations
The All-Party Group recommends that:
- The Government should set a programme for the phased removal of asbestos from all schools, with priority being given to those schools where the asbestos is considered to be most dangerous or damaged.
- Standards in asbestos training should be set and the training should be mandatory. The training should be properly funded.
- It is recommended that the DfE and HSE jointly develop asbestos guidance specifically for schools and that current standards be reviewed.
- A policy of openness should be adopted. Parents, teachers and support staff should be annually updated on the presence of asbestos in their schools and the measures that are being taken to manage it.
- Pro-active inspections to determine the standards of asbestos management should be reinstated, with a view to reducing future costs.
- Data should be collected centrally on the extent, type and condition of asbestos in schools and this becomes an integral part of the data collection of the condition of the nation’s schools. Read More
Asbestos compliance checks in schools show 17% failure rate
Asbestos compliance checks which were carried out between November 2010 and June 2011 show that 17% of schools have not implemented adequate asbestos management.
The compliance checks were carried out at 164 voluntary aided and foundation schools and also academies. The 17% failure shows that 28 out of the 164 schools had inadequate management plans, however, another 110 schools received formal advice on how there was room for improvement with regards to their management plans.
Enforcement action taken against the 28 schools was not due to the danger of exposure for teachers and pupils, it was the failure to provide adequate training to staff and also not being able to produce and show inspectors management plans, which caused these failings.
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Parents remove their children from Neasden primary school over asbestos concerns
Concerned parents have removed their children from a primary school after the discovery of asbestos in the building.
The potentially lethal material was found by workmen in Brentfield Primary School, in Meadow Garth, Neasden, over the summer holidays.
Parts of the building have been cordoned off and parents say their children have been forced to use toilets in nearby Neasden Temple.
They also say hot food is off the menu and children are being forced to eat their lunches in classrooms.
A worried mother, who wished not to be named, said: “The school should be closed until all the work is carried out but the council doesn’t want to do this.
“Half of the building is sealed off. The children are using the temple next door to go to the toilet. There is no kitchen and they are eating in classrooms.
“It obviously is not safe if parts of the school are closed. Half of the parents have taken their kids out. A lot of parents down here don’t know what is going on.” Read More
School hall to be closed for several weeks after workmen find asbestos
IT could be several weeks before pupils at a Derbyshire special school are able to use their hall again after asbestos was discovered.
Up to 70 pupils at Alfreton Park Community Special School were sent home on Friday, two days after ceiling tiles worked loose in the main hall.
Now asbestos has been found in the girders holding the tiles in place.
The area was immediately sealed off and it will be two weeks before the asbestos can be removed and repairs are carried out.
It is not known if it the hall will be open in time for when pupils return in September.
Head teacher Rosemary McKenzie said it had been a very hectic time for everyone at the school.
She said: “We have been busy creating alternative ways of getting our able-bodied and less able-bodied pupils around the school without going through the hall.
“We have also had to make sure we can get treatment to pupils in cases of emergency.
“It has now been possible to create a sealed tunnel through the hall to make life easier.
“It is good we are breaking up next Thursday. But I think it is unlikely that any work will be finished before we return in September.” Read More