Idea Transcript
www.adaptinternational.it, @ADAPT_bulletin, 24 June 2013
A Whole-School Approach to Occupational Health and Safety (OSH) by Meysam Salimi Occupational Health and safety (OSH) is a serious worldwide issue facing many countries and regions globally. In 1948, World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as ‘a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being’ (WHO, Preamble to the Constitution of the World Health Organization as adopted by the International Health Conference, New York, 19–22 June 1946, Official Records of the WHO, No. 2, p. 100). In Europe, the European Community Strategy 2007– 2012 for Health and Safety at Work (OSHA, EU Strategy on Safety and Health at Work, 2012) declared the importance of integrating health and safety topics into education and training programs. Therefore, the association between education and OSH is not an outlandish notions and the necessity of education for improving the OSH status from early childhood is likely unquestionable. For instance, for young children (nursery, infant, primary, secondary), education can address general concepts of health, safety and well-being as well as social aspects. Subsequently, for teenagers and young adults (vocational education, higher education), the concentration can be placed on gradual acquiring social and professional skills promoting the concept of health, safety and well-being at work, and in life in general as an adult and citizen. Some countries that understood the importance of this education basis start to increase their investment. Internationally, New Zealand ranks in the top of OECD countries in terms of its per child public investment in Early Childhood Education (ECE) (New Zealand Gov, Public expenditure on early childhood education (ECE), 2013). This early commencement of education will be more effective if it is accompanied by higher quality of OSH contents along with more engagement of students in a greater comprehensive approach. This approach should embark not only the facilities and equipment, but also the procedures and management system. As a part of this approach in school context, students should empower to play an active role in the health and safety aspects of their school environment during their learning process. Therefore, the sense of ownership would be boosted and they get motivated to carry out their role in school safety and health. Such a policy – Whole school approach to OSH – can clarify the bleak picture of the staffs and students’ health and safety responsibility while additionally can improve the learning environment and learning process as a whole. The whole-school approach to OSH in general encompasses the number of key points including: Combines risk education and managing safety and health in schools both for pupils and staff Brings together risk education, health education, safety management and the healthy school concept Actively involves staff and pupils in school safety management Trains and involves teachers in OSH management in their schools, improving their understanding of OSH and developing practical skills, which improves their ability to provide risk education to pupils 1
Develops students’ understanding of OSH and its importance by example Involves pupils in hazard spotting and proposing solutions, developing their skills and giving them ownership over school safety rules Integrates risk education and school safety and health throughout the school’s activities and the way it functions, to become part of school life. It is not an addition or an extra. (EUOSHA, Occupational safety and health and education: a whole-school approach, 2013).
Source: EU-OSHA, Occupational safety and health and education: a whole-school approach, 2013
According to European Community strategy for 2007–2012, young workers are considered as a vulnerable group that majority of accidents in workplace take place among them. Therefore the European commission aimed to develop training OSH in all levels. In order to unravel this riddle it was aimed firstly to improve the working conditions encountered by young people in their working lives. Afterward educate and train young people even before they come onto the job market. This approach by Community Strategy 2007-2012 not only reduced accidents and ill health to young workers but also helped them to improve the safety culture in workplaces in the longer term. Generally speaking, Whole-School Approach to education and school management tries to provide remedies for risk education and school safety management in addition to topics such as health education, violence and bullying to staff and pupils, and sustainable development and environmental issues. The eschew bulling and harassment is a common ground area of overlap between mental health promotion and OSH in schools and is also one which requires a Whole-School Approach covering the dignity and respect of staff and students. The Whole-School Approach would be successful if it accompanied by involvement and participation of staff and trade unions and students. Pupils should proactively participate in hazard identification and solution proposals in order to develop their learning skills and their compliance with safety school rules. School management and staff should be committed, motivated and welltrained in OSH education skills. Moreover, partnerships and networking and existence of external support (national regulations or programs, actions taken by local authorities, etc.) and/or funding could place huge impact on successfulness of this approach. Needless to say, appropriate legal framework/statutory requirements (e.g. for risk education, pupil involvement in school safety
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management) type of school, ages of children and the context/environment that it operates in, during the process of implementation of this approach should be taken into consideration. The implementation of the Whole-School Approach has its own pros and cons. Some of the advantages in this model are students’ engagement and use of pupils’ ideas for redesigning schools; double certification for schools (environmental and OSH management systems); training of teachers as a certified auditors; creation of e-learning resources for students training; staffs training and support; using school’s OSH responsibilities as a means of supporting and promoting risk education at the same time; OSH champions, peripatetic OSH teachers; promoting risk education and building safety. Among obstacles this methodology confronted, lack of time as a result of heavy curriculum (therefore, it is important to introduce health and safety as a transversal topic and use active education); lack of interest of the school’s management staff, other staff, pupils/students, or the public; insufficient parent involvement; difficulties when no national regulation exists; schools may lack effective management systems; economic factors that have an impact on available resources, or school located in an area that faces particular economic and social difficulties; time lags between intervention and outcomes are more serious. (EU-OSHA, Occupational safety and health and education: a whole-school approach, 2013). Consequently, the Whole-School Approach should be a means of uniting the disparate fields of interest encountered such as occupational safety and health, public health and accident prevention, and sustainable development. Achieving such a ‘combined’ Whole-School Approach requires intimate cooperation and working between OSH areas and education policy in order to develop joined-up approaches that would be appropriate for schools to implement pragmatically. The required tools that help schools to implement this integrated approach are not only tools combining risk education and OSH management, but tools which provide them an overall guidance in execution of this approach. Last but not least, this is an emerging field; therefore the continued exchange and sharing of practices and ideas at the local level to provide support for this information would be significant. Following graph explains schematically the combined Whole-School approach.
Source: EU-OSHA, Occupational safety and health and education: a whole-school approach, 2013
Meysam Salimi ADAPT Research Fellow, International Doctoral School in Human Capital Formation and Labour Relations ADAPT-CQIA University of Bergamo
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