Health and Safety Student Rep training
Adult decisions on health & safety affect the day-to-day school lives of children every day so why not empower those at the receiving end to blaze their own Health & Safety trail?
In 2018 the Aspire Academy Trust’s inaugural training day for Student Council H&S Representatives took place at St Stephen Churchtown Academy and in 2019, the school is invited to share their years’ worth of knowledge and inspire the next cohort of young H&S Reps.
On Tuesday 11th June 2019 the first of this academic year’s three annual training days was held at Tintagel Primary School for the North Hub of Aspire academies – Tintagel Primary School, Delabole Primary School, St Breock Primary School and Bude Primary Academy. On Wednesday 12th June Mount Hawke Academy welcomed the Truro Hub comprising Mount Hawke, Truro Learning Academy, Cusgarne Primary School and St Uny C of E Academy. Finally, on Thursday 13th June, host school Sandy Hill Academy invited the St Austell Hub – Bugle School, Treverbyn Academy, Mawgan-in-Pydar Primary School, Shortlanesend School, Summercourt Academy, Whitemoor Academy and St Stephen Churchtown Academy.
The initiative is the brainchild of Aspire Health & Safety Manager Julie Brooks and the full, fun and interactive days are led by herself and colleagues Hazel Richardson and Sian Valentine. The children learn about risk assessments, legislation, spotting hazards and accident prevention. Student feedback was overwhelmingly positive in 2018 and their comments and artwork formed this year’s Aspire Health & Safety posters, circulated to all academies across the Trust. With this year’s programme complete, a total of 74 children across 20 Aspire academies are now fully trained.
The student representative not only represents their school but plays an integral role in the working of the Trust, reporting directly, via their Head of School, to Julie Brooks and the Health & Safety Team in the Core Services Team. In a collaborative partnership, health & safety becomes an integral part of the children’s learning environment and as educators we hope to instill in every child a knowledge and awareness that will see them through for life.
