Health, Safety, and Welfare Policy
At St Joseph's School, the board ensures that the school is a physically and emotionally safe place where risks to health and safety (both physical and mental) are eliminated or minimised (Health and Safety at Work Act 2015; Education and Training Act 2020).
The board prioritises health, safety, and welfare and promotes a culture of continuous health and safety improvement. The board ensures that the school has the resources needed to comply with health and safety requirements and engages with workers to ensure the school has robust health and safety policies and procedures. As part of the development of our strategic plan and in consultation with stakeholders, we may set strategic or annual goals for health and safety at St Joseph's School. We may also set specific objectives in relation to particular aspects of health and safety.
Health, safety, and welfare duties
Everyone is responsible for health and safety at St Joseph's School. This includes the board and principal, staff, students, whānau, and visitors. At St Joseph's School, we acknowledge our shared responsibility for health, safety, and welfare, and promote schoolwide engagement with health and safety policies and procedures.
The Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 defines different types of duty holders within a workplace, and outlines health and safety responsibilities for each type of duty holder. At St Joseph's School, different types of duty holders have been identified below:
Duty and school role
Duty of PCBU (person conducting a business or undertaking) – Board (including the principal)
As the PCBU (person conducting a business or undertaking) at St Joseph's School, the board has a primary duty of care (Health and Safety at Work Act, s 36).
This means the board must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable:
Reasonably practicable, in relation to the duty of a PCBU, means that which is, or was, at a particular time, reasonably able to be done in relation to ensuring health and safety, taking into account and weighing up all relevant matters, including:
- the likelihood of the hazard or the risk concerned occurring
- the degree of harm that might result from the hazard or risk
- what the person concerned knows, or ought reasonably to know, about:
- the hazard or risk
- ways of eliminating or minimising the risk
- the availability and suitability of ways to eliminate or minimise the risk
- after assessing the extent of the risk and the available ways of eliminating or minimising the risk, the cost associated with available ways of eliminating or minimising the risk, including whether the cost is grossly disproportionate to the risk.
Health and Safety at Work Act, s 22
- the health and safety of workers (including teachers and non-teaching staff, volunteer workers, and contractors)
- that the health and safety of others who may be affected by school operations (including students and visitors) is not put at risk.
The board ensures, as far as is reasonably practicable, that they provide and maintain:
- a work environment that is without risks to health and safety
- safe plant and structures
Plant includes—
(a) any machinery, vehicle, vessel, aircraft, equipment (including personal protective equipment), appliance, container, implement, or tool; and
(b) any component of any of those things; and
(c) anything fitted or connected to any of those things
Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (s 16)
- safe systems of work.
The board also ensures, as far as is reasonably practicable:
- the safe use, handling, and storage of plant, substances, and structures
- adequate facilities (including access to the facilities) for the welfare of workers
- information, training, instruction, and supervision to protect everyone from risks to health and safety arising from school operations
- the monitoring of worker health and workplace conditions to prevent injury or illness arising from school operations.
Health and Safety at Work Act, s 36
Duties of officers – Individual board members (including the principal)
As officers under the Health and Safety at Work Act, individual board members (including the principal) must exercise due diligence to ensure that the PCBU complies with their health and safety duties and obligations.
This means individual members of the board take reasonable steps to:
- know and keep up-to-date about health and safety matters at the school
- gain an understanding of the operations of the school and the hazards and risks generally associated with school operations
- ensure the board has appropriate resources and processes to eliminate or minimise health and safety risks relating to school operations
- ensure the board has appropriate processes for receiving and responding in a timely way to information about incidents, hazards, and risks
- ensure the board has, and implements, processes for complying with any duty or obligation of the board under the Health and Safety at Work Act
- verify that the resources and processes referred to above are in place and being used.
Health and Safety of Work Act, s 44
Duties of workers – Employees, including the principal, teachers and non-teaching staff, volunteer workers, and contractors
Employees, including teachers and non-teaching staff, volunteer workers, and contractors, are expected to:
- take reasonable care for their own health and safety
- take reasonable care that their behaviour does not adversely affect the health and safety of other people
- comply, as far as they are reasonably able, with any reasonable instruction given by the board to allow the board to comply with their legislative and regulatory obligations
- cooperate with any reasonable policy or procedure of the board relating to health or safety in school operations
Health and Safety at Work Act, s 45
Duties of other people at the workplace – Students, visitors, parents, whānau, and casual volunteers
Students, visitors, parents, whānau, and casual volunteers are expected to:
- take reasonable care for their own health and safety
- take reasonable care that their behaviour does not adversely affect the health and safety of other people
- comply, as far as they are reasonably able, with any reasonable instruction that is given by the board to allow the board to comply with their legislative and regulatory obligations.
Health and Safety at Work Act, s 46
The board is responsible for ensuring school buildings and grounds are safe for people who are on site when the school is open for instruction, as well as those accessing the site for lawful purposes outside these times. The board is also responsible for providing a safe environment during school-related events off school grounds (e.g. school camps and EOTC events).
In keeping with the requirements of the Act (s 34), the board consults and collaborates with other PCBUs that have a duty in relation to the same matter (e.g. other schools, transport service providers, and other service providers).
Health and safety management
The board and the principal work together to manage health, safety, and welfare at St Joseph's School in ways that ensure all duties under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 are met, as well as the Education and Training Act 2020 requirement that the school is a physically and emotionally safe place.
As the PCBU at St Joseph's School, the board fulfils their primary duty of care. Individual board members (including the principal) exercise due diligence as officers to ensure the board meets its health and safety obligations.
The responsibility for day-to-day health and safety management at the school is delegated to the principal, with support from the board. This does not transfer the duties of the board but takes into account the nature of school operations and the position of individual officers under the Health and Safety at Work Act. The principal may further delegate health and safety tasks.
The board engages with workers and ensures workers have appropriate representation and involvement in health and safety matters. See Worker Engagement, Participation, and Representation.
The principal ensures that everyone involved with school operations is informed about health and safety matters, including their health and safety responsibilities, relevant health and safety policies and procedures, and updates or changes to health and safety practices. See Health and Safety Induction and Training.
Anyone can raise concerns by following school procedures. See Risk Management and Raising Concerns and Complaints.
Health and safety implementation
Our Health, Safety, and Welfare Policy is divided into different areas of implementation. For detailed policy information about how we meet health, safety, and welfare requirements and follow good practice in different areas of school operations, see:
Other relevant policies include:
Our health and safety policies and procedures are accessible to users, up to date, and suitable for use.
Health and safety monitoring and review
The board monitors and reviews health and safety at the school to ensure that health and safety practices are effective and to look for opportunities for improvement.
- If the board has set strategic or annual goals for health and safety at St Joseph's School, or specific objectives in relation to particular aspects of health and safety, these are reviewed regularly to assess what might be needed as next steps.
- The board may also set and review performance indicators to assist with monitoring the effectiveness of health and safety at our school.
The Ministry of Education notes that schools should select performance indicators to measure the success of their health and safety implementation. Examples include:
- induction training completed for all new staff
- accident and incident register up to date
- staff actively engaged in health and safety through discussion and reporting
- number of injuries or incidents reducing
- lower level of sick leave
- increased worker performance
- better staff retention
- improved job satisfaction.
See "Health and safety policy example" – Health and safety responsibilities for schools 
(Ministry of Education)
- The school conducts audits of health and safety to ensure policies and procedures are being implemented effectively. We update policies and procedures as needed to improve health and safety practices.
The Ministry of Education notes that schools should carry out regular internal and external audits against a set of audit standards which cover:
- commitment to health and safety
- monitoring, tracking, reporting, and evaluation of health and safety
- risk identification, assessment, and management
- information, training, and supervision
- incident and accident reporting, recording, and investigation
- worker participation in health and safety
- emergency planning and readiness.
This could include checks that workers are following health and safety procedures and that inductions are being carried out for workers, contractors, and visitors, as appropriate.
See "Health and safety policy example" – Health and safety responsibilities for schools (Ministry of Education)
- Health and safety is a regular agenda item at board meetings, so that individual officers of the board can keep up to date on knowledge of health and safety matters to meet their due diligence.
- The board participates in scheduled health and safety policy reviews, and other members of the school community are encouraged to provide feedback on the implementation of health and safety policies.
- The board ensures there is regular communication about health and safety with workers (e.g. in team meetings, through a health and safety representative) so that workers have regular opportunities to raise health and safety concerns and solutions.
- The principal reports to the board regularly on health and safety matters. This includes worker engagement, risk management, any implementation issues, and reports on health and safety incidents of accident, injury, and illness. The board, in consultation with stakeholders, investigates any incidents and issues as needed. See Recording and Reporting Injuries and Illness.
- The principal gives assurances to the board on key health and safety areas.
This includes reporting on:
- risk management
- evacuation/emergency kit and supplies
- first aid, recording and notification of accidents, and managing, administering, and recording medication
- child protection
- abuse recognition and reporting
- searches, surrender, and retention of property
- physical restraint
- digital technology and cybersafety
- school swimming pool
- bus safety, behaviour, and incidents.
See Review Schedule and Board Assurances.
We take action to address any implementation issues and/or health and safety needs. Updates to health and safety policies and procedures are communicated to all stakeholders. The board checks that any actions required to improve health and safety have been implemented.
The principal assures the board that school health, safety, and welfare policies and procedures meet legislative and regulatory requirements. This includes requirements to:
- ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers
- ensure that the health and safety of others is not put at risk from school operations
- eliminate (or, if not possible, minimise) risks to health and safety
- make the school a physically and emotionally safe place.
See Review Schedule and Board Assurances.
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Legislation
- Education and Training Act 2020
- Health and Safety at Work Act 2015
- Health and Safety at Work (General Risk and Workplace Management) Regulations 2016
Resources
: Term 3 2025, Term 1 2023, Term 4 2020
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