The purpose of this policy is:
- To protect anyone attending or participating in any Woodcraft Folk groups and events or who may be affected by Woodcraft Folk events or activities
- To provide volunteers and staff with not only a safe working environment, but with overarching principles that guide Woodcraft Folk’s approach to preventing harm and promoting wellbeing
- To ensure that the buildings for which Woodcraft Folk is responsible are safely managed
What is Health & Safety?
Health and safety means designing, planning, undertaking activities and organising events to minimise the risk of participants, volunteers, staff or anyone else having an accident or harming their health. This applies to physical injury risk but also extends to mental health. It also covers the safety of buildings for which Woodcraft Folk is responsible.
Health and safety is not a set of rules imposed by one group on another. It is the outcome of cooperation and participation that leads everyone to think through the potential risks of any Woodcraft Folk activity, and ensure that in a proportionate way those risks are addressed. The fundamental principle of health and safety law is that those who create risks are best placed to control them. It is also not about the avoidance of risk, because we understand that only by participating in the active management of risk will all participants learn to manage these risks throughout their lives.
Health and safety is underpinned by a series of legal requirements, regulations and procedures intended to prevent accident or injury in workplaces or public environments, further information about which is available at www.hse.gov.uk.
What is Wellbeing?
Health and safety addresses the potential for harm, but our aim is to enhance the physical and mental wellbeing of everyone participating in Woodcraft Folk activities and attending events – many of our activities are explicitly focused on physical health and mental wellbeing.
For Woodcraft Folk there is a continuum. At one end there are the harms: accidents and ill health, that we prevent through designing and undertaking activities in the right way. At the other end of the spectrum are the wellbeing outcomes of physical and mental activity: camps, the experience of participating in groups and teams, co-operating and living the values of Woodcraft Folk which results in everyone looking after each other.
Health & Safety Principles
Woodcraft Folk recognises that:
- The health, safety and wellbeing of everyone participating in our activities and/or attending our events is one of our main objectives
- Its staff and volunteers have a duty to take reasonable steps to protect from harm everyone participating in, or who may be affected by, Woodcraft Folk activities
- Some children, young people and adults are additionally vulnerable to harm because of their inexperience, level of dependency, communication needs or other issues and this will be taken into account when planning and running all activities
- Working in partnership with children, young people and volunteers is essential to identify and manage risks, and to encourage everyone to learn and become effective risk managers.
- Health and safety does not end with preventing harm – participation in Woodcraft Folk activities should enhance the wellbeing of all involved, and activities will be planned and undertaken with this aim in mind
- Safe management of buildings which are the responsibility of Woodcraft Folk and which are used by Woodcraft Folk staff, members and groups, and also by outsiders, is an important responsibility
To deliver on these principles:
- Every activity, event and venue shall be subject to rigorous risk assessment, to define the potential harms that could arise and ensure that suitable preventative and protective measures are in place
- Risk assessments shall be undertaken with the involvement of children, young people and adult volunteers
- Once a risk assessment has identified the preventative and protective measures to be relied upon to prevent harm, everyone responsible for organising the activity or event shall ensure that they are properly implemented
- Every Group, Centre, Project and Event organiser must nominate a named volunteer (or, where appropriate, member of staff) to take the lead on health, safety and wellbeing issues (who may also be the lead on safeguarding) and to develop a tailored health, safety and wellbeing plan based on the guidance provided
- Named Health & Safety leads should undertake specific training relevant to their role, as outlined in Woodcraft Folk’s Training Policy
- Periodic reviews shall be undertaken to consider the arrangements for health, safety and wellbeing and update them as required; as a minimum these should be done following a major event, the first running of a new activity or use of a new venue, or in the event of any significant incident
Further Information
Woodcraft Folk’s safeguarding team lead on health, safety & wellbeing across the organisation. Email safeguarding@woodcraft.org.uk or telephone 020 7703 4173 and selection option #4 to obatin advice and guidance.