Keeping people healthy and safe

These pages provide information and resources to help support and promote the health, safety and wellbeing of staff and ākonga.

This includes planning for and responding to emergencies, managing risks, providing wellbeing and pastoral support and more.

It is essential that leaders of schools and early learning services have a comprehensive understanding of their health and safety responsibilities and good practice.

Legislative overview

Information on key health and safety legislation and the importance of developing an active health and safety culture.

Legislative overview

Roles and responsibilities

Guidance on the different roles and responsibilities involved in health and safety, including the responsibilities of leadership and other duty holders, understanding what a PCBU (Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking) is, and contractor responsibilities.

Roles and responsibilities

Key elements of a good health and safety system

This section provides information about the key areas of focus that make up a good health and safety system. You may find this a useful model to follow when considering the health and safety practices and situation at your school or early learning service.

A good system will include a workplace health and safety plan which is regularly reviewed. This doesn’t necessarily need to be written down, as a collection of relevant procedures and simple practices may work better for you. It is putting the plan into practice that matters.

Checklist to help you develop and review your health and safety plan [DOCX, 26 KB]

A guide with more information on developing a health and safety plan can be found at:

Guidance for business leaders – WorkSafe(external link)

Advice for people considering using an external health and safety advisor can be found at:

Preparing for health and safety advice – business.govt.nz(external link)

Your school or early learning service should have a documented health and safety policy. The policy should reflect your commitment to providing and maintaining a safe and healthy workplace and to providing the information, training and supervision needed to achieve this to ensure the health and safety of all ākonga, workers and other people in the workplace. The policy, together with accompanying management procedures, needs to be properly communicated to all the people it covers in such a way that they clearly understand what is required of them.

The key components of a good health and safety system are listed below. Each page includes a list of questions to consider so you can quickly identify where you might need to review or change your practice:

Worker participation

Effective worker participation practices, eg health and safety representatives and committees.

Worker participation

Managing risk

How to keep ākonga and staff safe both on and off-site by identifying, assessing and managing risks.

Managing risk

Property and equipment

Property maintenance and the provision of appropriate equipment for particular activities.

Property and equipment

Injury and illness

Management of worker injuries and illnesses, reporting incidents to WorkSafe and providing a support and rehabilitation programme.

Injury and illness

Health and wellbeing

Support and promotion of the health and wellbeing of your staff and ākonga.

Health and wellbeing

Induction, training and information

Guidance on providing health and safety training and information for workers and others.

Induction, training and information

Monitoring, reporting and assurance

What a monitoring and reporting system is and how to promote a commitment to continuously improving health and safety.

Monitoring, reporting and assurance

Other advice

Emergencies and traumatic incidents

Resources to help schools and early learning services prepare for and deal with a natural disaster, pandemic or traumatic incident, including criminal acts or suicide.

Emergencies and traumatic incidents

Education outside the classroom

Guidance to support good health and safety practices and procedures for teaching and learning outside the classroom.

Education outside the classroom guidelines – TKI(external link)

School trips overseas and exchanges

Resources and advice for schools taking overseas trips.

School trips overseas and exchanges

COVID-19

Advice and guidance specific to COVID-19.

COVID-19 – Te Mahau(external link)

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