This guidance document sets out Health and Safety Executive (HSE) requirements for risk assessment of finger trapping injuries and contains updated LEA guidance and requirements for action by Nursery, Infants, First, Primary, First & Middle and Special schools.
This document is issued as part of MI 176/02.
HSE inspectors investigated three of the most recent incidents and required the LEA to provide further guidance to schools on this issue and to monitor compliance. The inspectors concluded that, as finger guarding devices are readily available and relatively inexpensive to install, it is reasonably practicable for schools to fit guarding on doors identified as high risk following a suitable risk assessment.
Earlier guidance was issued as MI 101/99 and guidance on assessing the risks associated with doors is contained in the General Risk Assessment section of the Departmental Health and Safety Manual (pages 3-2-17 and 18).
Amended pages, taking account of the information contained in this guidance document, are attached and should be inserted in section 3 of the Manual.
Analysis of previous accidents shows that while all doors in schools are potentially a risk, classroom doors, toilet entrance doors and toilet cubicle doors represent the highest risk of finger trapping accidents.
Past injuries have included amputations and severed fingers as well as fractured or broken fingers and crushed or bruised fingers or finger tips. Accidents have mainly involved nursery or Key Stage 1 pupils.
Due to the severity of these injuries and the availability and cost of finger guarding devices, it is a requirement that guards are fitted in the first instance to classroom doors, entrances to toilets and toilet cubicle doors used by nursery or Key Stage 1 pupils.
In addition an assessment should be made of the risks of entrapment from other doors. Particular attention should be paid to the following: -
· Doors which pupils congregate next to
· Doors which pupils queue beside for lunch or other reasons
· Doors near entrances
· Doors which are susceptible to strong winds
· Doors which have created problems in the past (check accident records)
· Heavy doors (with or without dampening mechanisms)
· Areas where pupils are unsupervised
If the school has such doors, consider the following measures: -
· Try to reduce or remove the need for pupils to gather near doors – is there a noticeboard or some other attraction adjacent to the door?
· Can pupils queue in a different area or can any doors nearby be locked?
· Give regular briefings to pupils on dangers of finger trapping – schools which have never experienced finger trapping accidents tend to be those where pupil behaviour is shaped at an early stage and consistently reinforced
· Where the above is not practicable, finger guarding devices should be considered
The above assessments should be carried out as part of the general risk assessment process in the period June to October. See pages xi-xiii of the ‘How to Use this Manual’ section at the beginning of the Health and Safety Manual and section 3 mentioned above.
Schools which have already carried out a general risk assessment for the premises, but which have not identified any additional improvements regarding finger trapping risks, will need to revise their assessment in the light of the above and take appropriate action.
There are no centrally held funds available for such remedial actions and required improvements and those identified through risk assessment will need to be funded from the school budget.
If a school cannot afford
to install guarding at every door identified as a risk, it is reasonable to
plan, record and budget for a rolling programme of installation.
In future all new classrooms or major classroom refurbishments and toilet entrance doors in Primary phase schools will include finger guarding as part of the standard NPS Property Consultants Ltd (NPS) specification. Toilet cubicles will either have the risk of finger trapping designed out at the planning stage or be fitted with finger guarding as appropriate.
Primary phase schools which do not use NPS for such major works, should instruct their chosen contractor to include these standards in the brief for the project.
Finger guarding devices are available from the following companies: -
manufacturers of hinge protector - £29.38 incl. VAT (P&P extra)
Woodside Industrial Park, Works Road, Letchworth, Hertfordshire SG6 1LA
Tel: 01462 480522
manufacturers of ‘Fingagard’ - £12.99 incl. VAT and P&P
P.O. Box 44, Newtown, Powys SY16 1WD
Tel: 01686 622228; Fax: 01686 622451
Website: www.doorsafety.co.uk
manufacturers of ‘Phoenix Digitsafe’ - £23.95
Northgate, Aldridge, Walsall, West Midlands WS9 8TL
Tel: 01922 74000; Fax: 01922 740022
3-5 Southbourne Grove, Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex SS0 9UW
Tel: 01702 479474; Fax: 01702 474397
Website: www.fingersafe.com
Fingershield (Safety UK)
manufacturers of ‘Fingershield’ - £23.44 incl. VAT
The Old School House, Lind Street, Manchester M40 7ES
Tel: 0161 272 5500; Fax: 0161 272 7000
Website: www.fingershield.co.uk
These
details are provided for information and do not constitute an endorsement of
any particular product or company. VAT
paid by schools can be reclaimed.
Although
some companies can arrange for their products to be fitted at extra cost, all
manufacturers state that their devices can be fitted by persons with minimal
DIY ability.
In order to reduce costs it may be advantageous to combine with other schools to create a bulk order and obtain a significant discount.
The devices are sold as door length strips, usually just under 2 metres (6ft 6ins) in length. As only the lower part of a door hinge area poses a foreseeable danger to children, there is an argument that one strip could be cut in half and used to protect 2 doors. Except for locations such as nurseries where young children are likely to touch a door at or near floor level, it might be appropriate to start the bottom of the strip at about 25 cms (10 inches) from the floor. However, half-length strips may not look as neat as a full height device and may be more vulnerable to damage. If schools opt to use half length devices, a risk assessment should be carried out in relation to locations of the doors and users, including a check that no child can reach the top of any half-length installation.
For new and existing devices in your premises, you should have a system of regular brief visual inspection to check for damage or deterioration of the means of fixing so that appropriate remedial action can be taken. In addition, staff should be encouraged to be vigilant for and report damaged devices. Furthermore, there are good reasons why pupils and young people should be informed about the trapping hazard which exists at doors, the purpose of the devices and the need to tell staff about any damage they spot.
The HSE is requiring the LEA to improve its health and safety monitoring. This will include checks to confirm that the above requirements have been met.
A programme of targeted sample monitoring to ensure compliance will begin in Autumn 2002.