A SNAPSHOT OF CLIENT QUERIES

We’ve picked a few of the most interesting questions we’ve dealt with since our last issue, which may be useful if you ever find yourself in a similar situation at your school.

Query: What is the most up-to-date guidance around blood-borne diseases? I know there has recently been a lot of talk around Hepatitis B. With a child in our setting who has been biting quite a lot recently we want to ensure we have the correct guidance and wanted to know if you had any further information on this. I know in some healthcare and special school settings there is a requirement for staff to have had a Hep B vaccine

The government guidance Specific settings and populations: additional health protection considerations states:

Staff who are providing close personal care may face increased transmission risks. Therefore, it is important for them to be up to date with the routine immunisation schedule. It is also recommended that staff who are involved in the care of individuals with a severe learning disability should receive the hepatitis B vaccine, if recommended through an occupational health risk assessment.

Ideally, the staff members should have Level 2 qualifications, but for the tasks the staff are currently undertaking, level 1 will be sufficient.

Query: Would really appreciate your view on food hygiene certification for school staff, we want to establish what level of training the following staff should have for the task that they complete.

1. Breakfast club staff toasting bagels/toast, servicing cereals/fruits etc

2. Food tech lessons at primary school, delivered by primary teachers who are not specialist food technology teachers

3. Secondary food technology teachers – delivering curriculum food tech lessons

4. Midday supervisors – who assist at primary schools, may occasionally cut up food for children but otherwise don’t serve or handle food

Query: Could you confirm if a first aid book is a statutory requirement for recording pupil first aids? Or is an electronic version suitable.?

An electronic version is perfectly acceptable. The Handsam Incident Log offers a smart, streamlined way to record, investigate, and analyse all types of incidents—from accidents and near-misses to illnesses, restraints, and medication administration. This dynamic, cloud-based tool ensures your organisation remains legally compliant, while empowering staff to respond quickly and consistently.​