Safety and well-being
Working with the safety and well-being of learners in mind is a crucial issue in community-based adult learning. As a tutor, you may be working:
- in premises that are not ideal for learning
- with a subject or discipline which involves the use of potentially dangerous equipment or hazardous substances
- with a subject or discipline that involves some physical risk or challenge to learners
- with learners with physical limitations and/or sensory impairments who have specific requirements to enable them to learn in safety
- with mature learners who have not declared a disability but who, nevertheless, have medical or health conditions which you need to be mindful of; or
- with learners whose attitudes are distressing and discomforting to others.
It is your responsibility to ensure that learners have a safe environment in which to learn. This is a legal requirement and is an integral part of adult learning provision. To provide this environment, you need to:
- be trained in and observe the organisation's health and safety policy and procedures
- assess and manage risk to create a safe learning environment for you and your learners
- ensure that learners have been inducted and made aware of the policy and procedures
- take into account learners' specific physical needs so that they can learn effectively and safely; and
- maintain a learning environment that is free from prejudice, discrimination and victimisation of all kinds, so that all learners can concentrate on learning.
By working in these ways, you will be observing good health and safety practice.