Making Schools in the UK Safer For Children

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Schools are supposed to be a haven for our young ones where they can learn and socialise in a secure environment without the fear of getting hurt in any way. And while the local government authorities, education officials and parents campaign tirelessly for better teachers and to stop bullying, very little is done about the actual physical state of the school building itself.

In the recent past, we have seen young children suffering severe head and shoulder injuries after parts of the roof collapsed over them or heavy doors shut on their hand, causing excruciatingly painful finger injuries. The rising number of school-related injuries has underlined the dire need to address the school's building itself. As such, both private and public schools around the UK are routinely carrying out essential maintenance work to ensure the safety and well-being of the children.

Some of the smaller renovation and maintenance work that fails to be completed on a regular basis can expose the young school children to the most severe injuries, as they put danger in the young one's direct path every day. Making sure that handrails are attached at the side of staircases may seem like common sense. Be that as it may, a number of schools have inefficient handrails or worse, no support in the least. At busy times of the day, this can result in trampling and accidents as smaller children are pushed under the feet of their fellow students.

Also necessary but rarely implemented is door protection.

Door protection devices — sliding doors, anti door slam devices and door hinge finger protectors to name a few — have the primary objective of protecting school children from any door-related finger injury. While such injuries may not sound very dangerous, door-related finger injuries can have lasting effects on the sufferer. In most cases, such an injury may only result in a few bruises or cuts on the finger. In some extreme cases, however, door-related finger injuries can result in the loss of mobility or amputation of the injured finger. Door protector devices can heavily reduce the amount of minor and major injuries school children are exposed to on a day-to-day basis.

Ensuring that handrails are attached at the side of staircases, and every door in the school premises is correctly fitted with a door finger protector are just two of the necessary improvements that every school in the UK should make. It is vital that they remain on top of building maintenance and replace any materials that are less effective due to old age or hard usage. Government regulation needs to step up during inspection times to include any physical problems a school may have and force them to fix these before granting them a complete inspection.

If you know of any children who are put in danger because of a poorly kept school building, make it a point to ask the school to maintain their buildings better and get other parents behind you. This is the only way schools will sit up and listen.