part of the phsc group
The SafetyMARK scheme is recognised by a wide range of organisations and it is the only scheme helping to benchmark safety standards in schools, nationwide. The aim of SafetyMARK is to help all schools achieve high levels of health & safety compliance. This is what we are passionate about.
The SafetyMARK process will take your school from its current level of safety to a level of safety excellence. We provide schools with a really practical plan and the support to understand and implement it.
The reasons for joining SafetyMARK are many and varied. Each school is likely to have different motivations depending upon its own circumstances, but their common goal is to improve and maintain high standards of health and safety in schools. Whether your school is currently operating at high or low levels of compliance, you may need external verification of standards – especially if there have been changing circumstances within the school or with a local authority.
We offer a helping hand and a plan. In each case, SafetyMARK provides the framework and resources to benchmark and improve your school safety policy.
Once you have registered with us and we have determined the SafetyMARK grade which suits your school or organisation, we will send you some information to help you prepare for the on-site safety audit. We will then visit to carry out the audit on school premises and determine whether you are compliant with safety regulations in schools and if you meet the SafetyMARK standard. You will then receive the SafetyMARK award and/or guidance on how to improve your safety management.
Schools can work towards the award over a two year period, providing evidence of their improvements, and will receive the award as soon as they meet the standard. The award is then valid for as long as is left of the two year period.
If we determine after the audit that your school meets the required standard, you will immediately be sent your framed certificate of excellence and will be able to use the SafetyMARK logo on all of your literature and electronic material. Schools and organisations that score highly will receive our “Platinum Award” to showcase their excellence.
If your school does not meet the required standard, then you can work on your school safety plan and send us evidence of your improvements. Once you meet the criteria, we will send you your award.
It is also important to understand that the current Ofsted inspection criteria evaluate ‘how relentlessly leaders, managers and the governing body pursue a vision for excellence, for example through the rigorous implementation of well focused improvement plans’. SafetyMARK will help to demonstrate this, improving the health and safety policy in schools, and fits perfectly within the Ofsted ethos.