School beekeeping - risk assesment

[dpearce4]

does anyone know where i could get some risk assesments for school beekeeping, i want to discusss it with my head but want to be armed with the paperwork from the start.

cheers.

 

[drstitson]

ask kazmcc

 

[andycadman]

The Rural Studies Advisor for Devon produced a educational Safety code for bees around 1976.

Also "Apiculture for Schools" by Ken Stevens published in 1977 may be useful.

I also wrote and Article for the Derbyshire Rural Studies jouranal in 1977 on Bees in School.

All probably rather out of date now, I am afraid, but may be useful if you can get hold of any of them.

 

[hedgerow pete]

risk assesments are realy just a list of what can go wrong and what we intend on doing about it before hand.

now some people use red, gree, amber some use 1 to 10 and some use 1 to 5 etc

so I will start it off and I am sure many others will add to it

so here goes

risk 1.
children being stung by bees general , before action probale risk 4 out of 5
solutions,
place bees in a low/non traffic area of childred, enclose area with plastic mesh fence 1.8m high on simple timber posts to raise bee flight lines above head hieght, risk after action 1 out of 5

risk 2
bees stinging when near to hives.
risk before action 5 out of 5
solution,
all personal to wear PPE before entering a radius around the hives of (say 20m) and well before entering fenced area, PPE and training is also the reason why the bees are there and as such is part of the basic indution to bee keeping, risk after solution 1 out of 5

its pretty much that simple, think of a risk,

( keep it reasonable, saterlits falling to eartth and landing ontop of the bee hive is pretty rare, so is finding that the hive has been invaded by evil left handed miniture bee eating snow lepards)

then after we have identified a risk we then think how bad its out come could be, then we think , what can i do to reasonable provent it and it is only "reasonable" then write it down and then work out the risk afterwards

 

[VEG]

In other words just make it up.

 

[beeatshellards]

I would also put that any
chemicals can and will only be administered by a "qualified" beekeeper, the risk involved could be stated as inhalation or injestion

 

[BCBEE]

As others have suggested there will be some info that you can gleam from other risk assesments but dont make the mistake of just copying what others have said. You cant make a risk assesment of your particular school without visiting the site and I woulkd make this plain to the headmaster. In fact this would show that you are taking it serioulsly

What if its next to a public right of way for instance and the bees cab fly right over it. You would need to ***** the risk of this. etc etc.
It may be that security lights are coming on all night when people pass which can cause the bees to become restless

Risk assesments are often thought of as a bit of a daft thing and uneccesary by the public at large but if someone ever put a claim in for being stung especially if they had a bad reaction you cn bet yer boots the risk assesment would be the first thing that was asked for.

Pay a visit to the site and the proposed location of the hives and take if from there. Take photos so you dont forget where things are.

Phill

 

[Nose Ma]

As another has suggested, kazmcc will know about this as she minds a school hive.

Do you need to consider a waiver form for children who will be handling/standing over the hive as you manipulate it. I would guess the chances of a sting are near 100% if a child is actually manipulating the bees. By waiver I mean a parent signing that a bee sting is highly likey, and they are happy with you demonstrating, and take responsibility for any after-effects/disclose any sensitivities prior to starting?

Please, please, please, no talk of epipens in this thread...

 

[andycadman]

I kept bees in a secondary school (5/6 hives) for seventeen years without any problems in the 70' & 80's. However, these days there is so much more to worry about outside the apiary.

I kept the bees at the back of the school greenhouse so that the students could observe without having to put any gear on. Kept an observation hive in the classroom for observing at closer quarters.

 

[YorkshireBees]

Great photo!

I think there is more chance the pupils will get a hand full of cactus spikes because they are more interested in the beekeeping than a bee sting!

 

[dclewis]

Have you had a look at the HSE's pdf on '5 steps to risk assessment'. (Google it you'll find it easily). Worth a look and I used it as a base to establish a risk assessment before establishing a hive on a roof of an office.

I did complete the exercise and could forward you a copy by pm if you want but its not specific to schools but there would be significant similarities.

 

[johnandyrob]

try www.usethekey.org.uk/bees-on-site-health-and-safety-guidance
You can get a trial membership

 

[Easy Beesy]

I've just written one for supermarket staff who want to come visit - they save their spoiled sugar for me. You are welcome to crib off it if you wish. PM me.

Eb

 

[susbees]

try www.usethekey.org.uk/bees-on-site-health-and-safety-guidance
You can get a trial membership

Can anyone who has an LA/DfE number email me the contents, please?

 

[yantabulla]

Fantastic photo Andy. Yes the proximity of the cactus is concerning. They could also fall through the glass. Yanta

 

[andycadman]

Just shows how things have changed. Good point about the cacti but . . . .

The bees were sited at the back of the greenhouse for the seventeen years that I was at the school (1973 - 1990).

The cacti helped to stop them getting too near the glass.

No one injured in any way by either bees, glass or cacti. Bees were observed both from the greenhouse and in the apiary on a regular basis.

The bees were a very valuable part of the Curriculum at the same time as beeing very motivating for the students . . . . . . . .

The headteacher also took a great interest in the bees and was often to be seen watching from a safe distance!

The issues today would scare me to death. In those days the bees were no problem, very little worry but then I was so much younger.

Andy