School is fined £20k over pet farm health risk
RISK ASSESSMENTS WERE NOT ‘ROBUST’ ENOUGH, COURT TOLD
A DERBY primary school has been fined £20,000 for not carrying out a “robust” risk assessment for its pet farm.
Wyndham Spencer Academy was taken to court by the Health and Safety Executive following an investigation after a child caught E.coli, although the incident was not linked to the school.
A DERBY school has been fined more than £20,000 for a health and safety breach which was uncovered after a four-year-old pupil caught E. coli.
Wyndham Spencer Academy, in Alvaston, was investigated by environmental health officers after the child was hospitalised with the disease in May 2018.
This inquiry revealed that the school, which is part of the Spencer Academies Trust, did not have robust enough risk assessments in place for the farm animals that are kept on the site.
The trust was subsequently charged by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for failing to discharge its general health and safety duty to someone who was not an employee.
In court both the HSE and the trust agreed the E. coli case and subsequent hospitalisation could not be linked to the school.
A hearing at Southern Derbyshire Magistrates’ Court yesterday was told that while the case could not be linked to a farm at the school – which contained goats, pigs and hens – some breaches came to light in the investigation.
Dan Richardson, prosecuting, said the risk assessments that had been found in relation to the farm were generic and that these were neither “suitable or sufficient”.
He added that there was little information about when the animals had been introduced and that while the assessments stated there was a risk of E. coli, there was no reason given as to why there was a risk.
“People put at risk here are children who are more likely to contract E. coli,” he said.
“There’s clear evidence of children eating in close proximity to a field that was leaching”.
Mr Richardson added: “Since the incident the organisation has taken steps to remedy its deficiencies.”
Bernard Thorogood, mitigating
for the trust after it admitted the breach, said the required changes to rectify the situation have already taken place.
“It’s a school which has an exceptional good character,” he said. “It’s a pretty remarkable place where some children who might need extra help are getting it.”
Mr Thorogood urged the court to impose as small a fine as possible and to take into account it is not a profit-generating business, but an educational establishment and charitable trust. It [the fine] is going to be a pretty significant blow for the school, the question is how significant a blow,” he said.
District Judge Jonathan Taaffe said it was a “serious situation” which could have led to something more serious. “The fact this is an educational and charitable organisation does not mean it should be treated any differently,” he said.
“There were systems in place but they were not satisfactorily robust or considered.”
The trust was fined £20,000, and ordered to pay £7,304.10 in costs and a victim surcharge of £170, to be paid within 12 months.
A spokesperson for Spencer Academies Trust said: “The Trust has been fined in relation to a single breach relating to a period which ended over three years ago. “When the issue arose it was immediately addressed. The Trust has robust and effective health and safety systems in place.
“The court accepted there was no connection between the breach and any person’s illness.
“The judge observed that the school appeared to be an excellent educational establishment but he added even in the most excellent of organisations problems can and will arise.”