What Should You Do About Safety? S.L.A.M. It! Practicing safety is everyone’s responsibility. Within an educational system, the teachers/instructors and the support staff have an even broader responsibility because they are also responsible for the safety of the students assigned to their learning environment.

Safety awareness and safe behavior are not innate skills - nor are these skills taught in education courses at any level. These behaviors must be deliberately learned and specifically practiced.

Your district and campus take safety very seriously. To support their safety goals, the safety professionals at Edwards Risk Management offer you a tool for applying “Situational Awareness” to your every day work.

The attached handout explains situational awareness and offers the S.L.A.M. technique as a proven method for quality safety action. We hope you will use this information to have the safest school year yet!

It is important that each individual is looking out for his or her own safety as well as the safety of the students and those colleagues around them. Your campus safety plan depends on your efforts to make safety a priority.

Your safety, the student’s safety - ALL safety - begins with “situational awareness.” This important skill hinges on being aware of what is happening around you and understanding how this information will impact goals, objectives both immediately and in the near future.

An individual’s situational awareness is only as accurate as his or her own perception of a situation. The quality of the skill (action) is influenced by what information an individual has (or doesn’t have), his or her own previous experiences with that type of situation and the many distractions that happen during the daily educational process.

The truth is this: As teachers/instructors, administrators or staff, we keep our students and ourselves safe through deliberate awareness of the hazards that exist in our schools and by choosing to address the risks. Often there is so much going on in a classroom or school offices that we become hyper-focused and simply miss the signs that a hazard is present with potentially significant injury consequences.

To help you hone your safety skills, we offer you the S.L.A.M. technique. S.L.A.M. is a proven technique for reviewing lessons and any tasks for safety BEFORE moving forward.

S-stands for STOP Engage your mind before you act, identifying carefully the task(s) set before you.

L-stands for LOOKLook at your classroom or office for hazards that might cause accident or injury when performing said task. Review the processes and plas you have for the near future. What MIGHT happen?

A-stands for ASSESS

Evaluate and qualify the hazards; determine the potential effects on you, the people you work with, equipment/materials and the consequences that could be added. Ask yoursself if you have the knowledge, training and toold to do the task safely.

M-stands for MANAGEReduce or elimate the risk(s)-make a smart choice! Tell your leaders what actions you think are necessary to make the situation safe. if you can eliminate the risk before moving forward, do it!

-Safety Has No Quitting Time.-

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Safety Has No Quitting Time.

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As part of your employer’s safety program, Edwards Risk Management is providing these Safety Snippets.Our hope is, with use of this information, your personal safety awareness will increase and safe behaviors campus-wide will

lead to a full, productive year for both you and the students!We welcome your comments, suggestions and input at safetytips@edwardsrisk.com