A primary school has been prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and fined £35,000 for “common sense” safety failings that led to a “shocking and scary” burn incident involving a young child.
The London-based school had pleaded not guilty to breaching health and safety regulations but were found guilty following a trial at Southwark Crown Court in June this year. In addition to their fine, the school was also ordered to pay £25,970 in prosecution costs.
The incident had occurred on 11th December 2019, when a group of year 3 children were waiting to appear in church as part of their school carol concert.
The court heard how 60 children had been lined up in a costume in a narrow corridor, holding 10-inch lit taper candles, when a 7-year-old boy wearing a homemade sheep costume made out of cotton wool balls caught fire.
It took some effort to extinguish the fire and the child received first aid at the scene before being rushed by air ambulance to Broomfield Hospital, where medics found that he had sustained an estimated 45% burns to his body.
His injuries were life-changing and he now faces ongoing, regular and invasive surgeries throughout his youth and into adulthood.
Burn incident ‘could have so easily been avoided’
A subsequent investigation by the HSE found that the school had not taken appropriate measures to control the inherent risks in giving lit candles to children while they were wearing potentially flammable costumes.
Commenting on the case, HSE Inspector Sarah Whittle described it as a “shocking and scary incident that could have so easily been avoided.”
She added:
“Common sense alone should have been enough to see the risk. Mitigation in this case would have been the substitution of wax candles for flameless ones, thereby reducing the risk to zero. This was a step the school took after the incident but by then it was far too late for a young child who will be forever affected by this.
“The importance of a suitable and sufficient risk assessment has never been made so clear.”
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A trainer from FRT explains:
“This is a heartbreaking incident for the child and his family, which occurred during what should be a happy and exciting time for young children.
“Training can ensure that everyone who works with children understands how to properly identify, assess and control risk to protect them from harm.”
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