Schools may have heard about the tragic case of Owen Garnett, who died two days after choking on a paper towel in his school in January 2023. Owen had been diagnosed with pica, which is a potentially life-threatening eating disorder where sufferers have a compulsion to eat things which have no nutritional value.
The Health and Safety Executive found that the school had failed to ensure that all the safety risks associated with Pica hazards, were correctly identified and that the preventive and protective measures including supervision, were organised in such a way as to protect him. They also failed to effectively investigate and respond to the concerns raised by his family. This was despite the school having individual risk assessments in place to detail any specific health and safety risks, which relate to them, and the control measures that need to be in place at to protect against that risk. The school was fined £300,000 for its failures.
This case highlights the importance of a having in place a robust and preventative approach to risk when it comes to health and safety.
It is recommended that schools: