Tragic accident - teacher falls in classroom, with fatal consequences

[Hulababy]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-37288326

That poor teacher - just doing her job, something we all do. A tragic accident. :(

This is local to me, and also comes as a time reminder to all staff of the need to be so careful when doing things in the classroom. This poor lady was just sorting out her room, putting up a display when she fell. It doesn't say how or why.

But I am sure many of us have been sorting rooms out recently. I know I have been guilty of studying on chairs, climbing onto tables, reaching and over stretching, etc. when putting up displays and organising our rooms. We are reminded a by our care taking team not to do so, and to ask for ladders, etc. but I bet many of us don't always - and just want to get things sorted asap. I know I have fallen and ended up with nasty bruising.

[noblegiraffe]

How awful, poor woman :(

I don't understand how you can die of a broken leg. I hope there were other teachers around to help her, doesn't bear thinking about if it happened in the middle of the summer holidays.

[Hulababy]

Thats the trouble isn't it? Especially at the start of a new year. There are so many new displays to do and so many things classed as necessary to go up. And display boards are never lower than shoulder height.

[MidniteScribbler]

I led a rebellion a few years ago at my school because we were expected to decorate our classrooms, but there was no way to do so without standing on a chair or a table. We now have a proper stepladder in each block (one per two classrooms) for us to use. Teachers need to have the tools to be able to do their jobs safely.

Poor lady :( My sympathies to her family and students.

[HeartsTrumpDiamonds]

Poor woman.

Every workplace should have a "working at height" policy.

Tragic.

[Hariasa]

noble broken legs are terribly dangerous. The risk of blood clots are high.

[noblegiraffe]

Thanks Hariasa, I didn't know that.

We are also supposed to have displays, I stand on tables all the time. In schools you just get on with things, don't you? We shouldn't have to ask for stepladders.

[PumpkinPie9]

I guessed a blood clot too. Poor woman.

[Hulababy]

noble - think it happened on an INSET day last weeks. Most of our schools went back on the 1st.

We can use stepladders - but we were chatting the the caretaker today and every time we climb a stepladder a form has to be filled in!

[cricketballs]

I really feel for the poor women's family and friends; however for those of you who are doing wall displays can I remind you that as teachers we are not supposed to be doing them

[Hulababy]

I know its on the list of things teachers shouldn't be doing, but in reality I don't know any teacher who doesn't do their own classroom displays, though sometimes with the assistance of a TA. Infact most teachers I know prefer to do their own.

[OMGSame]

Oh that's so sad.

I got told off by our caretaker for standing on a bench to paint the wall near the ceiling. I was told to use a ladder and even that was under sufferance as really I needed to have attended a ladder course first. I did as I was told but did a massive face behind her back once she'd gone. . Looks like she was right to tell me off... And was possibly lax in letting me use the ladder at all. I owe her an apology.

[Tezza1]

This was years ago, but I remember standing on a chair, on top of a desk, to put up stuff using a staple gun. The principal came in and said to get down as I shouldn't do this, but it begged the question - why were there actually notice boards that high on the wall if you weren't meant to use them? This was in a very old schooling a different country to where I normally taught.

More recently, in my home country, a colleague and myself were organising a library display as we stood on tables (and probably chairs on the tables) while the principal held a meeting at the other end of the library. Nothing was said to us, and we didn't think twice about doing it. This was in a reasonably new building, again with ridiculously high notice boards.

The irony was that the principal and myself had just both been been to the same three day Occupational Health and Training Course.