H&S Question: What sort of accidents are "recordable"?

[mondayvino]

So in most workplaces any kind of accident that results in injury, or near miss should be recorded, and schools are no different. But what about sports injuries? Presumably a broken bone or concussion would be recordable, or anything that needed treatment, but what about a twisted ankle or a strained ligament - the sort of thing that makes you limp for a few days but doesn't need a trip to A&E? My guess is that if they happened on the stairs they probably would be recorded, but if they happen on the rugby pitch is it just seen as par for the course? Or should they all be recorded?

HSE site:

"Q. Are accidents to pupils sustained in PE lessons reportable under RIDDOR?

A. No, most are not.

Such accidents only require reporting if:

the pupil is killed or taken to hospital for treatment to an injury (ie not as a precautionary measure) and
the accident was work-related in that it arose out of or in connection with the work of the school or college, rather than as a consequence of the normal risks associated with participation in physical activities. For example, if the accident was caused by faulty equipment or inadequate supervision
Q. Are sporting injuries reportable?

A. No, most are not, since they arise out of the normal participation in a sporting activity (eg a heavy tackle in football). Only report injuries if they arise out of or in connection with a work activity, such as those due to defective equipment or failings in the organisation and management of an event."

At work we record in the accident book anything that requires treatment from the work first aider. We have to report to RIDDOR anything that requires an absence of 7 days or more or requires hospital treatment.

I think schools are a law unto themselves.
My child was seriously injured at school and was off for 3 months.
The staff involved just lied about it.

I was so distraught about my child that I didn't take it further.

To be clear, I don't necessarily mean accidents reportable under RIDDOR, as they're clearly just the very serious ones. I mean minor accidents recordable in the local accident book for monitoring purposes.

I'd have thought that was just good practice, because while each incident may be minor in itself, patterns can only be identified if they're recorded.

I suspect it's one of those things that H&S policies say should happen but often it doesn't.

In the school I work at, any accident is recorded that requires any form of first aid. So a sprained ankle would definitely be recorded as we would have applied ice, elevated etc. A form is kept at school with details of accident/injury and the parent signs the form so that we know they have been informed. Something like a pulled/sore muscle would probably not require a accident report form as it generally would not have been caused by an accident, and would be seen as an inherent risk of physical activity. Obviously if children were hobbling out of lessons frequently we'd be asking questions!

Some schools have now signed up to a new thing called Return2Play, which helps them track & treat concussions. Think they plan to track other sporting injuries in the future.