Does your school insist on stepladders for displays?

[noblegiraffe]

A teacher has won a £250,000 payout after falling from a table while putting up a display.

The LA denied responsibility but the union argued no stepladders were available so she had to climb on a table.

On twitter there are people horrified that she was standing on a table. What was she thinking?!

I’ve stood on a table loads of times in my career. I think I’d be more at risk of injury lugging a stepladder up the stairs to my classroom and then down the stairs to bring it back. Plus I’d never get my displays done due to needing to a book a stepladder. But no one has ever mentioned stepladders when talking about displays anyway.

What do you do?

www.tes.com/news/teacher-wins-ps250k-payout-after-falling-table

There are no stepladders where I work, I was recently asked to do a display on a new notice board but was met with when I explained that I couldn't reach anything above half of it and so wouldn't be able to use the top half of the board. I'm not short, the board was just put up in a ridiculous place.

It’s table-standing all the way at my school!

Stepladder school here! We have frequent reminders not to stand on chairs / tables. Think this stems from a similar accident in our LA

We weren't supposed to stand on tables, but with massive boards and one step ladder for a big primary...
Some of us were ladder trained and were told that if we chose to stand on tables etc and fell off, we couldn't sue for damages because we'd been trained and had made the decision not to use the step ladder.

In theory - use a stepladder.
In reality - table.

I think I’d be more likely to fall off a step-ladder!

There are small stepladders suitable for display boards in each section of the school. If we fell of a table we wouldn’t e able to claim as we have all had ladder training .

Step up onto the chair, step up onto the table, step up onto the drawer unit... fond memories!

Table and chairs here every time!

Were not supposed to climb but on the other ha d we don't have access to stepladders either. There's a couple somewhere for the caretakers but not something you can quickly grab to put something up mid morning for example.

I did fall a few years back. I was stood in a chair taking photographs of a display area for another teacher. It slipped and I fell - tried to avoid getting my expensive camera damaged so ended up hurting myself quite a bit. Really nasty brushing all down my front, side and neck but luckily no breaks etc.

I still stand in tables etc at times to sort display stuff but I am much more careful.

I stand on tables at home all the time to reach high up. If I fall can I sue myself?

Step ladders in every room and step ladder training every year. I still use the table though it actually feels safer as you can move to the side without leaving and don't have to keep going up and down the ladder to move it!

No step ladders here although we are also told no standing on tables so not sure how they expect us to do displays

I've fallen off a table before doing displays - didn't claim or make a huge fuss about it because I was the stupid fecker who'd stood on there. I used to drag my very tall DH in on a day during the holidays though to back all my display boards as he's so tall he just could walk along whacking staples into it all without needing to stand on anything - then I'd loan him out around the department.

I think this can be a problem in older schools with very high ceilings. I remember complaining about this once after needing to decorate a hall display board where the top was around 9 feet off the ground. What the hell is the point of displaying work that high when the children are about 3 foot six?

Vast display boards can add hugely to workload and I think that schools should look critically at the number and size of boards with this in mind.

We have a small one in the cupboard but I don't like it. I feel safer and more comfortable on the tables. So that's what I do.

We have stepstools and are forbidden from using chairs and tables. The only problem is that the stepstools are on castors. The stool is supposed to move down and rest on the floor, effectively preventing the castors moving when you step on it. In reality the stool whizzes off. I have never, (touch wood) fallen from a chair or table, but have lost count of the number of times I have fallen off the stools. Luckily I have never injured myself.

Stepstools on castors that’s a bad idea right there.

18 messages and no one has said ‘teachers shouldn’t be doing displays’. I guess that’s not a thing any more.

I wonder if schools will be looking at this payout and buying some stepladders. Probably not due to no money.

I can remember standing on a chair, which was standing on the table.

We've been made to use stepladders for years and years. Even back in the days when teachers weren't supposed to be doing displays (but nobody else was paid to do displays either, so we did them anyway).

We get regular warnings about health and safety, at least once a term we we're told to make sure we use stepladders if we need to work at a height. There's a set of stepladders in each department. Ours are fought over on inset day in September then aren't used again all year.

It's been cases like this that have worried our school. They aren't worried about being sued, they are genuinely worried about one of us being injured if we teach a shortage subject because we're difficult to replace

Every year group has a step ladder at my school but I do still stand on tables 😳 If I fall, it will be my own fault.

Ours are fought over on inset day in September

It’s bad enough fighting over backing paper and staple guns!

I am following current advice that displays are distracting and a minimalist classroom is the way forward. It suits my laziness and lack of creativity.

NC as a link to my previous posts will be outing.

Previously, a colleague at my school tried to put up a display stood on a table. The table tipped backwards and she broke both her arms. Took her out of commission for a half term.

I am constantly surprised our school did not then provide a step ladder per year group and, instead, we still have to ask our site manager to bring the step ladders to our room!

I don't think anyone has changed their practices and there doesn't seem to have been any further action by either my colleague (similar to this teacher who has received the payout) or the school in terms of doing something about it!

noble I like the minimalist classroom too. But we do need to put backing paper up to hide last year's graffiti.

In one of my classrooms with a ridiculous board it’s a question on standing on a chair on a table on a table 😳 I drew the line at putting up displays while pregnant for this reason.