At the end of last week a central/east Bristol Primary reported to the Police and then let us know that a quite closely supervised pupil was by an external boundary gate awaiting for early arrival of his mother in the afternoon when a male passing by suddenly put his arm through the railings and grabbed the boys arm. Fortunately through swift action this was released and the man made off. He is described as a  black male, bald, mid forties, wearing a navy blue hoodie and denim jeans. He is a round 6 foot tall, spoke English and he had a grey beard.    The police are happy that we share the information which I have done to our whole customer area. This is not because he will necessarily appear at a boundary near you soon, but just as a 'heads up' on the occasional and inexplicable behaviour of some and the need to review pupil's proximity to boundaries. All the best. Bill 

Thanks to one of our customers who shared this with us. Please make sure all the right people in your organisation don't fall for the fake. Bill     We have been receiving reports of malicious emails which look like they have come from CLEAPSS.  These emails have a word doc attached which it claims is an invoice or a link to a website where you can 'download' your invoice or statement of account.    We can confirm that these e-mails are NOT coming from CLEAPSS.  We do not send invoices by email unless you have specifically requested it and we only send them in pdf format.   Please check any e-mail that appears to be from CLEAPSS carefully.   DO NOT  follow any link or open any attachment on a suspicious email.  If you think you have already done so, please contact  your  IT department. Click  here  for further guidance on what to look for. --  Bill Crocker Executive Director Tech IOSH, MEPS, MRICS. Tel: 07795 19

Dear me, What a week! The Met office are now telling us about named storm Bronagh. they say: The second named storm of the season. An intense low-pressure system, which will develop across parts of Wales and South West England during this evening before spreading further eastwards across England, has been named Storm Bronagh. There is more information on the storm overall below the following local detail: Regional Forecast for South West England Yellow warning Wind Between 18:00 Thu 20th and 09:00 Fri 21st Headline: Windy today, with heavy rain arriving tonight. Today: A dry day for most with some brightness, but a little rain may affect northwestern parts of the region at first this morning. Southwesterly winds will strengthen, with gales around coasts and hills. Despite this it will be warm. Maximum temperature 20 °C. Tonight: Perhaps turning very windy overnight with a spell of heavy rain crossing all parts. This will clear later, al

Hello all, The Met office have issued a Yellow Warning which covers the vast majority of our customer area with the exception of Swindon and the adjoining immediate Wiltshire area:  Warning impact matrix Very likely ** Unlikely Very low impact High impact A spell of strong winds for western and some central parts of the UK during Monday night and Tuesday morning. What to expect Some damage to trees is possible, for example large branches or trees falling in a few places. Some delays to road, rail, air and ferry transport are likely Probably some bus and train services affected, with some journeys taking longer Delays for high-sided vehicles on exposed routes and bridges likely Some short term loss of power and other services is possible Further details Although now expected to bring less strong winds, the remnants of Storm Helene will move northeastwards across Wales and England during Monday night and Tuesday. A spell of strong winds is exp

Sadly here's the first of the academic year and is a timely reminder to all to put over, in an age appropriate way to pupils of all ages, information to help keep them safe. The Headteacher of St Bonaventure's in Bristol has reported, with Police approval as they are now investigating, the inappropriate approach of a white male, potentially in his 50s with white/grey tidy hair and driving a people carrier/van style vehicle, possibly a Citroen, with a Reg plate starting with WJ 11... to a 10 year old pupil on her way home today and who was brought back to school by a nearby 'other' parent who she ran to. There is no further information at present. There is no further information at present. Bill -- Bill Crocker Executive Director Tech IOSH, MEPS, MRICS.

I wrote yesterday on this and have had feedback and questions already on it. I've consulted with our network expert Karen Williams and she further advises as follows: 'As it is going to be impossible to determine which ones may be asbestos containing the advice is to either send a representative sample of mats off to a lab for analysis (which we can arrange for you) or to remove all of them from use and double bag in a secure location until we get further details. I want to make it clear that this does not constitute an ‘emergency’ as the risk of exposure to asbestos is extremely low for the following reasons quoted by the HSE  “The material is predominantly non-asbestos. There is very limited  physical contact with the material during use (eg: essentially placing items on top) and any contact is light and momentary. Consequently any free fibre release into the air will be minimal for normal use.” I have attached the HSE press release and advice together with CLE

Hello all, Although this alert is more likely to involve secondary and special sector customers, it is worthy of sharing widely as it shoes despite the substance being banned from use for many years and general vigilance, we can never be complacent, just in case. Bill "HSE are investigating supply of metal gauze mats which contain asbestos The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has been made aware that two UK laboratory supply companies have supplied schools and potentially other users with gauze mats which contain asbestos. The metal gauze mats are designed for use over Bunsen burners. A HSE spokesperson said: “While we assess the overall risk of exposure to be low, we have taken swift action. We have ensured that both of the supply companies concerned immediately ceased supply of the gauze mats and are overseeing arrangements to contact affected customers and provide precautionary advice on how the mats should be disposed of safely. “We are working closely