Romero Catholic Academy Trust has been fined £32,000 after a site supervisor suffered life changing injuries in a fall from the roof of a primary school in Burnley.
The Trust, which is responsible for 16 schools across the North West of England, pleaded guilty following the incident at St Mary’s Catholic Primary School in September 2024.
Fall while retrieving footballs
Robert Baker was working as a site supervisor during an inset day when he climbed onto the roof using an unsecured ladder to collect footballs.
He fell from the roof onto the concrete playground below and was discovered a short time later by a member of the public.
Mr Baker suffered traumatic injuries, including bleeding on the brain and fractures to his face, hand and foot.
Since the incident, he has continued to experience memory problems, speech difficulties and challenges carrying out everyday cognitive tasks.
In a statement, Mr Baker, said: “The effects of the subdural hematoma have had a significant and ongoing impact on my daily life. My recovery has been extremely difficult. At one point, doctors were unsure whether I would survive and if I did they couldn’t say if I would ever walk again.”
HSE identifies safety failings
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the roof had no edge protection or other measures to prevent or mitigate a fall from height.
Inspectors also found the Trust had no standalone work at height risk assessment or safe system of work explaining how the task should be completed safely.
HSE guidance sets out employers’ responsibilities for protecting workers from falls from height and provides advice on the safe use of ladders, produced in collaboration with the Ladder Association.
Latest HSE statistics show falls from height remain the leading cause of workplace fatalities, accounting for more than a quarter of all work related deaths in 2025/26.
Court outcome
Romero Catholic Academy Trust, of Padiham, Burnley, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
At Warrington Magistrates’ Court on 14 July 2026, the Trust was fined £32,000 and ordered to pay £6,360 in costs.
The fine was significantly reduced from its original starting point because the Trust is a non profit charitable organisation.
HM Inspector Derek Mclauchlan said: “This was a tragic incident that will have a lifelong impact on Mr Baker. Proper planning, assessment of the risks and control measures should be implemented.
“This incident could have been avoided had these been in place. The harm in this case was traumatic and life changing for Mr Baker.
“There are clear lessons that should be learned from this when working at height.”
