Risk Assessments

Undertaking and recording risk assessments is an integral part of keeping the children and adults safe in your school or setting. Below you will find a range of risk assessment templates to use in your school and childcare settings. 

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is the independent regulator for work-related health, safety and illness, they provide a variety of guidance and tools on how to assess and control risks in the workplace and comply with health and safety law.  

Undertaking and recording risk assessments is an integral part of keeping the children and adults safe in your school or setting. It can help you identify what risks might be present, how you will manage them and how to ensure there is a consistent handling of the risk by all staff.

Risk assessments should identify aspects of the environment that need to be checked on a regular basis, when and by whom those aspects will be checked, and how the risk will be removed or minimised. 

The key steps in carrying out a risk assessment: 

  1. identify - what is the danger? 
  2. who is at risk of being harmed?
  3. what are the risks to them? 
  4. record significant findings
  5. regularly review your risk assessments

Early years

The statutory framework for the early years foundation stage requires providers to demonstrate how risks are being managed in their setting. 

Whilst there is no requirement to have written risk assessments, Waltham Forest recommends that this is done so that providers can evidence due diligence, particularly in the event of an incident or accident.

Schools

The downloads below provide guidance to assessing and managing risk, along with sample risk assessments which show the approach Waltham Forest's Health & Safety Team expects schools to take.  

Every school is different - you need to think about the hazards and controls your school needs. Even where the hazards are the same, the control measures you adopt may have to be different from those in the examples to meet the particular conditions in your school.

In order to satisfy the law and protect your children and staff, you will need to ensure that any templates or document examples are personalised to your own school.

    School trips

    Well planned and managed school trips and off-site activities provide are hugely enriching in the learning experiences of children and young people. 

    Waltham Forest uses the web-based system EVOLVE to facilitate the efficient planning, management, approval, and evaluation of visits. It is currently in use in over 20,000 schools across 120 local authorities. EVOLVE also contains a variety of features including: search and report facilities, downloadable resources, a link to the National Library staff records and visit history, on-line parental consent, etc.

    All staff that lead or accompany visits have access to their own EVOLVE account, which is set up by their establishment's Educational Visits Coordinator (EVC).

    Schools should also refer to Local Code of Practice No. 24 'Guidance for Off-Site Visits and Related Activities with National Guidance & EVOLVE'.

    Further information on planning for school trips can also be found on the HSE website.

    Early years risk assessments guidance and templates

    Risk assessment in the early years

    Template

    Download

    Enabling EYs Environments guidance 2018

    Guidance on keeping children safe created by the Pre-school Learning Alliance

    Download

    Schools risk assessments and templates

    Assessing and Managing Risk 2016

    Guidance

    Download

    Clearing debris from flat roof

    Example risk assessment

    Download

    Keeping schools open in cold weather

    Guidance and risk assessment information for headteachers

    Download

    COSHH

    Example of completed risk assessment for Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH)

    Download

    COSHH

    Example of risk assessment for COSHH

    Download

    COSHH record sheet

    Completed example of a COSHH risk assessment

    Download

    Computer risk assessment

    Example of work station assessment

    Download

    Door safety

    Example risk assessment

    Download

    Hot weather checklist

    Guidance for schools and early years settings

    Download

    New and expectant mothers

    Guidance and risk assessment for protecting new and expectant mothers

    Download

    PE lesson risk assessment

    Example risk assessment for PE lessons

    Download

    Personal emergency evacuation plan (PEEP)

    Example of a personal emergency evacuation plan

    Download

    Primary school

    Example of risk assessment in primary schools

    Download

    Severe weather

    Example of risk assessment for severe weather

    Download

    Site service officer

    Example of a risk assessment for site service officers

    Download

    Stress at work

    Example of risk assessment for stress at work

    Download

    Working at Heights

    Example risk assessment

    Download

    Reducing the risk of ladder use

    Examples of control measures to take to reduce risks of ladder use

    Download
    Last update: Wednesday 20th of May 2020 11:02:23 AM