Health and safety in schools checklist
Schools have a legal responsibility to protect students from harm and you must make sure your school is following health and safety regulations - there are serious consequences for those who don't follow the rules. In addition, health and safety is a significant element of a school’s success as safeguarding is a key part of your Ofsted rating, plus schools have a responsibility to make the workplace safe for staff members. But all this is a huge undertaking. How do you know whether areas in your school are safe? Start with a simple health and safety in schools checklist.
What should be on a health and safety in schools checklist?
An effective school health and safety checklist is a simple and easy-to-use tool to ensure that classrooms and other areas around the school are following health and safety policies and procedures. A useful checklist will contain a comprehensive list of hazards and risks, as well as preventative measures. As members of school staff fill in the checklist, they can check whether the measure is present and is needed. If it is not, they can record any issues that need fixing to provide a happy and safe school environment, and create a 'to-do-list' of tasks that need to be implemented.
Most hazards in schools are quite common and prevented by simple fixes. The following health and safety in schools checklist covers the general areas you need to consider when it comes to safety:
Movement around the classroom - includes slip or trip hazards, sufficient lighting.
Working at height - looking at ways to prevent falls, such as the provision of steps or step-ladders, and window openers for high windows.
Furniture and fixtures - checking that permanent fixtures are secured to the wall, windows are safe and portable equipment is stable.
Manual handling - for example, are trolleys available to transport heavy equipment?
Computers - includes checking that workstation assessments have been completed and that children aware of good practice when using computers.
Electrical equipment - ensuring that all electrical equipment in good condition and has been checked and tested where needed.
Asbestos - where applicable, are the correct guidelines being followed in regard to the location and securing of areas that contain asbestos?
Fire - includes looking at the presence and location of fire-fighting equipment, fire exits and fire procedures.
Ventilation and heating - does the workspace have natural ventilation and are there measures in place to control the temperature?
Each department has its own hazards, so it's crucial that a tailored health and safety in schools checklist is created for the many different environments around the school. While some areas, such as a maths classroom, are low risk, others that include specialist equipment or materials, have an increased risk of hazards. Among others, these environments include:
Science classrooms. Science classrooms can contain many different hazards from dangerous chemicals to Bunsen burners. Schools should ensure that dangerous substances and equipment are properly stored, as well as provide staff and students with protective equipment.
Art and design technology classrooms. Creative classrooms can also contain a full range of hazards. Dangerous chemicals are often found in paints, inks and adhesives. Hot glue guns and sewing machines can cause injury and should only be used with supervision.
Common areas. General areas such as canteens and plating areas come with their own range of risks. Schools should protect children by ensuring that these areas are kept safe and clean.
Drama and sports facilities. These areas involve the use of specialist equipment, such as hard bats and balls, heavy pieces of kit or electrical items such as for lighting and playing music, which pose their own unique risks.
The Health and Safety Executive has published an example health and safety in schools checklist that can be used to preserve health and safety within classrooms and schools. Teachers and other members of staff can use this checklist to help ensure classrooms and other areas of the building meet minimum health and safety standards. The governing body can then use the findings from this checklist to inform its health and safety policy.
Find out more about managing health and safety on your school or multi-academy trust with our comprehensive Guide to Compliance for Schools.
How can Crysp help you manage health and safety?
Here at Crysp, we understand the challenges schools face when it comes to health and safety, so we are all about helping schools digitise their paperwork and manage compliance in a simple and stress-free way. We have created an innovative digital compliance management platform for schools that can help you create forms, manage your legal obligations and organise documentation in a way that is easy to access - everything you need in one place.
Why not contact Crysp for a chat about how we can help simplify health and safety in your school or academy trust - saving you time, money and stress?
We hope this information has been useful and will help you when completing a health and safety in schools checklist. And remember, you don't need to navigate the complexities of compliance alone - Crysp is here to help.