Risk management for schools

The legal responsibilities for ensuring effective risk management in schools relate to the safety of pupils and staff. The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 imposes a duty on all employers to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, the health and safety of employees and others (such as school visitors and pupils). It is also an integral part of the Ofsted and ISI framework.

Your school is at risk of financial and reputational exposure if you do not have a systematic approach to managing safety and health risks. When an effective system is in place, it helps avoid costly accidents, disruption losses and damage to the school’s morale and reputation. It also enables the school to comply with its duties under health and safety law.

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Yes, a school could be deemed negligent without effective risk management systems in place. If you’re not managing risk adequately you could be seen to be operating inappropriately and carelessly. By implementing strong risk management principles, you can be confident in your own approach and provide assurance to:

• Governors, trustees and directors
• School inspectors such as Ofsted or ISI
• Enforcing authorities such as the HSE or the fire and rescue service
• Your insurers

Yes, Endsleigh offers a risk management health check. We offer single or multiple consultancy day(s), where we visit your school or academy and work with you to understand and enhance your safety management systems. Our Health Check consultancy service is completely flexible to suit your individual needs.

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Our Health and Safety Audit allows us to provide you with a baseline grounding of where your risk management currently stands. During a visit to your school we will cover:

• Health and Safety Management such as policies, training and risk assessments
• Premises and grounds statutory duties
• Domestic Premises (if applicable)
• Boarding Premises (if applicable)
• Landscaping/Maintenance (Plant and equipment)
• Subject specific areas (Art and Design, Design and Technology, Educational Visits, Food Technology, Medical, Nursery/Early Years, Physical Education, Science, Work Experience)

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Our Fire Risk Assessment allows us to provide you with a baseline for where your risk management currently stands. We will tell you what you are managing adequately or well and where you need to improve. The assessment will enable you to be confident that you are:

• Meeting your fire safety and Health and Safety legislative duties of care
• Reducing the likelihood of incurring an enforcement visit from the local fire safety officer
• Following a ‘Plan, Do, Check, Act’ system to ensure you are continually improving your fire safety culture and performance
• Following education specific best practices such as the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) – fire safety education guide and British Standards

Our physical security audit will provide you with a baseline for where your physical security risk management currently stands. The audit will review perimeter fencing and gates, potential weaknesses in your buildings security systems, access control and closed circuit television (CCTV) management. We will tell you what you are managing adequately or well and where you need to improve.

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