Sector Expertise

Health and Safety for Schools and Education

Name: Integral Safety Ltd
Address: 53 John Cooper Way, Coalville, Leicestershire, LE67 4AP, GB
Telephone: 01530 382 150
Price range: ££

Schools carry an unusually wide risk profile, from science labs and DT workshops to caretaking, catering, minibuses and school trips. We help business managers and trust leads keep it coherent.

Get a Free Quote 01530 382 150

Chartered (CMIOSH) Advice led by a Chartered Member of IOSH
20+ years Protecting Midlands workplaces
Local to you Based in Coalville and Melton Mowbray
Free quote Clear, fixed prices with no obligation

Why it is different

Schools & Education: What Makes This Sector Different

Very few organisations of a school's size run this many different activities under one roof. A single secondary might have a workshop with woodworking machinery, a science department storing hazardous substances, a commercial kitchen, a maintenance team working at height, sports facilities, minibuses, and several hundred children who are not employees and cannot be treated as if they were.

We work with maintained schools, academies, multi-academy trusts and nurseries across the East Midlands. Where a trust runs several sites, the usual need is consistency, an arrangement that works the same way at each school so the trust board can see the whole picture rather than eight different versions of it.

Know your risks

The Risks That Matter Here

The hazards we see most often in schools & education, and the ones a regulator or client will ask about.

Fire risk assessment and evacuation with large numbers of young occupants
DT and science: machinery guarding, LEV, and chemical storage
Legionella in systems that sit stagnant over school holidays
Asbestos management in buildings from the 1960s and 70s
Caretaking and premises work at height
Contractor control during holiday refurbishment works
Educational visits and off-site activity risk assessment
Catering: COSHH, slips, and manual handling
Lone working for caretakers and site staff out of hours

The law

Your Legal Duties

Schools are employers, so the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 apply in full. Pupils are not employees but are owed a duty under section 3 as people affected by the undertaking. Academy trusts hold the duty at trust level, which is why trust-wide consistency matters. The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 duty to manage is particularly relevant given the age of much of the school estate.

How we help

What We Do for Schools & Education Clients

Whole-site fire risk assessments and evacuation review
Health and safety policy and arrangements for a school or a whole trust
Curriculum-area risk assessments for DT, science and PE
Asbestos management plan review

Legionella and holiday flushing regime advice
Termly or annual compliance audits across a trust's sites
IOSH Managing Safely for site and department leads
Accident investigation and RIDDOR support

Relevant services and training

“Integral Safety provides the authoritative support and assurance our charity needs to keep residents, staff, and visitors safe. Their expert guidance ensures we remain fully compliant with all health and safety legislation and regulatory requirements. With tailored in-house training and excellent value for money, we highly recommend them to any organisation seeking comprehensive safety support.”

Chris Jones Wyggestons and Trinity Almshouse

Questions

Schools & Education: Common Questions

Who holds the health and safety duty in an academy trust?

The employer is the academy trust, so the duty sits with the trust board rather than with each individual school. Day-to-day management is normally delegated to headteachers and business managers, but the board remains accountable, which is why trusts usually want consistent arrangements and a way to see compliance across every site.

Do we need to reassess for school trips every time?

Not from scratch. Most schools use a generic risk assessment for a familiar type of visit and add a short site-specific or activity-specific supplement for anything unusual about a particular trip. Residential visits, adventurous activities and overseas travel need more detailed treatment.

Why does Legionella come up so often for schools?

Because of the holidays. Water systems that sit unused for several weeks are exactly the conditions Legionella bacteria like, and schools have long shutdowns several times a year. A flushing regime over the holidays, and a proper check before reopening, is usually the single most important control.

Can you work across a whole multi-academy trust?

Yes. Working at trust level is often more efficient: one set of policies and arrangements, a consistent audit format, and reporting the board can compare site to site. We then visit individual schools on a rolling programme.

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