A school premises risk assessment is the document Ofsted, the local authority and the academy trust's responsible body all expect to see on inspection. It sits under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, but in practice it is shaped by the DfE's 'Health and safety: responsibilities and duties for schools' guidance and the HSE's sector pages for education. The document has to cover the building, the grounds, the people on site (pupils, staff, contractors, visitors) and the activities that happen during and outside the school day.
The employer holds the statutory duty under s.2 and s.3 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. In a maintained school that is the local authority; in an academy or free school it is the academy trust; in an independent school it is the proprietor / governing body. The headteacher is the day-to-day duty holder and is who Ofsted will speak to first. The risk assessment has to name the employer correctly — getting this wrong is a common audit finding because the named entity drives the insurance, the RIDDOR reporting route and the responsibility for capital remedial works.
The DfE guidance 'Health and safety: responsibilities and duties for schools' is the operational reference; the HSE's sensible-risk-management sector page sets the tone — proportionate to genuine risk, not paperwork-for-paperwork's-sake.
The assessment is whole-site and breaks down by zone: classrooms, science labs (CLEAPSS-referenced), DT workshops, PE and gym (afPE guidance), kitchens (Food Safety Act 1990), playgrounds and external play equipment (BS EN 1176), boiler rooms and plant, swimming pools where present (HSG179), and the perimeter / safeguarding boundary. For each zone the assessment names the hazards, the people at risk (with pupil age band noted — EYFS, KS1–KS4, sixth form), the existing controls, the residual risk and the named owner.
Reviewers expect specific reference to the school's own incident log — recurring slips on a particular corridor, a recurring playground collision point — to demonstrate the assessment has been informed by real data, not copied from a template pack.
A school premises assessment must cross-reference the school's safeguarding policy and the Department for Education's 'Keeping children safe in education' (KCSIE) statutory guidance. Hazards specific to the education setting — unauthorised access by adults, unsupervised internal access between zones, fire-egress routes through pupil play areas, lockdown / invacuation procedure — are areas where a generic commercial risk assessment is silent and where Ofsted and the trust audit will probe.
The assessment should also reference the school's RPA / DfE Risk Protection Arrangement (or commercial insurer) requirements, the LOLER inspection register for any lifts / hoists / stage equipment, and the legionella risk assessment under HSG274 Part 2 for the water system.
Local authority H&S advisers, MAT central teams and Ofsted inspectors typically read the assessment in this order: named duty holder and employer; date last reviewed and next review date; coverage map (every zone listed); recent incident data referenced; lockdown / safeguarding integration; LOLER and legionella cross-references; contractor management arrangements (CDM duties where building works are in scope); and named action owners with target dates for any open actions.
A premises risk assessment older than 12 months, or one that doesn't reference the school's own incident data, is the most common reason for an adverse audit finding.
The numbered sections a reviewer expects to see, in order.
Name the employer (LA / trust / proprietor), the headteacher and the responsible governor / trustee for H&S.
List every building, zone and external area covered — classrooms, labs, DT, PE, kitchens, playground, plant, pool, perimeter.
For each zone, identify hazards, people at risk by age band, existing controls and residual risk.
Cross-reference KCSIE, the safeguarding policy, lockdown / invacuation procedure and unauthorised-access controls.
Legionella (HSG274 Pt 2), LOLER, fixed electrical (EAWR / BS 7671 EICR), gas (Gas Safety Regs), fire risk assessment (RRO 2005).
CDM 2015 duties for any construction works, permit-to-work for hot works / roof access, contractor sign-in and DBS arrangements.
Reference the school's accident book and near-miss log; demonstrate the assessment has been informed by real data.
Reference DfE 'Health and safety on educational visits' and the school's EVC / OEAP arrangements.
Open actions with named owners and target dates; annual review minimum, sooner after any RIDDOR-reportable incident.
Why a risk assessment gets sent back — these are the patterns we see most often.
The legal framework this risk assessment operates inside. Links go to the official source.
1974 c.37
Primary statute — employer duty under s.2, duty to non-employees (pupils, visitors) under s.3.
SI 1999/3242
Regulation 3 — the explicit duty to carry out and record a suitable and sufficient risk assessment.
SI 2012/1943
Sets minimum standards for school premises — washing, drainage, lighting, acoustics, structural condition.
DfE guidance
The operational reference for headteachers, governors and trust H&S leads.
DfE statutory guidance
Statutory safeguarding guidance — must be cross-referenced for unauthorised access, lockdown and pupil welfare controls.
HSE HSG274/2
Scheme of control for the school's water system.
Annually as a minimum, and immediately after any RIDDOR-reportable incident, any significant change to the building or use (new classroom, building works, change of catering provider), or any change of headteacher or responsible governor. A document older than 12 months is the single most common adverse finding on local authority H&S audits.
Yes. Each school is a distinct premises with its own zones, incident history and statutory inspection register. The trust can provide a common template and central oversight, but the assessment itself has to be site-specific. A single trust-wide document is rejected by most insurers and would not satisfy MHSWR reg 3.
The competent person under MHSWR reg 7 — typically the headteacher with input from the trust / LA H&S adviser, a CMIOSH-qualified safety practitioner, or a sector specialist (CLEAPSS for science, afPE for PE). Final approval sits with the employer's named representative (CEO of the trust, director of children's services, or proprietor).
Yes. Any activity on the school premises — breakfast club, after-school club, holiday club, community lettings, sports club hire — is in scope. The assessment should name who the duty holder is for each non-school-day use and how the boundary of responsibility is documented in the hire agreement.
Yes. The fire risk assessment is a distinct legal duty under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and post-Grenfell the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022. The premises risk assessment cross-references it but does not replace it.
Trade-specific RAMS guidance for the contractors who typically produce this risk assessment.
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Final RAMS must be reviewed and approved by a competent person before use.