School Asbestos Information and Emergency Communication Guidance

This guidance applies where people may work in or use school buildings containing asbestos or suspected asbestos, including during out-of-hours and community use.

Information for staff

People who work in or use the building must be informed about the specific locations of asbestos-containing materials in the rooms or areas they use. They must also be told to avoid work that may disturb those materials.

Staff must be told what to do after accidental damage to asbestos or suspected asbestos. If accidental damage occurs, follow [accidental damage action].

Contractors and people undertaking work

Before work is undertaken, contractors and others carrying out work in the school must receive information about asbestos materials that may be disturbed. Contractor arrangements must include the information and training needed for the work.

Work that may disturb asbestos-containing materials must be avoided unless the relevant arrangements for the work have been made. The current asbestos information must be made available through [contractor asbestos information arrangement].

Parents, carers and visitors

Information made available to parents, carers and other visitors must be set out in [asbestos management plan reference] where they may be liable to disturb asbestos materials identified through a risk assessment.

Controls for out-of-hours and community use of the buildings must be communicated through [out of hours communication arrangement].

Emergency services

Information about the location and condition of asbestos or suspected asbestos must be made available to the emergency services.

The arrangements for providing this information must be recorded in [asbestos management plan reference]. An up-to-date copy of the asbestos register should be available to the emergency services without requiring access to the building.

Emergency-services access to the asbestos register is provided through [emergency services register access].

Communication arrangements

The school’s communication arrangements should identify how information is supplied to staff, contractors, visitors, parents, carers, community users and emergency services, and should reflect the areas and activities relevant to them.