School Estate Health and Safety Arrangements Policy

This policy is intended for maintained and academy primary and secondary schools in England. It applies to estate-related health and safety arrangements where the school, its employer or another responsible body has responsibility for the premises, maintenance, repairs or control of access.

1. Purpose and scope

The arrangements cover the safe provision and maintenance of plant and associated systems of work, the safety of the workplace and access routes, the management of external areas, and the control of risks to people using or affected by the premises.

The arrangements apply to pupils, staff, visitors and contractors where they use or may be affected by the school premises.

2. Employer and responsible body

The employer or responsible body for this school is [responsible body]. The allocation of accountability must reflect the school's status and the body that holds responsibility for employment and premises-control functions.

For community and voluntary-controlled maintained schools, the responsible employer is generally the local authority. For academies, it is generally the academy trust. For foundation and voluntary-aided schools, it may be the governing body. Where another arrangement applies, the accountable body must be identified as [accountable body].

The employer remains responsible for its health and safety duties even when management of specific functions is delegated. Delegation of management functions does not transfer or remove the employer's legal responsibility.

3. Allocation and delegation of functions

The responsible body must define and designate responsibility for estate-related health and safety, including statutory compliance, premises control, maintenance, repairs, control of access and engagement of competent persons.

Delegated functions must be assigned to named roles or organisations through the school's arrangements. The assignment must state the function delegated, the limits of the delegation, the person or organisation responsible for carrying it out, and the route for reporting concerns or defects.

Delegation must not prevent the responsible employer from maintaining oversight. The responsible body must monitor delegated functions and require concerns, defects and matters requiring decision or resources to be escalated to [escalation role].

4. Competent assistance

The responsible body must arrange competent assistance for estate-related health and safety functions where the necessary competence is not available within the school or responsible body.

Competent persons may support the management of specific functions, but their engagement does not release the employer from its legal duties. Their role, authority, scope of work and reporting route must be clear.

5. Plant and systems of work

Plant and systems of work associated with the school's undertaking must be provided and maintained safely. Arrangements must cover the plant, building systems and other equipment within the school's maintenance scope.

Unsafe plant or systems must be controlled, restricted or taken out of use until the responsible person determines that they can be used safely. Concerns must be reported through [estate reporting route] and escalated where they cannot be promptly controlled.

6. Workplace, access and external areas

The school must maintain a safe place of work, including safe access and a safe working environment. Arrangements must include relevant workplace fabric, access routes and external areas.

Where an access route, workplace condition or external area presents a risk, its use must be controlled, restricted or prevented as appropriate until the condition is repaired or otherwise managed.

7. Premises users and access control

Premises under the control of the employer or responsible body must be managed so that they are safe and without risk to health. This includes risks affecting pupils, staff, visitors and contractors.

Those responsible for maintenance, repairs or control of access must coordinate their functions so that people using or affected by the premises are not exposed to unmanaged premises risks. Access controls must reflect the condition and safe use of the relevant area, plant or workplace.

8. Information, instruction, training and supervision

The employer or responsible body must provide the information, instruction, training and supervision necessary to support health and safety at work for employees in relation to the estate-related arrangements.

Managers and delegated persons must communicate relevant restrictions, unsafe conditions, controls and reporting routes to people who need that information to carry out their work safely.

9. Reporting, escalation and oversight

Defects, unsafe plant, unsafe access, unsafe workplace conditions and premises risks must be reported through [estate reporting route]. Immediate controls must be applied where necessary to prevent exposure while the matter is being addressed.

Matters that exceed delegated authority, require additional resources, affect statutory compliance or cannot be controlled locally must be escalated to [escalation role] and, where necessary, to [responsible body].

The responsible body must retain oversight of delegated arrangements, confirm that responsibilities remain clear, and ensure that identified defects, restrictions and remedial actions are managed through to an appropriate decision or resolution.

10. Local arrangements

The local allocation of responsibility, delegated functions, competent assistance, reporting route and escalation route for this school must be recorded in [local estate arrangements document] and communicated to the people who need to use them.