CalmComplianceRisk Assessment template
School Asbestos Building-Work Risk Assessment
- Version
- v1
- Updated
- 1 October 2026
- Audience
- Primary and secondary schools, maintained and academy, including school leaders, estates and facilities teams, project managers, designers, contractors and other persons commissioning or controlling work. Independent schools are outside this resource's stated scope.
- Jurisdiction
- england
Activity assessed
School-commissioned or school-controlled construction, refurbishment, demolition, repair, maintenance or other work that may disturb building fabric or asbestos-containing materials, including small repairs by school staff and major contracted projects.
Assess each hazard and its controls against your site before use. Template ratings require local review.
Hazards and controls
Disturbance of known, presumed, unidentified or hidden asbestos-containing materials, or other building fabric that may contain asbestos, during construction, refurbishment, demolition, repair or maintenance work.
- Existing controls
- Record only controls verified for this project. This template assumes no site-specific asbestos information, survey, isolation, protection or work control has been completed.
- Proposed controls
- Before work begins, determine whether the proposed activity could disturb asbestos materials, including unidentified, presumed or hidden materials. Define the work area, building elements and activities that may disturb fabric. Do not proceed with disturbance until the required information, survey and control arrangements have been identified and reviewed. Stop and reassess if previously unknown material or building fabric is encountered.
Local assessment and additional controls
The survey available for the project may not be suitable for the planned scope or may not identify asbestos materials that could be disturbed.
- Existing controls
- Record the surveys and other asbestos information actually available for the project, including their scope, areas covered, limitations, date and reviewer. Do not treat the presence of a survey as evidence that it is suitable for the proposed work.
- Proposed controls
- Where the work will disturb the fabric of the building, arrange a relevant refurbishment or demolition survey carried out by a trained specialist, as applicable to the work scope. Confirm that the survey is sufficiently intrusive for the planned work and covers the affected areas, including areas that may be hidden or inaccessible. Record unresolved gaps and prevent affected work from proceeding until they are addressed or controlled.
Local assessment and additional controls
Designers, contractors, school staff or other workers may not receive sufficient information about known, presumed or identified asbestos materials before planning or carrying out work.
- Existing controls
- Record the information currently provided to designers, contractors and workers, the recipient, date, version and method of communication. Do not assume that information has been received, understood or incorporated into the work plan.
- Proposed controls
- Pass relevant survey findings and details of known or presumed asbestos materials in the work area to those who will design, plan, supervise or undertake the work. Make the information available before work starts and whenever the scope or work area changes. Require those undertaking the work to confirm that the information provided is sufficient for the planned activity.
Local assessment and additional controls
Work may be planned or carried out by persons without suitable asbestos knowledge, training, competence, supervision or experience for the task.
- Existing controls
- Record contractor and worker competence evidence that has been checked for this project. No contractor competence, training or supervision is presumed by this template.
- Proposed controls
- Select and use contractors and workers with competence appropriate to the work and its asbestos risk. Verify relevant training, experience, supervision and method statements before authorising work. Ensure workers understand the asbestos information, task controls, stop-work arrangements and escalation route. Reassess competence requirements if the work scope or materials change.
Local assessment and additional controls
Work may be incorrectly classified as licensable, notifiable non-licensable or non-licensable, resulting in an unsuitable contractor or control arrangement.
- Existing controls
- Record the classification and supporting evidence determined for the specific task. Do not assume that work is licensed, notifiable or non-licensable without a project-specific assessment.
- Proposed controls
- Determine the applicable asbestos work category for the planned task using current competent advice and relevant HSE guidance. Where work is licensable, use a licensed asbestos removal contractor. Where small, short-duration work is proposed for non-licensed workers, confirm that the task is suitable, workers have appropriate training and the correct risk controls are in place. Record any required notification, licensing and supporting checks before work starts.
Local assessment and additional controls
Pupils, staff, visitors, contractors or other persons may enter or be affected by an area where asbestos-related work or building-fabric disturbance is planned or underway.
- Existing controls
- Record existing arrangements for separating the work area, controlling access, coordinating school activities and communicating restrictions. No segregation, exclusion or scheduling control is presumed by this template.
- Proposed controls
- Define and control the work area and interfaces with school operations. Use suitable arrangements to prevent unauthorised access and avoid exposure of pupils, staff, visitors and other contractors. Coordinate timing, access routes, deliveries, adjacent activities and emergency arrangements with the school. Where appropriate to the project risk, implement a permit-to-work system or equivalent authorisation and hold points before disturbance begins.
Local assessment and additional controls
The work may encounter unexpected materials, concealed areas or a change in scope that invalidates the survey, information or planned controls.
- Existing controls
- Record the project's change-control, stop-work and escalation arrangements if they exist. No assumption is made that unexpected materials or changes will be safely managed.
- Proposed controls
- Require workers to stop work and protect the area if suspected asbestos-containing material, previously unidentified building fabric or an unplanned disturbance is encountered. Escalate to the person controlling the work and obtain competent advice before restarting. Review the survey, information supplied, work category, contractor arrangements and controls whenever the work area, method, sequence or materials change. Restart only when the revised arrangements are suitable and communicated.
Local assessment and additional controls
Required asbestos risk controls may not be implemented, monitored or maintained throughout the work.
- Existing controls
- Record the controls, supervision, inspections and authorisations actually in place for this project. This resource does not evidence that any control has been implemented.
- Proposed controls
- Set out the required control measures in the project work plan and communicate them to everyone involved. Consider using a permit-to-work system where suitable. Identify who will authorise, supervise and monitor the work, and define inspection and review points. Suspend work if controls are absent, ineffective or no longer match the task, and review arrangements before resuming.
Local assessment and additional controls