CalmComplianceRisk Assessment template
School Pressure Systems Safety Risk Assessment
- Version
- v1
- Updated
- 1 October 2026
- Audience
- Primary and secondary schools, including maintained schools and academies in England; not independent schools.
- Jurisdiction
- england
Activity assessed
Identification, design, installation, operation, examination, maintenance and management of pressure systems that may be present at or used by a school, including refrigeration systems or other systems containing liquid or gas under pressure. Applicability is conditional and must be confirmed for each school and system. Portable gas cylinders and simple welding sets are excluded from the supplied evidence for PSSR purposes.
Assess each hazard and its controls against your site before use. Template ratings require local review.
Hazards and controls
A pressure system that may be covered by the Pressure Systems Safety Regulations 2000 is not identified, or a system is incorrectly treated as outside scope. This may result in arrangements that are not proportionate to the system or that do not address the risk of serious injury.
- Existing controls
- Record the systems, equipment records and scope decisions currently available. No site inventory, applicability decision or completed assessment is assumed by this template.
- Proposed controls
- Compile and maintain an inventory of pressure systems and confirm the applicability of PSSR for each item. Consider refrigeration systems and other systems containing liquid or gas under pressure, including systems over 250 bar litres capacity where covered. Record the basis for each applicability decision and identify exclusions consistently with the available evidence: portable gas cylinders and simple welding sets are not covered by PSSR according to the supplied source. Obtain competent advice where scope is uncertain.
Local assessment and additional controls
A pressure system within scope is designed, installed, configured or used in a way that does not adequately prevent serious injury from pressure-related failure or release.
- Existing controls
- Record any design information, manufacturer instructions, commissioning records, operating instructions and user restrictions already held. The existence or adequacy of these controls is not assumed.
- Proposed controls
- For each applicable system, establish proportionate arrangements for safe design and use. Retain available design, installation, commissioning and manufacturer information; define intended use and operating limits from reliable information; restrict operation to people who are suitably instructed or competent for the task; and review arrangements when the system, use or operating conditions change.
Local assessment and additional controls
Where applicable, a written scheme or equivalent documented arrangement is absent, incomplete, unavailable to relevant people or not linked to the pressure system it covers.
- Existing controls
- Record any written scheme, scope document, system identification, review record and responsible person currently available. Do not assume that a written scheme exists or is suitable.
- Proposed controls
- Determine whether a written scheme is required for each applicable pressure system and record the decision. Where required, identify the system and its relevant protective devices, define the examination scope and frequency or other arrangements specified by the competent person, retain the current version with the system records, and review it when the system or use changes.
Local assessment and additional controls
A required competent-person examination is not arranged, is overdue, is not recorded, or does not cover the applicable system and relevant protective arrangements.
- Existing controls
- Record examination reports, examination dates, recommendations, responsible parties and evidence of completion that are currently available. No examination status or completion is assumed.
- Proposed controls
- For each applicable system, establish how competent-person examinations will be identified, scheduled, recorded and followed up. Keep the relevant report with the system records, track recommendations and due dates, and prevent continued use where the competent person or examination outcome indicates that use should not continue until corrective action is completed.
Local assessment and additional controls
Inadequate maintenance, deterioration, damage or an unaddressed defect causes loss of containment, malfunction or pressure-related injury.
- Existing controls
- Record maintenance arrangements, inspection records, defect reports, isolation arrangements and repair records currently in place. No maintenance frequency, defect status or repair completion is assumed.
- Proposed controls
- Define proportionate preventive maintenance and defect-reporting arrangements for each applicable system. Record findings, prioritise corrective actions, identify the responsible person and target date, and document completion. Where a defect could make continued use unsafe, define and apply an appropriate isolation, shutdown or restriction decision pending competent advice and repair.
Local assessment and additional controls
Unauthorised, uninstructed or inadequately supervised people operate, adjust, isolate, maintain or interfere with a pressure system.
- Existing controls
- Record current access restrictions, training or instruction records, supervision arrangements, local instructions and contractor controls. The adequacy of these arrangements is not assumed.
- Proposed controls
- Identify who may operate, inspect, maintain or reset each applicable system and what instruction, competence or supervision is needed. Control access to equipment and relevant documentation, provide clear operating and defect-reporting instructions, and verify contractor arrangements before work starts.
Local assessment and additional controls
Incomplete or inaccessible records prevent the school from demonstrating what systems are present, what arrangements apply, whether examinations and maintenance have occurred, or whether defects have been corrected.
- Existing controls
- Record the current location and quality of asset records, written schemes, examination reports, maintenance records, defect logs and corrective-action records. No complete record set is assumed.
- Proposed controls
- Create a traceable record for each applicable pressure system, including identification, applicability decision, written scheme where required, competent-person examination information, maintenance, defects, corrective actions and review dates. Assign record ownership, control access to current documents, retain superseded information where needed for traceability, and review the register at proportionate intervals and following relevant changes.
Local assessment and additional controls