CalmComplianceRisk Assessment template
School Work Equipment Suitability and Use Risk Assessment
- Version
- v1
- Updated
- 1 October 2026
- Audience
- Maintained and academy primary and secondary schools in England, including leaders, employers, managers, supervisors, employees, procurement personnel, premises teams and other persons with responsibility for work equipment.
- Jurisdiction
- england
Activity assessed
Use, selection, procurement, installation, commissioning, operation, adjustment, cleaning, maintenance, inspection, storage and control of work equipment by school employees, including equipment owned, hired, supplied or otherwise controlled by the school or another party. Apply equipment-specific assessment and retain evidence of applicable responsibilities. The new-machinery market-placement requirements are conditional and apply only where new machinery is placed on the Great Britain market.
Assess each hazard and its controls against your site before use. Template ratings require local review.
Hazards and controls
Equipment may be unsuitable for the intended task, materials, load, duty cycle, environment or foreseeable method of use, creating risks such as loss of control, failure, crushing, cutting, impact, entanglement, burns, exposure to harmful substances or other injury.
- Existing controls
- No site controls are assumed in this reusable register. Record only controls verified for the specific equipment, task and workplace, including any manufacturer or supplier information and any controls already operating.
- Proposed controls
- Define the intended use and foreseeable misuse for each item. Confirm that the equipment is suitable for the task, materials, load, speed, duration and workplace conditions before use. Record restrictions, prohibited uses and required safeguards. Do not permit use where suitability cannot be established; escalate unresolved issues to the responsible dutyholder.
Local assessment and additional controls
Responsibilities may be unclear where equipment is owned, hired, supplied, operated or controlled by another party, leading to gaps in selection, maintenance, inspection, information, training or safe use.
- Existing controls
- No allocation of responsibility is assumed. Record the parties that own, supply, hire, operate or control the equipment and any responsibilities or arrangements verified for the item.
- Proposed controls
- Identify the school and any other relevant dutyholders for each item. Agree and document responsibilities for suitability, safeguards, instructions, maintenance, inspection, defect reporting, training and withdrawal from use. Obtain relevant evidence from the owner, supplier or hirer where the school does not own the equipment, and do not rely on ownership alone to exclude school responsibilities.
Local assessment and additional controls
Workplace conditions may make otherwise suitable equipment unsafe, including inadequate space, lighting, ventilation, stability, floor condition, access, segregation, weather protection, temperature or interaction with people and other activities.
- Existing controls
- No workplace controls or site conditions are assumed. Record verified conditions and existing arrangements for the specific location and activity.
- Proposed controls
- Assess the equipment in the place and conditions where it will be used. Confirm adequate space, stability, lighting, ventilation, access and egress, and control interactions with pupils, employees, visitors, vehicles and other work. Define exclusion zones or other segregation where required. Reassess before moving equipment or changing the workplace.
Local assessment and additional controls
Users may lack the information, instruction, training, supervision, experience or physical and sensory capability needed to use the equipment safely, or may not understand restrictions and emergency arrangements.
- Existing controls
- No user competence, training or supervision is assumed. Record verified requirements and evidence for the specific equipment and user group.
- Proposed controls
- Specify authorised users and required competence. Provide equipment-specific information, instruction and training in a form users can understand, including restrictions, foreseeable hazards, safeguards, emergency actions and defect reporting. Provide supervision proportionate to the risk and review arrangements where users, tasks or equipment change.
Local assessment and additional controls
Access to moving, hot, sharp, abrasive, pressurised, electrical or otherwise dangerous parts may cause entanglement, crushing, shearing, cutting, impact, burns, electric shock, ejection or other injury.
- Existing controls
- No guards, protective devices, interlocks or other safeguards are assumed. Record only safeguards confirmed as fitted, suitable, effective and available for use.
- Proposed controls
- Identify all dangerous parts and associated energy sources. Provide and maintain suitable guards, protective devices, interlocks or other measures appropriate to the equipment and task. Prevent bypassing, removal or defeat of safeguards. Define safe isolation before access for cleaning, adjustment, clearing blockages, maintenance or repair, and stop use if a safeguard is missing, damaged or ineffective.
Local assessment and additional controls
Equipment may be unstable, incorrectly installed, inadequately secured, incorrectly assembled or incompatible with its supporting surface, attachments, power supply or connected systems, causing collapse, overturning, movement, leakage or loss of control.
- Existing controls
- No installation, assembly, securing, compatibility or commissioning arrangements are assumed. Record verified arrangements and any supplier or manufacturer requirements.
- Proposed controls
- Confirm installation, assembly, securing, level, stability and compatibility before use. Use competent persons where required and follow available manufacturer or supplier instructions. Check connections, attachments, supports, isolation points and protective devices during commissioning and after relocation or modification. Prevent use until unsafe installation issues are resolved.
Local assessment and additional controls
Unexpected start-up, release or movement of mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic, thermal, stored or other energy may injure users or others during operation, adjustment, cleaning, blockage clearing or maintenance.
- Existing controls
- No isolation, lock-off, emergency-stop or restart-prevention controls are assumed. Record verified controls for the specific equipment and task.
- Proposed controls
- Identify energy sources and foreseeable unexpected movements. Provide accessible stopping and isolation arrangements appropriate to the equipment. Establish safe procedures for start-up, shutdown, isolation, dissipation of stored energy, lock-off or equivalent control, and verification before work begins. Restrict intervention to authorised and competent persons.
Local assessment and additional controls
Deterioration, wear, damage, contamination, corrosion, modification or poor maintenance may reduce the effectiveness of safeguards or cause equipment failure during use.
- Existing controls
- No maintenance programme, defect checks or repair arrangements are assumed. Record verified arrangements, records and competent persons responsible for maintenance.
- Proposed controls
- Establish maintenance appropriate to the equipment, use and conditions. Define user checks and defect-reporting arrangements where needed. Ensure repairs and modifications are controlled, carried out by suitable persons and followed by checks before return to service. Withdraw, isolate or clearly identify defective equipment until its safe status is confirmed.
Local assessment and additional controls
Failure to identify defects, damage or unsafe change through appropriate checks or inspections may allow unsafe equipment to remain in use.
- Existing controls
- No inspection frequency, pre-use check or evidence record is assumed. Record inspections and checks that have actually been defined and completed for the specific equipment.
- Proposed controls
- Determine whether pre-use checks, periodic inspections or other examinations are needed based on the equipment, use and conditions. Define who performs them, what is checked, when they occur and how findings are recorded. Review inspection arrangements after incidents, defects, significant changes, relocation or unusual conditions.
Local assessment and additional controls
Missing, inaccessible, unsuitable or misunderstood instructions, warnings, controls, markings or emergency information may lead to incorrect operation, unsafe adjustment or delayed response.
- Existing controls
- No instructions, labels, markings or emergency information are assumed. Record documents and information verified as available, current, accessible and understood.
- Proposed controls
- Provide and retain relevant operating, setup, cleaning, maintenance, emergency and restriction information. Ensure controls, warnings and limitations are clearly identified and remain legible. Make information available to users in a suitable form and language, and communicate equipment-specific emergency arrangements.
Local assessment and additional controls
Pupils, visitors, contractors or other persons may access equipment, its operating area, hazardous materials or stored energy without authorisation, or may be exposed to ejected materials, noise, movement or other effects of use.
- Existing controls
- No access control, supervision, guarding or segregation is assumed. Record arrangements verified for the equipment, location and people who may be affected.
- Proposed controls
- Identify people who may be affected beyond the operator. Prevent unauthorised access through location, guarding, supervision, isolation, barriers or other suitable measures. Keep operating areas controlled and manage interactions with teaching, movement, maintenance, deliveries and contractor activities. Provide arrangements appropriate to foreseeable pupil and visitor behaviour.
Local assessment and additional controls
Where new machinery is placed on the Great Britain market, missing or unsuitable market-placement documentation, marking or instructions may indicate that procurement and supply requirements have not been addressed. This hazard is conditional and does not arise merely because an existing machine is used at school.
- Existing controls
- No procurement or supply evidence is assumed. Record whether the conditional market-placement circumstance applies and identify documents actually verified for the specific new machinery.
- Proposed controls
- If the school, its employer, or a procurement or supply arrangement places new machinery on the Great Britain market, verify before acceptance that it is UKCA or CE marked, supplied with a declaration of conformity and accompanied by instructions in English. If that condition does not apply, record it as not applicable rather than treating existing use as market placement. Escalate missing or inconsistent evidence before procurement, supply or use.
Local assessment and additional controls
Changes to equipment, software, attachments, settings, task, materials, location or users may introduce hazards or invalidate previous suitability, safeguards, instructions or training.
- Existing controls
- No change-control or reassessment process is assumed. Record only changes and review arrangements that have been verified for the specific equipment.
- Proposed controls
- Require review before significant change, modification, relocation, attachment, change of use or change of user group. Reassess suitability, hazards, safeguards, information, competence, maintenance and inspection requirements. Record the decision, restrictions and any actions before the changed equipment or task is used.
Local assessment and additional controls
Inadequate response to malfunction, defect, near miss, injury, fire, release, entrapment or other emergency may prolong exposure or allow unsafe equipment to be returned to use.
- Existing controls
- No emergency, incident, defect escalation or return-to-service arrangements are assumed. Record arrangements and contacts verified for the specific equipment and location.
- Proposed controls
- Define immediate stop, isolation, rescue, first-aid, evacuation, notification and escalation arrangements appropriate to the equipment and foreseeable emergencies. Preserve equipment or information needed for investigation where appropriate. Record defects and incidents, review whether the assessment and controls remain suitable, and require an authorised safety decision before return to service.
Local assessment and additional controls