CalmComplianceRisk Assessment template
School Young-Person Workplace Safety Risk Assessment
- Version
- v1
- Updated
- 1 October 2026
- Audience
- Maintained and academy schools in England; leaders, managers, placement coordinators, employers, supervisors and other staff responsible for work involving people under 18.
- Jurisdiction
- england
Activity assessed
Employment or hosting of a person under 18 as a worker, work-experience participant or apprentice in a primary or secondary school, including role allocation, workplace activities, induction, supervision, welfare arrangements, emergency arrangements and adjustments for limited experience, maturity or awareness. Applicability is conditional on the school employing or hosting a person under 18.
Assess each hazard and its controls against your site before use. Template ratings require local review.
Hazards and controls
The assigned role or activity may not be suitable for the person's age, experience, maturity, awareness, abilities or identified needs.
- Existing controls
- Not provided. Record only role-suitability checks and controls that have been verified for the specific person, role and workplace.
- Proposed controls
- Define the role, tasks, boundaries and expected outcomes before work starts. Review the person's experience, capabilities, communication needs and any relevant restrictions. Exclude or restrict activities that cannot be made suitable with available controls. Reassess suitability when the role, task, workplace or person's circumstances change.
Local assessment and additional controls
Limited familiarity with the school, work processes, hazards, rules or emergency arrangements may lead to injury, ill health or unsafe decisions.
- Existing controls
- Not provided. Verify the induction content delivered for the specific placement or employment arrangement.
- Proposed controls
- Provide an age- and role-appropriate induction before relevant work begins. Cover workplace rules, task instructions, hazards, reporting routes, emergency arrangements, welfare facilities, prohibited activities and who to ask for help. Confirm understanding using a method appropriate to the person and retain a record of the topics covered.
Local assessment and additional controls
Insufficient, unsuitable or inconsistent supervision may leave the person unable to recognise or manage workplace risks.
- Existing controls
- Not provided. Verify the named supervisor, availability arrangements and supervision actually required for each task.
- Proposed controls
- Nominate a competent supervisor and define when direct supervision, close supervision, periodic checks or independent work may be appropriate. Increase supervision for unfamiliar, higher-risk or changing tasks. Set arrangements for absence, handover and escalation. Review supervision after incidents, near misses, concerns or changes in capability.
Local assessment and additional controls
Contact with unsuitable, defective or inadequately guarded equipment, machinery, tools or apparatus may cause injury.
- Existing controls
- Not provided. Verify the equipment, guarding, maintenance, inspection, authorisation and training arrangements relevant to the proposed task.
- Proposed controls
- Permit use only of equipment suitable for the person and task. Restrict access to equipment requiring competence or authorisation. Provide instruction, demonstration and supervision before use. Check guards and safety devices, keep equipment maintained, and stop use where defects or uncertainty are identified.
Local assessment and additional controls
Exposure to hazardous chemicals, biological agents, dusts, fumes, substances used in practical subjects, cleaning products or other harmful materials may cause ill health or injury.
- Existing controls
- Not provided. Verify the substances, exposure routes, relevant assessments, storage, labelling, ventilation and control measures for the specific activity.
- Proposed controls
- Identify substances and exposure routes before the activity. Avoid exposure where practicable and use safer alternatives or enclosed processes where available. Provide suitable instructions, supervision, hygiene arrangements, storage and spill or exposure response. Restrict access where the person's role or experience is not suitable.
Local assessment and additional controls
Lifting, carrying, pushing, pulling or moving people, equipment, furniture or materials may cause musculoskeletal injury or crushing injuries.
- Existing controls
- Not provided. Verify the loads, distances, environment, assistance and handling methods relevant to the role.
- Proposed controls
- Avoid unnecessary manual handling and use mechanical or team assistance where suitable. Assess the load, route and task before work begins. Set clear limits and prohibit handling beyond the person's capability or training. Provide instruction and supervision, and keep routes clear.
Local assessment and additional controls
Uneven surfaces, trailing cables, spills, clutter, unsuitable footwear or poor housekeeping may cause slips, trips or falls.
- Existing controls
- Not provided. Verify the relevant work areas, access routes, housekeeping arrangements and footwear requirements.
- Proposed controls
- Keep work and access areas orderly and adequately lit. Remove or isolate spills, obstructions and defects promptly. Route or secure cables and materials safely. Provide suitable footwear requirements where relevant and supervise unfamiliar routes or tasks.
Local assessment and additional controls
Falls from steps, ladders, platforms, windows, roofs, stages or other elevated areas may cause serious injury.
- Existing controls
- Not provided. Verify whether work at height is relevant and identify the access equipment, restrictions and supervision for the specific task.
- Proposed controls
- Avoid work at height where practicable. Where it is relevant, use suitable access equipment and prevent unauthorised access. Do not permit the person to use roofs, improvised platforms or unsuitable equipment. Provide task-specific instruction and supervision, and stop work in unsafe conditions.
Local assessment and additional controls
Interaction with delivery vehicles, school transport, mobile plant, bicycles or other moving traffic may result in collision or crushing.
- Existing controls
- Not provided. Verify whether vehicles or moving traffic are present in the relevant work area and record the applicable segregation and supervision arrangements.
- Proposed controls
- Keep the person away from vehicle movements unless the activity is demonstrably suitable and controlled. Use designated pedestrian routes, separation and clear communication. Restrict access to vehicle manoeuvring areas and provide close supervision for any permitted interaction.
Local assessment and additional controls
The person may not recognise alarms, understand evacuation arrangements or know how to respond during fire, security, medical or other emergencies.
- Existing controls
- Not provided. Verify the emergency information, accessibility arrangements, nominated assistance and site-specific instructions relevant to the person.
- Proposed controls
- Explain relevant alarms, routes, assembly arrangements, reporting methods and restrictions during induction. Identify any assistance or communication arrangements needed. Include the person in suitable drills or briefings where appropriate. Ensure supervisors know how to account for and assist the person during an emergency.
Local assessment and additional controls
Inadequate access to drinking water, toilets, rest arrangements, first aid, medication support or other welfare provisions may cause harm or delay assistance.
- Existing controls
- Not provided. Verify the welfare facilities, first-aid arrangements and any agreed individual requirements relevant to the placement.
- Proposed controls
- Explain how to access welfare facilities, first aid and help. Provide suitable opportunities for rest, hydration and toilet access. Establish a confidential route for raising health or welfare concerns. Consider relevant medical, accessibility, communication or support needs only on the basis of information appropriately provided and required for safe work.
Local assessment and additional controls
Contact with distressed, aggressive or unpredictable pupils, visitors, service users or other people may expose the person to physical or psychological harm or safeguarding concerns.
- Existing controls
- Not provided. Verify whether contact with pupils, visitors or other service users is part of the role and identify the applicable safeguarding, lone-working and incident-reporting arrangements.
- Proposed controls
- Avoid assigning unsupervised responsibility for managing aggression, restraint, challenging behaviour or safeguarding situations unless suitability, training, authorisation and supervision have been specifically established. Define boundaries and escalation routes. Provide supervision appropriate to the contact involved and ensure concerns or incidents can be reported promptly.
Local assessment and additional controls
Working alone, being isolated from help or being in an unfamiliar area may delay assistance and increase vulnerability.
- Existing controls
- Not provided. Verify whether lone or isolated work is relevant and record the location, communication and check-in arrangements for the specific activity.
- Proposed controls
- Avoid lone or isolated work where practicable for a person under 18. Where relevant and suitable, define authorised locations, contact arrangements, check-ins, escalation and emergency response. Do not require the person to enter restricted or unfamiliar areas without appropriate permission and supervision.
Local assessment and additional controls
Unsuitable hours, inadequate breaks, excessive workload or fatigue may reduce concentration and increase the likelihood of errors, injury or ill health.
- Existing controls
- Not provided. Verify the planned timetable, work pattern, breaks, travel arrangements and workload for the specific person and placement.
- Proposed controls
- Plan work and breaks appropriate to the person's age, role, timetable and capacity. Avoid assigning work when fatigue or competing education commitments could impair safe performance. Monitor workload and signs of fatigue, and adjust tasks or supervision where concerns arise.
Local assessment and additional controls
Communication barriers, disability, neurodivergence, language needs, sensory needs or other individual factors may prevent the person understanding instructions or recognising danger.
- Existing controls
- Not provided. Verify the communication methods, adjustments and support arrangements relevant to the person, without recording unnecessary personal information.
- Proposed controls
- Provide information and instructions in an accessible form and check understanding. Make reasonable task, communication, equipment, environmental or supervision adjustments where required and appropriate. Share relevant information only with people who need it for safe working, and review arrangements when the task or person's needs change.
Local assessment and additional controls
A change of task, location, supervisor, timetable, equipment or workplace condition may introduce risks that were not considered for the person's original role.
- Existing controls
- Not provided. Verify how changes are authorised, communicated and reviewed for the specific arrangement.
- Proposed controls
- Do not allocate unfamiliar or changed work without checking suitability, hazards, controls and supervision. Require the person to stop and seek advice when a task changes or conditions become unsafe. Review this register after incidents, near misses, concerns, significant changes or at an appropriate review point.
Local assessment and additional controls