School Asbestos Management and Disturbance Prevention Training

The level of asbestos information, instruction and training a person needs depends on their role and their potential to disturb asbestos during work. It also depends on whether they supervise someone who may disturb it. The purpose is to enable work to be carried out safely and competently, without risk to the worker or to others. In a school, this can include premises and maintenance staff, delegated managers, contractors, agency workers, catering staff, teaching staff and voluntary supporters. It can also include people who do not normally carry out building work but might be involved in an activity that could affect asbestos-containing materials. A person's job title alone does not decide what they need; consider what they do, where they work and whether their work could disturb materials.

There is an important distinction between general information for people who use a building containing asbestos and more specific instruction and training for people whose work could disturb it. For example, a teacher may need to know the relevant asbestos locations in classrooms or other areas they use and which activities to avoid. A premises worker, contractor or supervisor whose work could disturb materials needs information, instruction and training appropriate to that work before undertaking it. If you are unsure which level applies, do not assume that a general briefing is enough. First identify the proposed task, the area involved and your school's arrangements for confirming suitable information, instruction and training. Check the local asbestos management plan and register, and follow the organisation's process for confirming that the person is suitable for the work. These documents and processes are site-specific and are not replaced by this course.

Hypothetical example: A school asks a caretaker to fix equipment to a wall in a room that may contain asbestos-containing materials. The caretaker has completed general asbestos awareness learning but has not received the information or instruction needed for this particular task and location. The appropriate decision is not to begin the work. The caretaker should use the school's local process to check the relevant asbestos information and confirm what level of instruction and training is required before any work proceeds. The reasoning is that the task may disturb asbestos, so the person's potential exposure and the specific work must determine the controls and competence needed. General awareness does not automatically authorise practical asbestos-related work.

A likely mistake is to think that only maintenance staff need asbestos information and training. In schools, agency, catering, premises, maintenance, teaching and voluntary staff may all need information relevant to their role. The correction is to consider every person who may disturb asbestos, anyone who supervises such work, and people who use areas containing asbestos and therefore need to know what to avoid. Apply the role and task test rather than relying on a job title or assuming that a person is covered because someone else has been trained.

People who use or work in a school building containing asbestos need to know the relevant locations and avoid work that could disturb the materials. Disturbance can arise from planned building, maintenance or installation activities, as well as from apparently routine tasks that involve attaching, drilling, cutting, breaking, moving or otherwise affecting building materials. This course does not identify particular materials at your school; the local asbestos register and management plan are needed for that information. Before starting a task, consider whether it could affect the fabric of the building or an item that may be associated with it. If it could, stop and use the school's local process to check the relevant asbestos information and confirm what instruction, training and authorisation are required. Do not make a site-specific decision from this course alone.

Contractors and other workers must receive relevant asbestos information before undertaking work that could disturb asbestos. The relevant information should allow the proposed work and location to be considered against the asbestos information held by the school. A contractor should not be expected to rely on assumptions, informal knowledge or a general statement that a building is safe. If you arrange, supervise or commission work, make sure the school's local process identifies how the contractor receives the relevant information and how questions or uncertainties are dealt with. This course does not prescribe the school's access, permit, approval or reporting arrangements; those must come from the organisation responsible for the premises.

Hypothetical example: A contractor arrives to install a new noticeboard. The proposed fixing points are in an area where asbestos-containing materials may be present. The contractor says the job is small and asks to start immediately. The safer decision is to pause the work, check the relevant local asbestos information and ensure that the contractor has received the information and instruction required for the task before proceeding. The reasoning is that the size of a job does not determine whether it could disturb asbestos. The proposed activity and location do. Proceeding without checking could expose workers or building users to risk.

A likely mistake is to treat a task as acceptable because it is brief, minor or familiar. The correction is to ask whether the task could disturb asbestos-containing materials and whether the relevant information and training have been provided. If the answer is uncertain, do not improvise or rely on a previous person's experience; pause and use the school's local arrangements to obtain a decision from the responsible organisation.

Relevant asbestos information must reach the people who may need it. The information should be proportionate to the person's role and should include relevant locations and the condition of asbestos or suspected asbestos where that information affects what they may do. People who use the building need to know which activities to avoid. People arranging or carrying out work need information that enables the proposed work to be considered safely. The information should not be assumed to reach someone simply because it exists in a file. For a school, consider staff, agency workers, premises and maintenance teams, contractors, parents and carers where relevant, visitors, and people using the site outside normal school hours. The asbestos management plan should set out how information is made available to visitors and community users, taking account of the activities they may undertake.

Emergency services also need access to relevant information about the location and condition of asbestos or suspected asbestos. The school's asbestos management plan should record how this information will be made available, including how it can be accessed in an emergency without relying on access to the building. An up-to-date asbestos register is a conventional way of providing this information, but the school's own arrangements must be checked. Before relying on any local document, check which version is current, who maintains it and how authorised users obtain it. This course does not provide your school's register, access route or emergency procedure.

Hypothetical example: A school hires a sports club to use part of the premises outside school hours. The club plans to put up temporary equipment and has not been told about relevant asbestos locations or which activities to avoid. The school should use its asbestos management plan to determine what information the club needs and how it will be given before the activity takes place. The reasoning is that community users are building users whose activities may create a risk of disturbing materials. Sharing relevant information is part of managing that risk; it is not limited to employees and maintenance contractors.

A likely mistake is to share information only with the person who commissioned work, without checking whether the workers, supervisors or other affected building users have received what they need. The correction is to map the people who may disturb asbestos or be affected by the work, then use the local asbestos management plan to determine how relevant location and condition information is communicated. Share enough relevant information for the person's role while avoiding assumptions about local arrangements that have not been confirmed.