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Risk Assessments
Schools and museums have to take great care that the health and safety of children has been taken into account.
Before undertaking any school trip teachers are legally required to carry out a written risk assessment.
Schools have a duty of care towards pupils and in an activity where there is an amount of risk, they will need to show that they have considered, and as a result, taken all reasonable precautions.
- The biggest issue facing a teacher on school trips concerns potential hazards at the venue.
- If a teacher knows about a hazard they can educate the pupils and take appropriate measures to ensure that it does not become a problem.
Museums will need to carry out their own risk assessments of their site and the sessions which they offer.
It is essential that teachers make these assessments themselves but you may be able to help by:
- letting them see your own risk assessments of sessions, which may help to inform theirs
- providing information such as details of the nearest hospital.
Whatever you provide ensure that it is easily accessible either on your website, electronically preferably, or by post on request.
- The Child Safe School Trips website provides an interface for schools to search for a venue and
read about any potential hazards prior to their visit.
The venues are asked to provide details on the following:- Health & safety
- Contact details
- Education programs aimed at schools
- Emergency procedures
- Guided pre-visits
- Contact the Child Safe site to ensure that your information is available for schools.
Look at the sample risk assessments included in the Downloads and the websites below for more information.
Downloads
The files below which are PDFs (Portable Document Format) need Adobe Reader (link opens a new window) to be viewed.
Risk Assessment Guidelines (MLA) (Not yet available)
Health & Safety Information for Teachers (Chatham Historic Dockyard. Word DOC, 243Kb)
Risk Assessment Schools (Chatham Historic Dockyard. Word DOC, 28Kb)
Risk Assessment Toys Session (Milestones, Hampshire County Museums Service. Word DOC, 24Kb)
Information for School Groups (Milestones. Word DOC, 41Kb)
Health and Safety Executive for publication Five Steps to Risk Assessment (PDF, 134Kb).
Useful Websites
All the links below will open in a new window. Close that new window to return here.
Arts Council England for a comprehensive publication Keeping Arts Safe.
School Trips Plus website to access over 7,000 destinations in the UK and make sure that the details of your museum are included and up to date.
The Group for Education in Museums (GEM) has guidance notes on Risk Assessment.