How safe is the school you look after?

With it being the school holidays for most schools across the UK, we thought it'd be a good time to discuss and point out the importance of safety. If you are responsible for the safety and general upkeep of a school you'd be aware of the huge amount of wear and tear that impact schools, especially large ones.

Legal Obligations for schools

It is therefore a duty holders legal responsibility to ensure that certain testing and inspection requirements are met, thus identifying through the testing, any aspects of a schools premises that will need future work to keep it safe and compliant. As a duty holder your legal obligation to safeguard your school means that you must stay within the strict guidelines of various legal authorities. The main legal authorities that one must adhere to are the following: The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 and The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

Window of opportunity

As we are aware from experience of providing services at various schools, certain areas can be tricky to gain access to during term time, this because of the sheer volume of occupants present, especially at large secondary schools or colleges. The summer holidays however, can be an ideal period in which to schedule in any works required, as most schools or colleges for the most part, are completely empty.

Communicating and keeping to schedule

However, with that being said, it is also important to understand the difficulties that can be faced when looking to book and schedule in a large amount of work in the short 6-8 week time frame that summer holidays allow for. If you are looking to have works provided in this window of time, you must ensure that the supplier providing it manages the time well. This means working around a schedule that best fits you and most importantly, that they communicate with you, keeping you informed on the initial plan, the progress, and always ensuring that you are regularly updated on any changes to procedures, or any obstacles a supplier may face.

If you require any compliance services at your school premises, whether it be within the school holidays, or out of the school holidays, please contact us today for any help, guidance, or for any further information about our available services - 01604 696113.