Lesson planner · classroom toolsRisk Assessment Template for Schools
Plan a trip or activity in minutes: pick a starter template, edit the hazards and controls, and the risk matrix colours itself. Print it, save a PDF or download Word for your EVC or head to sign off.
Starting points – Check every row against your school's policy and the venue's own risk assessment, and add what is specific to your group.
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This supports, but does not replace, your school's or employer's policy. The visit leader, EVC or head teacher must check and approve it.
Risk assessment templates by activity
Do teachers have to write a risk assessment?
Not for everything. DfE advice is that sensible risk management does not mean a separate written risk assessment for every activity. Routine, low-risk outings (a walk to the local park or library) are usually covered by your school's educational visits policy. A new or higher-risk trip or activity, such as a residential, an overseas visit, water or adventurous activities, needs its own assessment, written down and approved.
HSE puts it plainly: the focus should be on managing the real risks, not on paperwork. A short assessment that everyone has read beats a long one nobody has. Your employer (the local authority, academy trust or governing body) must record the significant findings of its risk assessments; that is the "5 or more employees" rule in HSE guidance, which every school meets. In practice, your school's policy tells you which trips and activities need a written assessment from you.
Who does what
| Role | What they usually do |
|---|---|
| You (visit leader or class teacher) | Plan the trip or activity, write the risk assessment, brief the other adults, lead on the day. |
| EVC (educational visits coordinator) | Checks the plan against the school's policy, advises, and passes it to the head. There's no legal duty to have an EVC, but most schools do. |
| Head teacher | Approves visits (some higher-risk visits also go to governors or the local authority). |
| Employer | Holds overall responsibility for health and safety and sets the policy you follow. |
How to write a risk assessment in 5 steps
- Identify the hazards. Walk through the day from leaving school to coming back. Use a starter template above, then add what's special about your group and venue.
- Decide who might be harmed and how. Pupils, staff, helpers and the public. Think about pupils with medical needs, SEND or mobility needs (by initials only).
- Evaluate the risk and decide on controls. Rate each hazard, write what you already do, and add sensible extra steps. You don't need to remove every risk, just reduce it to a sensible level.
- Record the significant findings. Keep it short. Leave out trivial hazards (every school day has them).
- Review it. Before you go if anything changes, during the day (a "dynamic" risk assessment: stop or change the plan if conditions change), and afterwards for next time.
The risk matrix explained
Most school forms score each hazard for likelihood (how likely harm is) and severity (how bad it would be), each from 1 to 5. Multiply them to get the risk score. The maker shows the score before further action (with the controls you already have) and after, so you can see your plan bringing risks down. Prefer words? Switch the rating to Low / Medium / High.
A hazard still rated high after your controls is a signal to add more, change the activity, or talk to your EVC before you go.
What to hand your EVC or head for sign-off
- This risk assessment (printed, PDF or Word).
- The itinerary with times, the venue's address and the transport booking.
- Staff and adult list with the ratio, and who is the visit leader and deputy.
- A copy of the letter home (and consent form, if this visit needs one).
- How medical needs are covered: the number of pupils with healthcare plans and who carries the medicines (no names on the form itself).
- The venue's or provider's own risk assessment, and its licence if the activity needs one.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
The principles are the same across the UK. In Scotland, schools follow local authority policy and the national Going Out There (Scotland) guidance, and SSERC supports science and technology. In Wales and Northern Ireland, follow your local authority's or the Education Authority's visits policy; many use the OEAP National Guidance, and CLEAPSS supports science, D&T and art. Your employer's policy always comes first.
Keep pupils' details out of it
Write "Pupil A" or initials, and say where the confidential plan is kept ("held by the visit leader"). Names, medical details and contact numbers belong in the school's own system, not in a risk assessment that gets printed, emailed and left on a coach seat. Everything you type here stays in this browser.
Sources and further reading
- HSE: School trips and outdoor learning activities – tackling the health and safety myths
- HSE: risk assessment – steps needed to manage risk
- DfE: Health and safety – responsibilities and duties for schools
- DfE: Health and safety – advice on legal duties and powers (2014, archived copy)
- DfE: Health and safety on educational visits
- OEAP National Guidance (oeapng.info)
- Going Out There (Scotland)
We link to these so you can read the original guidance; we haven't copied it. Check for updates, and follow your school's or local authority's own policy where it says more.
Questions teachers ask
Is a risk assessment a legal requirement for a school trip?
Employers must assess risks and record the significant findings, but DfE advice says that doesn't mean a new written assessment for every routine outing. Your school's educational visits policy says which visits need one. Residentials, overseas visits and adventurous or water activities almost always do.
Who signs off a school trip risk assessment?
Usually the EVC checks it and the head teacher approves it. Some higher-risk visits also need approval from governors or the local authority. The maker has sign-off boxes for the visit leader, EVC and head teacher.
What risk matrix should I use?
Use your school's own matrix if it has one. If not, a 5 × 5 likelihood × severity matrix is common: 1–4 low, 5–9 medium, 10–16 high, 20–25 very high. You can also switch the maker to Low / Medium / High.
Can I use these templates as they are?
No. They are starting points. Check every row against your school's policy and the venue's own risk assessment, delete what doesn't apply and add what is specific to your group.
Where is my risk assessment saved?
In this browser on this device only. Nothing is uploaded. Download a backup file now and then, and keep pupils' names and medical details out of it.