Health and safety for school staff
You have a statutory duty to give staff the health and safety training needed for their role. This course gives school staff essential training on the most common risks in their role, including on trips, in the classroom and around the school building.
Who it's for
All school staff
You can access this course on any device including mobile phones, but for the best user experience, we recommend using a laptop or desktop computer.
This health and safety course for all staff covers:
- Health and safety risks in the school environment
- How to consider health and safety in your curriculum, if you're a teacher or teaching assistant
- How to apply health and safety considerations to your workspace or office, if you're a member of non-teaching staff
- How to manage health and safety risks on school trips
- Health and safety considerations for specific pupils (such as those with SEN or disabilities, or pupils with challenging behaviour)
- First aid awareness
This course has 2 pathways: 1 for teachers and teaching assistants, and 1 for non-teaching staff.
Depending on your school’s own risk assessments, your staff may need additional training or information to help you fulfil your health and safety training requirements. For example, staff who use specialist equipment in their roles, such as cleaning staff or premises staff, will also require more specialist training.
You may also want to:
- Provide additional training on risk assessment
- Share your school's health and safety policies and procedures (find our model in the 'more resources' section below)
We'd love to hear your feedback
If you've completed this course, we'd love to hear your thoughts on it. Our feedback form takes about 3 to 5 minutes to complete.
With thanks to the following experts for their help with this course:
- Trevor Bailey was a secondary school headteacher for 14 years, and has extensive experience of school leadership and management.
- Jeremy Bird has extensive experience of primary headship. He has also worked with local authorities and published guidance for new and aspiring headteachers and senior leaders.
- Justin Smith is managing director and senior consultant at In House Safety. In House Safety supports safety excellence in schools through audits and specialist advice to help schools control safety risks. It also administers a certification scheme to help schools manage and support safety standards, and recognises those schools that have gone the extra mile.
More health and safety resources for your school
Health and safety templates, checklists and guidance
School trip health and safety: planning checklist and guidance
Ahead of a school trip, use our checklist and find guidance to help you feel confident you’ve considered everything from a health, safety and safeguarding perspective.
Health and safety audit: template and guidance
Use our template to help you conduct a health and safety audit in your school.
Health and safety checklists for classrooms
Use these classroom checklists to make sure pupils and staff are working in a safe environment. You’ll find our specialist classroom checklists to use alongside a general classroom one from the Health and Safety Executive.
Health and safety policy: model and examples
All schools must have a health and safety policy. Use our model policy for your school or trust, which includes an accident report form, to stay compliant.