Rank: Forum user 
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I've been asked, as a school governor, to carry out a risk assessment on the security of the perimeter of my local primary school. Whilst I've trained in, and carried out, risk assessments previously I've never carried on out for a school. Has anyone had experience in this area, and can you point me in the direction of any decent guidance?
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Rank: Super forum user
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The DfE have some documents available for download. Try.....
Research Report RR419 - School Security Concerns,
Managing School Facilities; Guide 4 - Improving School Security.
Some of the following Building Bulletins may also be of use/interest; BB85- school grounds a guide of good practice, BB78- Security lighting in schools, BB75- CCTV in educational buildings, BB69- Intruder alarms and BB67- Crime prevention in schools, although I'm not sure if they are still in print or readily downloadable.
Hope this helps
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Rank: Super forum user
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Chas has given some good advice.
But be careful when carrying out work on behalf of a school or another company technically you are then acting as a consultant as you are carrying out the risk assessment for them. so there could be the need for professional indemnity insurance. which i know is over the top for this one task but if advice you give them later results in an accident then you could be held liable. this is more a word of warning in these times that everyone is out to sue anyone sadly.
I guess the question is why isn't the local authority carrying out this assessment especially for a primary school as there is very unlikely top be anyone qualified to carry out this work within the school. rather than carrying out the risk assessment yourself maybe you could go along and help guide them in completing the risk assessment for themselves so they have ownership of it and not you.
Phil
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Rank: Forum user
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Chas - many thanks for pointing me in the direction of some background, now off to read it all!
Phil - many thanks, the approach I was intending to take was to carry out the risk assessment with the Bursar, that way it's mainly me advising them. With regard to the 'local authority' question - I'm not sure why they're not doing it; I have a feeling it may come down to lack of resource, but will persue this angle further.
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Rank: Super forum user
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School governors hold a 'special' position and are/can be deemed to be the controller of the undertaking so they have a duty to ensure that suitable & sufficient RA's are in place - they are not outsiders and I am sure that they would not be seen as consultants because they are duty holders
It is the duty of the employer &/or controller [governor] to undertake RA's or have them undertaken by competent people and not a generalist third party as many LA's are; so the duty falls to the school governors, head teacher, parish council or similar body and a mix of all where they apply to ensure suitable and sufficient RA's are in place
If you undertake the exercise make sure that you are competent to do so - as time and again I come across RA's undertaken by people that are not competent to undertake the action however 'well meaning' they may be. Note that 'well meaning' does not hold up in a court and remember that any 'come back' is all yours especially where the general public [parents etc] are concerned
Ask: Would I undertake brain surgery if I was not a brain surgeon? If you answer yes then go ahead and operate without being competent. However my advice is to seek appropriate support
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Rank: Guest
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bob youel wrote:It is the duty of the employer &/or controller [governor] to undertake RA's or have them undertaken by competent people and not a generalist third party as many LA's are; so the duty falls to the school governors, head teacher, parish council or similar body and a mix of all where they apply to ensure suitable and sufficient RA's are in place
Strictly speaking I think this should be "- - -&/or controller [governing body] - - "
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Rank: Super forum user
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Barnaby
I see where you are coming from - I think that we are both correct
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Rank: Super forum user
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Barnaby, Bob,
Just to be really pedantic for a moment, the Governing Body, as a body corporate, is responsible as the employer. Individual members of the governing body can not be held personally responsible - the exception being the chair of governors who does have some very specific delegated duties regarding approving school closures and similar emergency decisions.
So, as to Andy C's OP, my reply as another governor would be to point out that the role of the governors is to ensure that policies are in place and that they are followed. This includes ensuring, by testing, questioning and observing, that a suitable SMS is in place but does not extend to actually doing the RA themself. Similarly, a chartered accountant who is a governor would not set the budget but would be a very good governor to check the accuracy etc of the budget as set by the senior leadership team of the school.
BUT, I can agree that by accompanying the bursar or similar it is possible to observe the RA process and make salient observations as to the suitability and sufficiency.
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Rank: Guest
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exdeeps wrote:Just to be really pedantic for a moment, the Governing Body, as a body corporate, is responsible as the employer.
To be equally pedantic, it's NOT the employer in community schools nor voluntary controlled schools.
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