Guidelines on Managing Safety and Health in Post Primary Schools

Last updated: Thursday, March 30th, 2023.

Guidelines on Managing Safety and Health in Post-Primary Schools

 The ‘Guidelines on Managing Safety and Health in Post-Primary Schools’ were published in 2010 and are the outcome of a joint project undertaken by the Department of Education and Skills, the State Claims Agency, the Health and Safety Authority, and the School Development Planning Initiative. The Guidelines were comprehensively revised in 2018

The guidelines are a management tool intended to offer guidance and practical advice to assist schools in planning, organising and managing a safe and healthy school environment for staff, pupils and visitors.

The Revised Guidelines outline the steps involved in putting in place a health and safety management system for Community and Comprehensive Schools and enables schools to write or update their safety statements. Part 1 also contains a list of frequently asked questions (FAQs).

The Guidelines also contain all the tools and templates required to implement a health and safety management system. Central to the toolkit is a series of risk assessment templates which will greatly assist in carrying out the task of reducing risk in a school environment in a practical way and ensures schools are meeting your legal requirements. The Guidelines  contain the following templates and tools:

• Tool 1b – School safety and health management audit tool

• Tool 1c – Sample Meeting Record

• Tool 1d – Sample Safety and Health Action Plan Template

• Tool 1e – School Planning Programme

• Tool 2 – Safety and Health Policy

• Tool 4 – Risk Assessment Templates

• Tool 5 – Sample Accident Report Form

• Tool 6c – Safety and health training record

• Tool 7 – Communications

• Tool 8b – Sample Inspection Checksheet