Stress risk assessment
A stress risk assessment is a careful examination of what in a workplace could cause staff to suffer from work-related stress, so that you can weigh up whether you have done enough, or should do more to prevent harm.
Advice and guidance about health and safety at work including information on issues around personal health and safety plus advice on key workplace issues.
You can also browse the A-Z of all our advice on health and safety, or take a look at the top five questions asked by members to our Advice Line.
Key issues
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Advice
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Advice 
Violence in schools
Advice on violence issues in schools and colleges, in particular how this should be tackled by employers, and student behaviour.
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Advice 
Voice care for teachers
Advice for teachers on voice care, including spotting problems, simple preventative measures and information on how and when to seek appropriate specialist help
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Advice 
Tackling stress
Excessive workload and working hours are continually cited by teachers as one of the main causes of their workplace stress.
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Advice 
Work and suicide
If someone is threatening imminent suicide call 999 and stay with them until the emergency services arrive.
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Advice 
Mental health conditions in the education profession
Excessive workload is a key cause of mental health problems among teachers and education professionals.
Workplace issues
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Advice 
Who is responsible for health and safety?
Who is responsible for the management of health and safety in schools and colleges and the respective roles of the employer, governing body, head teacher and other staff of the school.
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Advice
Work Equipment
Employers must seek to ensure, again ‘so far as is reasonably practicable’, that non-employees are not exposed to risks to their health or safety.
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Accidents, injuries, diseases and dangerous occurances at school
This briefing sets out advice on the requirements for reporting accidents, injuries, diseases and dangerous occurrences which happen in schools and colleges and on supporting NEU members in casework a
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Advice 
Health and safety for supply teachers
Health and safety issues for supply teachers, including those employed directly by local authorities, schools and academy trusts and those employed via supply agencies.
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Advice 
Slips, trips and falls
How to reduce the incidence of accidents and injuries in schools due to slips, trips and falls.
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Advice 
Hygiene control in schools
Advice on the appropriate hygiene procedures for schools which will help to prevent the spread of blood-borne viruses such as HIV and hepatitis A, B and C, and conditions such as dysentery.
All Health and Safety advice by topic tag
Can't find what you're looking for above? Browse all our Health and Safety content, ordered by topic tag. As pages can have more than one topic tag, they can also appear more than once in the list below.
Health and Safety guidance for NEU activists
- The most common queries NEU members have on health and safety policy in academy trusts.
- A model health and safety policy for academy trusts, where no such policy is in place or where the existing policy is considered to be inadequate.
Health and safety concerns in academies
A guide to what anaphylaxis is, and how to support pupils at risk
- This advice sets out how to spot hazards in low/“child” height working environments, and includes simple practical measures to prevent and reduce, pain, strain and injury.
The issues around ergonomics in classrooms and good practices for school staff.
NEU guidance on the law and practical advice on electrical safety in schools
Advice on the procedures for dealing with emergencies in schools.
This NEU briefing provides guidance to safety representatives and members on taking action to reduce the incidence of accidents and injuries due to falls from height, including the legal requirements on employers, practical steps which can be taken and sources of further advice and information.
Advice on the requirements for first aid provision in schools
- Advice on the health and safety issues relating to lifting and handling that school staff face while at work
How to reduce the incidence of accidents and injuries in schools due to slips, trips and falls.
Advice on dealing with asbestos problems in schools, including the law on asbestos removal and management in schools.
This is a guide to using the data which has been made available via the DfE Asbestos Management Assurance Process (AMAP). It aims to assist local officers in extracting information about asbestos in schools in their area, and in seeking to fill in some of the gaps.
- At least 86 per cent of schools contain asbestos, all of it old and much of it deteriorating. Unless your school was wholly built after 1999, it is extremely likely that it contains asbestos.
- A model letter which can be sent by parents to the head teacher of their child’s school to request information about asbestos in the school
Our NEU policy and advice on screening and searching pupils for prohibited items in schools in England and Wales.
- This model policy sets out how employer will seek to prevent workplace violence in its schools, and the procedures that will be followed if a violent incident occurs.
Advice on violence issues in schools and colleges, in particular how this should be tackled by employers, and student behaviour.
Advice on the ways in which violent or threatening pupil behaviour can successfully be tackled using standard risk management techniques.
- This model policy sets out how employer will seek to prevent workplace violence in its schools, and the procedures that will be followed if a violent incident occurs.
Advice on violence issues in schools and colleges, in particular how this should be tackled by employers, and student behaviour.
How to deal with cases of harassment and bullying of NEU members.
- The most common queries NEU members have on harassment and bullying in schools.
This harassment and bullying model policy is comprised of two sections: a model policy statement and a model procedure for dealing with complaints of harassment and bullying.
- This advice focuses on the potential of mobile phone photography to lead to bullying and harassment of others within the school community.
Guidance on maximum class and room sizes
- Latest update on staffing and remote learning in Northern Ireland
- Rhestr wirio Gweithle
- Our advice on ventilation in Covid-19 schools and workplaces.
- Covid-19 and pregnancy: Dos and Don’ts
- Covid-19 safety in schools. These are minimum standards for keeping everyone safe and ensuring reasonable working conditions.
- Ten points on the wearing of face coverings to reduce the risk of Covid-19 transmission and circumstances where medical masks and other personal protective equipment (PPE) may be appropriate.
- Advice on medically vulnerable and higher risk groups. - whether clinically extremely vulnerable (CEV) or clinically vulnerable (CV).
- What to look out for in your school/college risk assessment
- The NEU strongly urges all members who are able to receive the COVID vaccine to take it. Here are frequently asked questions on vaccination for education staff.
- Ventilating indoor work areas is a key control measure in reducing Covid-19 transmission.
- Knowledge about the greater risks of Covid-19 to specific individuals and groups has grown during the current crisis.
- NEU continues to meet with DENI, the Education Authority, and the PHA and to raise a wide range of concerns for staff and pupils on substantive matters of health and safety.
- Latest NEU NI Covid-19 advice on health and safety for members.
- Dos and don’ts for schools and colleges on Covid-19 and dealing with outbreaks
- A workplace checklist for members in schools and colleages
- This advice has been issued by the joint unions (GMB, NEU Cymru, UNISON and UNITE) for use in schools and other settings for at least the first term of the 2021-22 academic year.
- Cyhoeddwyd y cyngor hwn gan yr undebau ar y cyd (GMB, NEU Cymru, UNSAIN ac UNITE) i'w ddefnyddio mewn ysgolion a lleoliadau eraill am dymor cyntaf blwyddyn academaidd 2021-22 o leiaf.
- Advice on safety in schools during lockdown.
- Department of Education NI publishes supplementary guidance to the DE Coronavirus guidance for education settings (December 2020) previously issued to all schools.
- Long covid advice for reps and local officers in England and Wales
- Latest advice for principals and managers who may have staff experiencing protracted ill health as a result of COVID-19 infection.
- The guidance is based around ‘Things you need to Do’ and ‘Things you need to Know’.
- This guidance for Northern Ireland provides the latest advice on absence, pay arrangements and staffing matters linked to COVID-19.
- Your employer should be monitoring readings from all the CO2 monitors in your school. See our tips on how to make the most effective use of CO2 monitors.
- Advice on medically vulnerable and higher risk groups. - whether clinically extremely vulnerable (CEV) or clinically vulnerable (CV).
How to deal with cases of harassment and bullying of NEU members.
- The most common queries NEU members have on harassment and bullying in schools.
This harassment and bullying model policy is comprised of two sections: a model policy statement and a model procedure for dealing with complaints of harassment and bullying.
It is essential that health and safety in schools should be gender sensitive and appropriate.
A guide for members on how to tackle domestic abuse and the workplace
- Supporting victims and challenging the behaviour of perpetrators
This advice contains advice about health and safety matters which both newly qualified and student teachers should be aware of when entering the profession.
A guide for members on how to tackle domestic abuse and the workplace
- Supporting victims and challenging the behaviour of perpetrators
The purpose of this guidance is to suggest practical ways in which the school and college environment can be improved for women who are going through the menopause.
This briefing sets out NEU advice on the requirements of the fire legislation covering schools and on fire safety precautions to be followed in schools. It takes account of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
- Every year, many schools are damaged or destroyed by fires, affecting the education of thousands of pupils, and causing millions of pounds worth of damage. The impact of fires is significantly reduced by fitting sprinklers in schools.
Advice for teachers and support staff on the administration of medicines
A guide to what anaphylaxis is, and how to support pupils at risk
Guidance on what asthma is, what can trigger it, and how to support pupils at risk
Information and guidance for school staff to support the uninterrupted education of children with diabetes.
NEU guidance on the law and practical advice on electrical safety in schools
Advice on the procedures for dealing with emergencies in schools.
Advice on how to deal with epilepsy and seizures in schools, including how to recognise when a pupil might be having a seizure.
Advice on the requirements for first aid provision in schools
How to reduce the incidence of accidents and injuries in schools due to slips, trips and falls.
- Covid-19 safety in schools. These are minimum standards for keeping everyone safe and ensuring reasonable working conditions.
- Ten points on the wearing of face coverings to reduce the risk of Covid-19 transmission and circumstances where medical masks and other personal protective equipment (PPE) may be appropriate.
- Advice on what precautions to take when a case of viral hepatitis arises in a school or where a known carrier of the disease is a pupil in the school.
- Advice on the appropriate hygiene procedures for schools which will help to prevent the spread of blood-borne viruses such as HIV and hepatitis A, B and C, and conditions such as dysentery.
- General advice about how to manage cases of infectious illness in schools, including when children should be absent.
- The symptoms, treatments and preventative measures that should be taken in schools to avoid outbreaks of Legionnaires’ disease.
- Information about meningitis and what should be done when an outbreak occur in a school.
- Advice on safety in schools during lockdown.
- Latest advice for principals and managers who may have staff experiencing protracted ill health as a result of COVID-19 infection.
- This briefing gives information about tuberculosis (TB) and steps to be taken when cases arise in schools among students or teachers.
- NEU Guidance for Members, Reps and Local Officers
This briefing advises safety reps on the steps to be taken in arranging and carrying out safety inspections and preparing inspection reports
- What to look out for in your school/college risk assessment
- Knowledge about the greater risks of Covid-19 to specific individuals and groups has grown during the current crisis.
- NEU leadership members are key to supporting women going through the menopause in the workplace. As a leader, you’re not alone. Collaboration between leaders, governors, workplace reps, health and safety reps and a staff support network can go a long way towards creating a supportive environment for women experiencing menopause symptoms at work.
As a school leader, it is important to ensure that your school is a great place to work, with a happy and healthy workforce and low levels of sick leave.
- As teachers and school staff often work on their own, there are some key health and safety issues that employers must consider.
- NEU advice on risks of lone working and what can be done to counter them.
- It is common for teachers to offer private tuition to students. Before doing so, there are several important issues to consider, such as legal and insurance protection and health and safety issues.
- Covid-19 and pregnancy: Dos and Don’ts
Advice for teachers and support staff on the administration of medicines
A guide to what anaphylaxis is, and how to support pupils at risk
Guidance on what asthma is, what can trigger it, and how to support pupils at risk
- Guidance on issues regarding pupil incontinence, and how schools can adopt policies to help.
Information and guidance for school staff to support the uninterrupted education of children with diabetes.
Advice on how to deal with epilepsy and seizures in schools, including how to recognise when a pupil might be having a seizure.
How to tackle the problem of head lice in schools, including facts about head lice and head lice treatment
- Advice for school staff to support the uninterrupted education of children with sickle cell disorder and thalassaemia.
- NEU leadership members are key to supporting women going through the menopause in the workplace. As a leader, you’re not alone. Collaboration between leaders, governors, workplace reps, health and safety reps and a staff support network can go a long way towards creating a supportive environment for women experiencing menopause symptoms at work.
- The menopause is an occupational health issue for women educators, as well as being an equality issue. It is important that schools and colleges are suitable workplaces for menopausal women. The purpose of this guide and checklist for reps is to signpost you to advice, and to support you in improving workplace conditions for menopausal women.
The purpose of this guidance is to suggest practical ways in which the school and college environment can be improved for women who are going through the menopause.
- This guidance document is aimed at NEU members who are worried that their mental health is suffering because of the demands of their work. It will also be of use to NEU members who are considering returning to work following a spell of absence due to a mental health condition.
Excessive workload is a key cause of mental health problems among teachers and education professionals. This advice explains what to do if you are struggling with mental health and outlines the different ways you can get support.
- Guidance for local officers, reps and safety reps on surveying their members' workplace stress.
As a school leader, it is important to ensure that your school is a great place to work, with a happy and healthy workforce and low levels of sick leave.
It is important to understand the extent of governing body’s responsibilities for managing health, safety and welfare of teachers and ways in which the NEU and governors can work together to safeguard the mental health of teachers.
- This advice explains the ‘resilience’ approach, why it does not lead to meaningful improvements for employees and how safety reps should instead seek to tackle work related stress in their school or college.
- A stress risk assessment is a careful examination of what in a workplace could cause staff to suffer from work-related stress, so that you can weigh up whether you have done enough, or should do more to prevent harm.
Excessive workload and working hours are continually cited by teachers as one of the main causes of their workplace stress. This advice explains how to tackle stress at a local level in your workplace.
- If someone is threatening imminent suicide call 999 and stay with them until the emergency services arrive.
- Latest update on staffing and remote learning in Northern Ireland
- Our advice on ventilation in Covid-19 schools and workplaces.
- NEU continues to meet with DENI, the Education Authority, and the PHA and to raise a wide range of concerns for staff and pupils on substantive matters of health and safety.
- Latest NEU NI Covid-19 advice on health and safety for members.
- Department of Education NI publishes supplementary guidance to the DE Coronavirus guidance for education settings (December 2020) previously issued to all schools.
- Latest advice for principals and managers who may have staff experiencing protracted ill health as a result of COVID-19 infection.
- The guidance is based around ‘Things you need to Do’ and ‘Things you need to Know’.
- This guidance for Northern Ireland provides the latest advice on absence, pay arrangements and staffing matters linked to COVID-19.
Advice on the main health, safety, welfare and legal factors surrounding animals in schools.
Educational visits can be of substantial benefit to the education and development of pupils.
This page outlines the key legal requirements for drivers and operators of school minibuses and describes the support school staff should be given before they agree to drive a school minibus.
Advice about health and safety on school trips, including legal rights and obligations.
- Information for school staff who transport children in their own car on the law and regulations regarding child car seats and seatbelts.
- Advice for teachers and school staff who teach swimming or supervise swimming, including qualifications, training and safety.
NEU Guidance for members, reps and local officers.
- The basic framework of health and safety law for sixth form colleges
- What to look out for in your school/college risk assessment
Health and Safety guidance for NEU activists
This briefing examines the various means by which branches can attempt to secure adequate levels of paid time off for health and safety advisers to perform their various functions and the legal provisions which can be used to support them.
This NEU briefing tells you about the framework of health and safety law - in particular about the legal duties placed on employees, employers and others by the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and about other sources of health and safety law.
This briefing considers the management of health and safety in schools and colleges and the respective roles of the employer, governing body, head teacher and other staff of the school.
- The menopause is an occupational health issue for women educators, as well as being an equality issue. It is important that schools and colleges are suitable workplaces for menopausal women. The purpose of this guide and checklist for reps is to signpost you to advice, and to support you in improving workplace conditions for menopausal women.
NEU Guidance for members, reps and local officers.
- Guidance for local officers, reps and safety reps on surveying their members' workplace stress.
NEU Guidance for Members, Reps and Local Officers around the development and implementation of photograpic policies in schools
This briefing advises safety reps on the steps to be taken in arranging and carrying out safety inspections and preparing inspection reports
- Long covid advice for reps and local officers in England and Wales
- Latest advice for principals and managers who may have staff experiencing protracted ill health as a result of COVID-19 infection.
Safety representatives play a vital role in promoting safety in the workplace. This briefing covers the appointment of safety reps and their rights and functions.
- NEU Guidance for Members, Reps and Local Officers on how health and safety reps can use their powers can work with members to address excessive workload.
NEU Guidance for members, reps and local officers.
Advice on classroom acoustics and reducing the risk of vocal strain on teachers
Advice on dealing with asbestos problems in schools, including the law on asbestos removal and management in schools.
Guidance on maximum class and room sizes
Advice on the heating levels in schools and classrooms in England, and how to deal with the various types of heating problems which are commonly encountered during cold weather and snow.
Advice on the heating levels in schools and classrooms in Wales, and how to deal with the various types of heating problems which are commonly encountered during cold weather and snow.
- Ventilating indoor work areas is a key control measure in reducing Covid-19 transmission.
- Advice on what employers need to do to protect staff from the problems caused by wood dust and MDF dust.
- At least 86 per cent of schools contain asbestos, all of it old and much of it deteriorating. Unless your school was wholly built after 1999, it is extremely likely that it contains asbestos.
- Advice on responding to flood alerts in schools and dealing with the aftermath.
- Supporting NEU members in schools which suffer particularly badly in times of extreme heat.
Hot summers bring regular queries about the maximum temperatures under which staff and pupils should be expected to work in schools.
- Mould is a health and safety issue as it can cause a variety of health problems.
This advice sets out advice and guidance on playground supervision to allow children to play safely.
- Frequently asked questions in relation to staff car parking on school premises. It includes information on provision of school car parks, charges for car parking, car park safety and malicious damage to cars.
Advice on legal requirements and good practice for construction work in schools and a stage-by-stage guide to the role of safety representatives.
Advice about school security, in particular at security arrangements and methods to deal with intruders.
A quick guide on what to do in severe winter conditions or adverse weather.
There is a vast range of legislation on health and safety matters which applies in whole, or in part, to schools. This briefing identifies those which will be most relevant and the areas which they cover.
There is a vast range of legislation on health and safety matters which applies in whole, or in part, to schools in Wales. This briefing identifies those which will be most relevant and the areas which they cover.
- How schools can help protect pupils from sun exposure and advice around sunscreen.
Advice for teachers on voice care, including spotting problems, simple preventative measures and information on how and when to seek appropriate specialist help
- The basic framework of health and safety law for sixth form colleges
Excessive workload is a key cause of mental health problems among teachers and education professionals. This advice explains what to do if you are struggling with mental health and outlines the different ways you can get support.
- Guidance for local officers, reps and safety reps on surveying their members' workplace stress.
- A stress risk assessment is a careful examination of what in a workplace could cause staff to suffer from work-related stress, so that you can weigh up whether you have done enough, or should do more to prevent harm.
Excessive workload and working hours are continually cited by teachers as one of the main causes of their workplace stress. This advice explains how to tackle stress at a local level in your workplace.
- If someone is threatening imminent suicide call 999 and stay with them until the emergency services arrive.
This advice contains advice about health and safety matters which both newly qualified and student teachers should be aware of when entering the profession.
Health and safety issues for supply teachers, including those employed directly by local authorities, schools and academy trusts and those employed via supply agencies. Supply teachers have to adapt quickly to changing surroundings but will not be as familiar with schools’ policies and security arrangements as the permanent teaching staff.
- NEU advice on risks of lone working and what can be done to counter them.
NEU Guidance for members, reps and local officers.
- This briefing sets out advice on the safe use of photocopiers in schools.
NEU Guidance for Members, Reps and Local Officers around the development and implementation of photograpic policies in schools
Precautions to be taken to avoid discomfort and possible damage to the eye when using data projectors
This briefing examines the various means by which branches can attempt to secure adequate levels of paid time off for health and safety advisers to perform their various functions and the legal provisions which can be used to support them.
This advice contains advice about health and safety matters which both newly qualified and student teachers should be aware of when entering the profession.
- Rhestr wirio Gweithle
Advice on the heating levels in schools and classrooms in Wales, and how to deal with the various types of heating problems which are commonly encountered during cold weather and snow.
- A workplace checklist for members in schools and colleages
- This advice has been issued by the joint unions (GMB, NEU Cymru, UNISON and UNITE) for use in schools and other settings for at least the first term of the 2021-22 academic year.
- Cyhoeddwyd y cyngor hwn gan yr undebau ar y cyd (GMB, NEU Cymru, UNSAIN ac UNITE) i'w ddefnyddio mewn ysgolion a lleoliadau eraill am dymor cyntaf blwyddyn academaidd 2021-22 o leiaf.
There is a vast range of legislation on health and safety matters which applies in whole, or in part, to schools in Wales. This briefing identifies those which will be most relevant and the areas which they cover.
- NEU leadership members are key to supporting women going through the menopause in the workplace. As a leader, you’re not alone. Collaboration between leaders, governors, workplace reps, health and safety reps and a staff support network can go a long way towards creating a supportive environment for women experiencing menopause symptoms at work.
- The menopause is an occupational health issue for women educators, as well as being an equality issue. It is important that schools and colleges are suitable workplaces for menopausal women. The purpose of this guide and checklist for reps is to signpost you to advice, and to support you in improving workplace conditions for menopausal women.
It is essential that health and safety in schools should be gender sensitive and appropriate.
The purpose of this guidance is to suggest practical ways in which the school and college environment can be improved for women who are going through the menopause.
- NEU Guidance for Members, Reps and Local Officers on how health and safety reps can use their powers can work with members to address excessive workload.
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