Museum/Educational Visit Risk Assessment Template

Typical hazards & measures

• Theft or loss of personal belongings — Use secure cloakrooms or trolleys with teacher oversight. Advise pupils to bring minimal valuables. Conduct bag checks before departure and assign a teacher to supervise belongings during gallery moves.
• Boarding and disembarking coaches or minibuses — Park in a designated loading bay away from traffic. Use high-vis staff to marshal pupils. Instruct children to board one at a time. Teachers stand at doors and do headcounts each time. Avoid reversing vehicles when pupils are nearby.
• Traffic or crowd hazards at arrival/departure — Arrange coach drop-off in advance, avoiding busy roads. Place high-vis adults at gates and crossings. Line pupils up well away from kerbs and stagger coach boarding. Use barriers or cones to manage flow during group entry/exit.
• Choking hazards for younger children — Restrict under-7 access to small-part exhibits. Only use replica kits with age-appropriate components. Supervise at a 1:4 ratio for early years. Clean display areas regularly to prevent small debris accumulation.
• Sharp or fragile exhibit hazards — Place physical barriers around delicate displays. Train staff to supervise interactive exhibits, use "look, don’t touch" signage, and provide padded tables or trays in handling sessions. Conduct handling only with dedicated staff oversight.