Off-site Sporting Event Risk Assessment Template

Typical hazards & measures

• Equipment, kit and PPE — Check studs, laces, mouthguards, helmets and shin pads before play, label shared kit and carry spares, quarantine damaged items immediately, secure goals and posts with rated anchors, manage jewellery within rules, and keep wet kit away from electrical equipment.
• Fatigue, timings and late return — Build buffers into itineraries, cap cumulative minutes per pupil, rotate squads during tournaments, notify families promptly of revised arrival times, carry warm layers and snacks for delays, and ensure staff cover extends to any expected overrun.
• First aid and emergency response — Bring a stocked kit and cold packs, assign a trained first aider at pitch side, agree host emergency contacts and ambulance access routes, set a visible meet point, rehearse a stop-play and clear-route protocol with staff, and complete incident forms after interventions.
• Safeguarding around other adults — Identify school staff with badges, restrict access to team areas, supervise mixed-use corridors, challenge unknown adults politely but firmly, follow the host’s safeguarding procedures, keep pupils in groups at all times, and report any concern to the DSL the same day.
• Pick-up and drop-off interface — Marshal bays and cone pedestrian lanes, impose a five-mile-per-hour site speed, hold teams inside until called forward, stagger coach arrivals, reserve disabled bays and emergency access routes, display clear signage, and coordinate staff on radios to reduce queue pressure.