School Parade or March Risk Assessment Template

Typical hazards & measures

• Weather hazards (heat, cold, wind, lightning) — Monitor forecasts and heat index, provide shade and water stations, adjust dress code to conditions, shorten or reroute in high winds, suspend for lightning under a pre-briefed shelter plan, and issue timely updates via SMS and steward announcements.
• Banners, poles and props — Use rounded tips and securely capped poles, fix banners to prevent whipping, keep pole length appropriate to crowd density, hold at shoulder height away from faces, and remove any damaged prop immediately from the line on a marshal’s instruction.
• Assembly and dispersal congestion — Designate a spacious assembly zone with marked lanes by class or team, timetable staggered arrivals and departures, separate spectator pens from the procession, open multiple gates, and deploy stewards to keep aisles and emergency paths clear from start to finish.
• Post-parade refreshments and allergens — Locate serving tables away from exits, label all ingredients, separate allergen-containing foods, supervise handwashing, seat allergic pupils with trained staff, carry auto-injectors at the table, and discard unlabelled donations rather than risking service.
• Emergency reroute or evacuation — Prepare alternate routes and shelters, brief a universal “stop, face-in, listen” command, maintain emergency-vehicle access, authorise a single decision-maker to suspend, reroute or abandon, and use runners to relay orders if electronic comms fail.