School Parade or March Risk Assessment Template

Typical hazards & measures

• Low light and visibility — Prefer daylight timings, equip lead and tail groups with high-visibility vests and baton lights, install temporary lighting at staging points, require reflective elements on costumes, and cancel or reroute if lux levels fall below safe movement thresholds.
• Vehicles within procession — Permit only inspected, insured vehicles with trained drivers at walking pace, position spotters at each corner, maintain a child-free exclusion bubble around wheels, prohibit reversing in crowds, and pre-check tow hitches, brakes and emergency cut-offs.
• Toilets, changing and welfare facilities — Site toilets near assembly and dispersal zones, timetable supervised visits, provide accessible units, stock hand hygiene supplies, and staff a welfare tent for minor issues, medication storage and lost-property coordination throughout the event.
• Safeguarding and public interactions — Keep pupils within stewarded cordons, place staff along the parade edges, brief on declining gifts or unscheduled photos, require identifiable staff lanyards, and escalate any concerning approach to a supervisor while recording time, location and description.
• 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.