School Visits

The following notes will help teachers conduct and write their own risk assessment. Teachers wishing to come in to the museum and do this can do so free of charge - have a chat with a member of staff.

Please note: this is not a risk assessment. Teachers should follow Department for Education and Skills (DfES) guidelines and write their own.

Hazard Identified	Risk and to whom	Existing control measures
Cars/buses in the car parks	Could be bumped or knocked over. All visitors and staff.	Children should be supervised by school staff.
Ponds and streams at the front and sides of the building. Stepping stones across pond.	Slipping into water. All visitors and staff.	There are warning signs and a lifebelt.
Some objects in the handling collection may be heavy and occasionally some have sharp edges.	Trap fingers, drop onto feet, cuts, rips to clothing. All visitors and staff.	Site staff give verbal warning about nature of handling collection. Its condition is monitored closely by site staff.
Stairs in various locations, indoors and outdoors.	Slip, fall, injury. All visitors and staff.	Stairs indoors have handrails.
Low doorway into Dreadful Dugout (ground floor). Tunnel to crawl through in Dreadful Dugout.	Could bump head. All visitors and staff.	Warning signs.
Drawers (with artefacts in) to pull out in various locations in the ground floor gallery.	Could trap fingers or walk into a drawer. All visitors and staff.
Vehicles on display in first floor gallery. Ramps to exhibits have unmarked edges.	Could be knocked, injuries. Could fall off edge. All visitors and staff.	Jeep safe to sit in, other vehicle should have sign to state which areas are safe to climb in.
Glass doors at various locations within the building.	All visitors and staff.	All glass within the museum is safety glass to British Standards. Children are encouraged not to run indoors by venue staff.
Glass cases in various locations around the museum.	All visitors and staff.	All glass within the museum is safety glass to British Standards. Children are encouraged not to run indoors by venue staff.
Lift - this must not be used in the event of a fire.	All visitors and staff.	Visitors are encouraged not to allow children to use the lift unaccompanied.
Occasionally exhibits in the Art Gallery may present a hazard if damaged due to their nature or the material they are made from.	All visitors and staff.	Fragile exhibits may be behind ropes or have warning signs with them - but not all will have.