The Risk Assessment
There are risks involved in any activity and no matter how much care is taken or how well everything is planned there will always be the potential for something to go wrong.
However, being aware of possible risks ahead of the event provides the opportunity to minimise the likelihood of something happening, and to prepare mitigating actions to ensure that the effect is reduced.
If something goes catastrophically wrong, even with the best of planning, you have the protection of being able to demonstrate that your event was responsibly planned – if you have a good risk assessment document – and show that the cause was misfortune rather than negligence.
What should a Risk Assessment contain?
The Risk Assessment must identify the likely areas of risk to the Club/Society and its members, and the wider public, and outline the plan for mitigating the risks in order to reduce the likelihood of occurrence and/or the scale of harm that might result.
The following areas of potential risk would be a useful start point, though this is not an exhaustive list:
- Crowd control
- Financial security
- Social media and publicity
- Manual handling
- Use of electrical equipment
- Environmental or nuisance noise
- Food allergies or safe drinking
- Vehicle driving
Putting an Risk Assessment together
The template for the Risk Assessment form can be downloaded from this page or can be provided by Student Activities – ask your Sports or Societies Coordinator for help if you’re uncertain of anything.
For each risk area you identify think about what action you can take to minimise the risk or the effect, and ensure that the action is well-communicated and adhered to.