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The short answer
Think through what could cause harm at your club and how you will prevent it. Write down who might be affected, the steps you will take, who is responsible and when to check them. A completed form is useful only if those steps work on the day.
Scope: England · School-age holiday clubs and daytime activities · Check the rules for your club
Walk through a real session
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) advises starting with hazards: things that could cause harm. Think about who could be hurt, how likely it is and what you will do to prevent it. Write down your findings and review the safety measures. Employers with five or more employees must record the significant findings. Smaller employers still need to manage risk. [1]
Our suggested club walk-through follows a child from arrival to collection. Check queues, vehicle movements, shared spaces, toilets, access to kitchens, outdoor boundaries and emergency exits. Then add activity-specific hazards, such as tools, water or cooking equipment. Ask the team what nearly went wrong last time and what has changed at the venue.
Give each safety task to a named person
Use the event risk assessment template as a working document. For each hazard, write who could be affected, what you already do to reduce the risk, what else is needed, who is responsible and when to check it. HSE stresses that your safety measures must work in practice; paperwork alone is not enough. [1]
For example, if the activity room opens into a shared car park, “children supervised” is too vague to brief a team. Your plan might specify the entry point, assigned staff, how arrivals are recorded and how children move to the room. Check that the chosen controls do not obstruct emergency escape. This example is a prompt for a site assessment, not a design suitable for every building.
Plan how the team will respond
Plan for emergencies based on the risks at your club. HSE says the plan should explain who does what, how to communicate, how to leave safely, first aid and access for emergency services. Include children and people who need additional assistance. Discuss responsibilities with the venue so that neither organisation assumes the other will act. [2]
Our suggested briefing tests three scenarios: a missing child, a fire alarm and the sudden absence of a key team member. Establish who keeps the other children supervised, who raises the alarm, who has the register and how parents will be contacted. Use your first-aid needs assessment and safeguarding procedures alongside this plan.
Review before opening and after changes
Review the assessment if the team, equipment or way of working changes. HSE also says to review it after accidents, near misses or signs that a safety measure is not working. Assign someone to check that outstanding actions are completed before the affected activity starts. [1]
Our suggested daily check records actual staffing, weather, equipment, room changes and any new support needs. If a safety measure is not in place, change or pause the affected activity and get appropriate advice. Keep the record of what changed so that the next organiser learns from it rather than copying an out-of-date assessment.
Evidence behind this page
Sources and further reading
Fact-checked against these sources on . We check sources each month. This is our editorial review, not an independent legal or medical assessment.
The numbers in the text link to the sources below. Follow the original guidance for full details and later changes. How we check this guide.
- Health and Safety Executive. Steps needed to manage risk↩1 ↩2 ↩3Updated 10 June 2024.Assess, control and record; Review the controls.
- Health and Safety Executive. Planning for incidents and emergencies↩Updated 20 January 2026.Emergency roles, evacuation and first-aid needs.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0, where applicable. Specialist sources are attributed to their respective publishers.