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Working at Height in Education eLearning
Online working at height training for schools: the stepladder in the stock cupboard, the display board, the hall staging, and why most school falls are from low heights.
Who it is for
Who this working at height in education course is for
School working at height is almost entirely short-duration low-level work: putting up displays, changing lamps, reaching stock, rigging staging for a production. That is precisely the work where people use the nearest thing rather than the right thing.
- Site, caretaking and premises staff
- Teachers and teaching assistants putting up displays
- Technology and drama staff rigging staging
- Cleaning teams
- School business managers and bursars
- Anyone using steps or a ladder in school
Course content
What the working at height in education course covers
Four short lessons covering what counts and the hierarchy, choosing and checking equipment, using it safely, and school-specific tasks, then a 12-question assessment.
What counts, and avoid, prevent, minimise
What working at height means, why low falls matter in schools, and the hierarchy of avoid, prevent, minimise.
Choosing and checking equipment
Choosing between platform steps, stepladders, podiums and ladders, and carrying out a pre-use check.
Using equipment safely
Setting up, three points of contact, not overreaching, and working around pupils.
School-specific tasks
Displays, staging, lighting rigs, high storage and roofs, and when to call a specialist.
Outcomes
What you will be able to do afterwards
- Recognise when a school task counts as working at height and apply avoid, prevent, minimise
- Choose suitable equipment and check it before use
- Use steps and ladders safely, including around pupils
- Manage school-specific height tasks and know when to call a specialist
Your legal duty
The law behind working at height in education training
The Work at Height Regulations 2005 apply to schools like any other employer. They require work at height to be avoided where reasonably practicable, prevented by suitable equipment where it cannot be avoided, and properly planned, supervised and carried out by competent people.
There is no minimum height in the Regulations. Any place where a person could fall a distance liable to cause personal injury is covered, so standing on a chair to reach a display counts.
- Work at Height Regulations 2005
- No minimum height applies, low falls are covered
- Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 - steps and ladders as work equipment
- Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 - sections 2 and 7
Practicalities
How the course works
Would you rather have a tutor?
For non-school settings, the general work at height course applies.
For employers
Working at Height in Education training for a team
In schools this is a whole-staff subject. The person standing on a chair is usually a teacher rather than a member of the site team.
- One invoice instead of a card payment per person
- Licences allocated as people join, so induction is covered
- Completion and expiry reporting for your records
- Renewal reminders before certificates lapse
- Bespoke versions built around your own procedures
Working at Height in Education eLearning: common questions
Yes, if you could fall a distance liable to cause injury. It is one of the most common causes of injury in schools. The Regulations set no minimum height.
No. Ladders and stepladders are appropriate for short-duration, low-risk work, which describes most school tasks. The Regulations require you to justify the choice.
Anyone who works above floor level. Most obviously site staff, but in practice teachers putting up displays do it more often than anyone.
It covers the principles and the equipment checks. Complex rigging for productions needs specific practical training.
About 30 to 45 minutes, with no time limit. Start it, pause it, and come back whenever suits. The certificate is issued as soon as you pass the end assessment.
Yes. It runs in a browser on any modern phone, tablet or computer, with nothing to install.
Yes. Open a business account and we invoice you for the licences, which you allocate as people need them. Completion reporting is included.
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