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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
Six short modules on avoiding, preventing and minimising falls in a school setting.
What counts as working at height
The definition, and why so many school falls are from low heights.
Avoid, prevent, minimise
The hierarchy the Regulations require, applied to school tasks.
Choosing equipment
Steps, ladders, platforms. Never a chair, a desk or a stack of books.
Pre-use checks
Checking steps and ladders before use, and taking damaged equipment out of service.
Using equipment safely
Setting up, three points of contact and the reach limits people ignore.
School-specific tasks
Displays, lamps, staging, storage and working in occupied areas.
Outcomes
What you will be able to do afterwards
- Recognise when a school task counts as working at height
- Apply the avoid, prevent, minimise hierarchy
- Choose suitable equipment rather than the nearest object
- Check steps and ladders before use
- Work safely from steps with three points of contact
- Manage height tasks safely around pupils
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
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
For non-school settings, the general work at height course applies. See the general Working at Height course →
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 minutes, with no time limit. Start it, pause it, and come back whenever suits. The certificate is issued the moment you finish.
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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