Schools in England, Scotland and Wales will face inspections looking at how they are managing the risks of asbestos, starting in the new academic year.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said it would look at how schools are meeting requirements for dealing with the hazardous material.
Under regulations, those with responsibility for the maintenance of work premises, including schools, have a “duty” to manage the risk from asbestos.
The visits will be carried out by HSE inspectors. The HSE said inspectors would contact the school beforehand to arrange a suitable date and time for the inspection.
Asbestos in school buildings
These inspectors will need to speak to someone with knowledge of how asbestos is managed by the school, and may also ask to see certain documentation in advance of the visit, such as an asbestos register and management plan.
A poll by the NEU teaching union in 2019 found that most teachers were unaware that they were working in a school building with asbestos.
A Department for Education survey in the same year found that almost one in five (17.8 per cent of) schools were not managing asbestos “in line” with government guidance.
The survey, to which 19,522 schools responded, also showed that around four in five (81-84 per cent) of England’s school buildings had asbestos somewhere on site.
Full guidance on what schools should expect when they are inspected can be found on the HSE website.
