Running your PTA

Whether you ’ re running a small cake sale or a busy Christmas fair , you should carry out a comprehensive risk assessment for every event you hold . Here are some things to consider so that everyone is safe while having fun with your PTA

Look at the hazards

Visit and walk through the venue – Have a look at the space you ’ ll be using , is there anything that could cause harm ? How will you be using the space ? What can you do to minimise the risks ?

Consider the activities – How will you ensure that visitors are safe when participating ? How will volunteers be kept safe when helping ? Is a risk still present , but with a lower chance for harm ?

Look at existing risk assessments – Are there already risk assessments in place for the venue ? Have you run the event before ?

Note down everything – A hazard is anything that may cause harm . Have you listed them all , even if they seem unlikely ? Is there a high or low chance that someone could be harmed ? How serious could the harm be ?

Your association has a duty of care to show that :

It has undertaken a comprehensive check of possible harm

Advice was taken from appropriate sources ( the school / venue )

You have identified who is at risk

Appropriate steps have been taken to deal with hazards

You have made the precautions to reduce risks clear

The remaining risks are low and well managed

All committee members are aware of the assessment and have agreed that it is suitable

Risk assessments are a working document , they can change and evolve in the lead up to the event .

After your event , it ’ s important to sit down as a committee and go over your risk assessment . You can take this opportunity to review and update the document ready for the next time you hold the event .

RESOURCES

Find out more about preparing a risk assessment on our website :

Illustration : The Black Rhino , Kazmin Aleksei / shutterstock . com

PARENTKIND . ORG AUTUMN / WINTER 2024 19