Risk assessment template
Why do a risk assessment?
A risk assessment prompts you to think about potential hazards that could harm people, and what steps you can take to avoid that happening.
You might not be able to completely remove the risk, but you can aim to reduce it, and make a plan for what to do if an incident does happen. You'll want to think about how likely it is that something will happen, and how serious the impact could be.
For example, participants getting wet and cold because of bad weather is fairly likely, and not too serious. However, in some cases this could lead to hypothermia, which is less likely but more serious. You can avoid this by telling everyone to check the weather forecast and bring appropriate waterproof clothing.
A few useful definitions:
- Hazard - something that has the potential to harm someone (such as potholes on the road)
- Risk - the effect the hazard could have (such as someone falling off their bike and being injured)
Use our risk assessment template to help structure your thinking.
