Permit to Work or Permit to Risk? Managing Contractors Safely in Schools and Trusts

This blog is based on Judicium’s Health and Safety ‘Sofa Session’ from the 4th March 2026, with our resident expert, Isthar Pearce. In this blog, we explore the importance of controlling risk when it comes to contractor safety and not just relying on paperwork, and provide actionable next steps for good practice.

When it comes to contractor safety, it's not just about completing forms - it’s about understanding the risks and actively controlling them. Many schools rely on trust and familiarity rather than solid safety processes, which creates unnecessary exposure. Contractors can support you, but they cannot manage risk on your behalf.

Poll 1

Why Schools Think They are Doing Ok

These are the common behaviours we see: 

• Verbal agreements 
• Generic RAMS filed unread 
• Everyone assumes someone else is responsible (the contractor thinks the school is, and the school thinks the contractor is)
• Site managers tend to be left “holding the risk” when things go wrong 

We need to move from assuming contractor competence → to managing risk deliberately. 

Controlling Risk Vs Trusting Contractors

Whilst contractors manage how they work, schools must ascertain whether it’s safe for them to work. 

We need to explore these common statements:  

• “They know what they are doing.” 
• “They do this all the time.” 
• “I wouldn’t know what to question.” 

Reframe: Permits to work are not about technical policing - they’re about authorisation of risk. 

Control = authorisation + supervision + verification

Case Study: Bassetsbury Manor Chainsaw Accident in High Wycombe

A school operator and a cleaning contractor were both fined after a man sustained permanent spinal injuries while felling a tree on school grounds in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. 

The 59-year-old was using a chainsaw to fell a mature sycamore tree at Bassetsbury Manor in April 2013. He was helping one of the defendants, of P&X Complete Cleaning Services, clear the site to make way for building work. They had been contracted by the school operator to carry out the work. 

Aylesbury Crown Court heard that a large partially cut branch swung down and hit the ladder on which the worker was standing, throwing him to the ground, where he landed on his back, sustaining permanent spinal injuries. He became unable to walk and will be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. An investigation by the Health & Safety Executive found the school operator failed to engage competent contractors to undertake the arboriculture work. 

The investigation also found that the defendant failed to undertake a risk assessment for the work. There was no safe system of work in place; no ropes were used, and the ladder was not secured. The work was not adequately segregated, and members of the public were nearby.  The school operator in High Wycombe was fined £35,000 and ordered to pay £25,000 after pleading guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health & Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. It was also agreed to pay an ex gratia payment of £50,000 to the injured worker. 

The defendant, trading as P&X Complete Cleaning Services,  was given an 18-month prison sentence suspended for two years and ordered to pay £2,000 after pleading guilty to breaching Regulation 3(1) of the Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations 1999. 

After the case, HSE Principal Inspector Karl Howes said: 

"Arboriculture work remains high risk, particularly work at height in trees. Such work must only be undertaken by competent and trained contractors. All businesses have a duty to ensure they engage competent contractors when carrying out tree work." 

Poll 2

What a Permit to Work (PTW) is and Why it Matters

✔️ A permit to work is a formal safety control — a written authorisation to expose people to risk, only when appropriate controls are in place.  
✔️ A PTW isn’t a replacement for a risk assessment, but rather a way to bring the risk assessment to life.  
✔️ They are most relevant for high-risk activities such as electrical isolation, hot works, confined spaces, asbestos-related tasks, and work at height.  

 A PTW isn’t a tick-box “sign here” activity; it's a supervisor confirming that hazards and controls are understood before work starts. 

Case Study: UK Chemical Plant Contractor Incident

A contractor was erecting scaffolding without a PTW or formal safety control. He slipped into a trough of corrosive chemicals and later died from his injuries. The company was fined over £1 million. Inspectors stated that insufficient thought to risk and permits was a key failure.  

Why this matters to schools: You don’t need an industrial site to get hurt, as the same principles apply on a school campus. Even if the work is “simple,” without clear risk control and authorisation, it can lead to serious harm. 

Where Permits to Work Can Go Wrong

Common Mistakes 

❌ Treated as tick-box paperwork 
❌ Not linked to real hazard controls 
❌ Issued retrospectively 
❌ No understanding of what controls they authorise 

If a permit is signed after the work happened, there is no protection at all — it’s just paperwork.

Clarifying roles: 

• Ideally authorised by a trained person in managing contractors, e.g., Site Manager or SBM 

• Ideally reviewed by the person accountable 

• Always closed out properly 

This reframes authority as active risk control, not a chore. 

Poll 3

Next Steps

The next step is to review your managing contractor’s policy or check your latest H&S audit for details on these systems:

1. Review your contractor management policy
2. Check how your audit assesses this area
3. Ensure your PTWs match real controls 

Key Takeaways 

1. Contractors manage work — schools manage risk control
2. Permits to Work = authorisation + control, not bureaucracy. Without clearly authorised controls, assumptions become exposures.
3. Schools and MATs don’t need to be technical experts, but do need to be confident risk controllers

Judicium Education can help... 

Our combined Facilities Management Services ensure the pupils in your care have a place of learning that is safe, compliant and a pleasant place to be.

Judicium Education’s Facilities Management Service is designed to support schools, firstly, in ensuring a safe working and learning environment, secondly, in complying with the legal requirements. For more information, please visit here.

If you require any support in any of these steps or would like to talk to someone about some support for your school or trust, please do not hesitate to call us on 0207 336 8403 or email enquiries@judicium.com

If you’d like to review Judicium’s forthcoming sofa sessions, please click here.

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