Free Control of Contractor Checklist included at the end of this post 🦺

Using contractors in your school can be essential—whether it’s filling gaps in skills, managing larger projects, or handling specialist tasks. From a six-month building project to someone cleaning the windows, having a clear process to manage contractors onsite is a key part of your Health and Safety Management Plan. Some schools choose to supervise all contractors at all times, but this can be time-consuming and impractical—especially for long-term work. A streamlined, risk-based process for controlling contractors helps ensure safety, saves time, and keeps you compliant. Here’s what you need to consider:

1. Contractor Selection

Before a contractor steps foot on site you need to ensure you’ve completed proper due diligence, asking questions like:

• Do they have appropriate insurance?
• Have they provided risk assessments?
• Are DBS checks in place if needed?

 

There’s no single checklist that fits every job—it depends on the task and the risk involved. However, using contractors who regularly work in school environments, hold enhanced DBS checks and high safety standards, may reduce the level of supervision needed.

By formalising your selection process (e.g. with a contractor approval form or checklist), you create a clear record of your checks and reduce the risk of anything being overlooked.

2. Duty of Care

You have a legal and moral duty of care to your contractors. They don’t know your site as well as you do, so you must share relevant risks. There is a lot of information you may need to tell them like:

• Where is the asbestos?
• Are there fragile roofs or areas under maintenance?
• Will other work be taking place nearby?

 

You should also confirm that the contractor has completed their own risk assessments. You’re not expected to analyse their controls in depth—but you should be confident they’ve gone through a proper process to identify and manage risks.

3. Safeguarding Students and Staff

Set clear expectations before work begins considering things like:

• Where can the contractor go (and not go)?
• How should they behave while onsite?
• Are any “hot works” involved?

 

Contractors experienced in working on school sites will understand that things like swearing or walking around shirtless are not acceptable—but they won’t know your specific site or students. Clear early communication protects your students, staff, and the contractor themselves.

4. Monitoring and Communication

Make sure everyone understands:

• How work will be monitored?
• How issues or incidents will be reported?
• Who the emergency contacts are on both sides?

 

For short jobs, on-the-spot supervision may be enough. For longer-term projects, build in scheduled reviews or walkarounds. This helps track progress, manage near misses, and ensure value for money.

5. Tailoring the Process

Contractor management doesn’t have to be a paperwork-heavy burden. For example:

• A window cleaner might just confirm they’ve completed risk assessments, sign a simple code of conduct, and be supervised while onsite.
• A grounds maintenance team visiting regularly might go through a more detailed induction but only sign off once a year, rather than every visit.

 

The key is creating a system that works for your school—proportionate, practical, and consistent.

Your Free Contractor Control Checklist

To help schools put these ideas into practice, we’ve created a SchoolPro Safety – Free Control of Contractors Checklist. It’s designed to be adapted to suit your setting—delete what doesn’t apply, simplify where you can, and use it to build a process that supports your team and keeps your school compliant.

Our team is here to help. If you have any other questions about this or any other topic, please contact us at contact@schoolpro.uk

Stay safe and healthy,

The SchoolPro TLC Team

SchoolPro TLC Ltd (2025)
SchoolPro TLC guidance does not constitute legal advice.
SchoolPro TLC is not responsible for the content of external websites.