School Caretakers: what are your legal obligations?

With the start of a new term, school Health and Safety should always be the top priority. Not only should we be thinking about the welfare of students, but our compliance and legal obligations as School Caretakers. 

The first place to start is a safety inspection. This will comprise a check of your gas appliances to ensure they meet the latest safety standards. 

Your gas safety inspection will involve a visit from an engineer. Our highly trained teams are checking your appliances for: 

• Gas tightness 
• Standing and working pressure 
• Burner pressure or gas rate 
• Ventilation and safety devices 
• Stability (for example, that the boiler is properly fixed in place). 

Your engineer will also remove any build-up from the flue flow, and report any irregularities. 

In a caretaker role, it is essential to look after the school staff and students’ safety. This effectively gives you the same duties as a landlord when considering appliance safety. As such, a Landlord Certificate can help you to remain compliant. 

This involves a yearly inspection of your appliances. After your check has been completed, you will receive a Landlord Certificate (formerly a CP12 certificate). A CP12 outlines all the checks that have been carried out as above.  

You should be ready to show this to anybody who asks. In addition to the checks ticked off, the certificate will also show: 

• The date of the inspection 
• The name, ID number and signature of our registered engineers 
• Your school name and address 
• Your name as Caretaker 
• Information about gas appliances and flues 
• Recommendations or follow-ups 
• Confirmation that the legal requirements have been met and a date for next year’s inspection. 

At Bensons, we offer a number of Health and Safety checks to ensure you start the school year right. Beyond our standard Landlord Certificates, we can also offer plantroom equipment inspections, looking at water testing, water treatments, pumps and pressurisation units, expansion vessels, water tanks, valves, and pipework.  

If required, you can also commission a carbon monoxide check – ideal for assuring Health and Safety before the start of term. You can even save costs with a combustion and efficiency analysis, making sure your boiler is running at its optimum rate. 

If you’re a Caretaker, now is the time to book your gas safety inspections. Contact our qualified teams today to get started.