Tree Safety on School Sites

The HSE have highlighted the importance of ensuring those responsible for school premises have effective systems in place to manage trees on their sites, particularly those in areas frequently accessed by pupils, staff and the public.

• Consider the risks presented by any trees on the school site/that they are responsible for;

• Ensure a competent person identifies and prioritises trees accordingly using a zoning system (for example, trees in areas likely to be frequently accessed by pupils, staff or visitors should be allocated to zone 1 with trees in less frequently accessed areas placed in zone 2); and

• Put in place effective monitoring to ensure that arrangements are communicated and implemented in practice.

Management

Informed by risk assessment, duty holders must compose a reasonable, cost effective and balanced approach to tree safety, covering control measures and strategy. Although it does not necessarily need to be committed to record, it is deemed good practice to document management approaches clearly for guidance and evidence. The NTSG advise it to cover three essential aspects:

• Zoning: Appreciating tree stock in relation to people or property. Zoning is a practice whereby landowners and managers define areas of land according to levels of use. This practice prioritises the most used areas, and by doing so contributes to a cost-effective approach to tree inspection, focusing resources where most needed;

• Tree inspection: Assessing obvious tree defects in a way that is appropriate to the level of risk; and

• Managing risk at an acceptable level: identifying, prioritising and undertaking safety work according to level of risk.

What Should Schools Do?

Newcastle City Council was fined £280,000 after the death of a six-year-old girl who was hit by a falling tree in her school playground.

Ella Henderson was playing with friends at Gosforth Park First School in Newcastle upon Tyne on 25 September 2020 when a decaying willow tree collapsed. She was taken to hospital by emergency services and died the following morning.

Several other children were hit by the falling tree but managed to escape, some with superficial injuries. An investigation by the HSE found the tree had decayed and was in a poor condition.

Newcastle City Council had failed to identify the extent of the decay or to manage the risk posed by the tree.

Council Fined £280,000

RESOURCES

PR64 The Safe Management of Trees

HSE: Management of the Risk From Falling Trees or Branches

Who is a Competent Person?

A competent person should have relevant training, skills, experience and knowledge. There are training courses available regarding the identification of tree defects from many providers, notably the Arboricultural Association (recommended by the HSE) which offers different levels of tree inspection training.

The competent person for trees on your site should undertake inspections of trees to identify any defects such as disease or structural integrity. These inspections can range from a light touch visual inspection to a more detailed formal inspection by a specialist. The type of required inspection will vary based on the tree's location or which zone it is in, and any prior indication of structural instability or disease.

Where defects have been identified by a competent person, but a decision is made to preserve any tree that presents a risk, a tree management plan should be put in place and regularly reviewed as required, for example if the tree's condition worsens because of damage, disease or adverse weather.

Where checks reveal defects that are outside the experience and knowledge of the person carrying them out, a system should be in place for obtaining specialist assistance and/or remedial action.

Legislation and Responsibilities

Under civil and criminal law structures, the owner of the land, or duty holder, must manage the health and safety aspects of the growth of trees on their land and can face litigation for incidents involving said trees on the basis of negligence and breach of duty of care. Due to the accident occurring on the land of the duty holder they are liable under the occupiers’ liability acts of 1957 or 1984. This encompasses the wellbeing of visitors and trespassers, in addition to everyday users of the site.

The duty holder is beholden to their duty to reduce the health and safety risks for those on site to the lowest level reasonably practicable, in accordance with the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. Reasonably practicable will be dictated by risk assessment and the unique circumstances of the setting.

The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require employers, and self-employed persons to “make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to the health and safety of persons not in his employment arising out of or in connection with the conduct by him of his undertaking”. This will be achieved by conducting a risk assessment of the trees on site, identifying hazards, exploring the likelihood of potential events or consequences occurring and imposing controls in light of these findings.

Other legislation relevant to the management of trees include:

• The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, for those members of the public using school property;

• The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, for when the wellbeing of an animal is tied in with tree safety; and

• Legislation relating to Sites of Special Scientific Interest, planning issues and Tree Preservation Orders