COSHH, CLEAPSS and HSE Guidance for Schools and Colleges

Question: What do COSHH, CLEAPSS and HSE guidance actually require from schools and colleges when you use, store, decant or clean up hazardous substances?

Solution: Treat COSHH as the legal framework, use HSE as the authoritative regulator guidance, and apply CLEAPSS as the practical, education-specific interpretation (especially for science, D&T, art and facilities teams). This page explains how to translate COSHH duties into day-to-day spill management, storage, bunding, drain protection and incident readiness across education sites.

COSHH in education: what problem does it solve?

Question: Why does COSHH matter in a school or college?

Solution: COSHH (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health) aims to prevent harm to staff, students and visitors from hazardous substances used in teaching and premises operations. In education this commonly includes lab reagents, cleaning chemicals, paints and solvents, adhesives, fuels, oils, coolants, pool chemicals, pesticides, aerosols and maintenance products. COSHH requires you to identify hazardous substances, assess exposure risk, put controls in place, train users, plan for foreseeable incidents (including spills), and review arrangements.

Core reference: the HSE COSHH topic hub and guidance, including the COSHH essentials approach and risk assessment expectations. See: HSE COSHH.

CLEAPSS and HSE: who should you follow and when?

Question: If we already use CLEAPSS, do we still need to follow HSE guidance?

Solution: Yes. HSE sets the legal expectations and publishes regulator guidance. CLEAPSS provides education-specific model risk assessments, safe working practices and practical controls that help schools meet those expectations in teaching environments. You should use both: HSE for legal and enforcement alignment, and CLEAPSS for classroom and technician-level detail, especially where small quantities and frequent handling create unique exposure and spill risks.

Where a school or college uses local authority, MAT or insurer policies, those should be aligned with COSHH duties and not conflict with HSE expectations.

COSHH risk assessment: how do we make it usable, not paperwork?

Question: What does a good COSHH assessment look like for a busy school?

Solution: A usable COSHH assessment links the substance, task and location to clear controls. It should be short enough to be read before the task, but specific enough to be acted on. In education, it should explicitly cover predictable spill scenarios such as breakages, decanting errors, knocked-over containers, leaks from plant rooms, and cleaning chemical mixing mistakes.

Practical checklist for a spill-ready COSHH assessment:

• Identify the substance and hazard classification (from SDS), including health and environmental hazards.
• Define tasks (use, decant, transport between rooms, storage, disposal, cleaning up).
• Who is exposed (technicians, caretakers, cleaners, teachers, students, contractors).
• Routes of exposure (inhalation, skin/eye contact, ingestion, injection, slip risk).
• Controls: substitution, reduced quantities, ventilation, segregation, bunding, drip trays, PPE, spill kits, and access control.
• Emergency actions: isolate area, stop leak if safe, protect drains, deploy spill kit, bag waste, report and record.
• Competence and training: who is authorised to handle and clean up, and what training is required.
• Inspection and review: termly checks on storage, spill kits, and any incident-driven updates.

Reference for risk assessment expectations and control principles: HSE risk assessment and HSE COSHH.

Spill management under COSHH: what should we have in place?

Question: What controls do COSHH and HSE expect for spills in schools and colleges?

Solution: If a spill is foreseeable, you must plan for it. In practice that means:

• Correct spill kit selection (general purpose, oil only, chemical) matched to the substances on site.
• Right locations (science prep rooms, chemical stores, D&T workshops, caretaker stores, plant rooms, loading bays, bin stores, kitchens, art rooms).
• Drain protection to prevent pollutants entering surface water drains (a key environmental risk in education estates).
• Bunds and drip trays for stored liquids to reduce leak spread and simplify clean-up.
• Clear spill response steps posted locally: raise alarm, isolate, PPE, stop source, contain, absorb, dispose, report.
• Waste handling arrangements for used absorbents and contaminated PPE (label, bag, store safely pending disposal).

For practical spill management in schools and colleges, see our guidance: Spill Management in Educational Institutions.

Drain protection and environmental compliance: why is this part of COSHH planning?

Question: COSHH is about health. Why should we focus on drains and pollution control?

Solution: A spill can create both health risk (vapours, burns, slips) and environmental harm (pollution to drains and watercourses). HSE expects you to control risks created by hazardous substances, including emergency arrangements. For education sites, the fastest route for a chemical or oily spill to become a serious incident is via a nearby drain or gully. Drain protection is a high-value control: it reduces clean-up complexity, reduces potential legal exposure, and protects reputation.

Recommended practical controls include drain covers, drain mats, drain seals and spill socks positioned near external doors, yards and known drainage points, supported by staff training so the control is used early in a response.

Storage, segregation and bunding: what does good look like in a school?

Question: How do we store hazardous liquids to reduce COSHH risk and prevent spills?

Solution: Good storage is the simplest spill prevention measure. Apply these controls:

• Segregate incompatibles (for example, acids away from alkalis; oxidisers away from fuels/solvents; chlorine donors away from acids) based on SDS and CLEAPSS advice.
• Use bunded storage for liquids in stores, plant rooms and delivery areas, so leaks are contained.
• Use drip trays under frequently handled containers (decant points, dosing areas, plant items) to capture small leaks and drips.
• Reduce quantities at point of use and keep bulk stock in controlled stores.
• Label clearly and keep SDS accessible for caretakers, technicians and cleaners.

Where schools host contractors, align your storage and spill response arrangements with contractor RAMS and site rules so responsibilities are clear.

PPE, first aid and emergency actions: what should staff do first?

Question: What is the safest first response to a hazardous spill?

Solution: Your spill response must be simple and rehearsed. A typical school approach is:

1. Stop and assess: what has spilled, how much, and are fumes or burns likely?
2. Keep people away: isolate the area and stop students entering.
3. Check ventilation and avoid breathing vapours.
4. Use PPE stated in the COSHH assessment and SDS (commonly gloves and eye protection as a minimum).
5. Stop the source if safe (upright container, close valve).
6. Protect drains immediately if there is any risk of run-off.
7. Contain then absorb using the correct spill kit media.
8. Bag, label and store waste safely for disposal.
9. Report and review so the COSHH assessment and controls improve.

For workplaces, HSE also expects emergency procedures to be proportionate and communicated to staff. Reference: HSE COSHH.

Spill kit selection in education: which kit for which risk?

Question: Should a school buy one type of spill kit or several?

Solution: Most education sites benefit from a mixed approach, because spill risks differ by area:

• Chemical spill kits for science departments, prep rooms, chemical stores, art/print areas, and anywhere acids/alkalis/solvents are handled.
• Oil-only spill kits for boiler houses, generator areas, maintenance workshops, deliveries, and car parks where oils and fuels are plausible.
• General purpose spill kits for caretaking stores and cleaning cupboards where mixed, non-aggressive liquids are more typical (still confirm compatibility).

Position kits where they are used, not where they are stored. A spill kit locked in a distant store is a compliance gap and a practical failure.

Internal links for practical products and controls: Spill Kits, Drip Trays, Bunding, Drain Protection, and Absorbents.

Training and competence: who can clean up what?

Question: Can any staff member clean up a spill?

Solution: Not always. COSHH requires that those who use hazardous substances are provided with information, instruction and training appropriate to the risks. In schools, it is common to define thresholds:

• Minor spills of known, low-risk materials can be handled by trained staff using a spill kit and PPE.
• Higher risk spills (unknown substance, significant quantity, strong acids/alkalis, volatile solvents, mercury, or any spill with fumes) should trigger isolation and escalation to the competent person, and may require specialist support.

Build this into your COSHH assessments and departmental procedures so staff do not improvise under pressure.

Site examples: where COSHH spill planning is often weakest

Question: Where do schools and colleges typically get caught out?

Solution: These are common gaps seen across education estates:

• Cleaning chemical decanting done without drip trays, without labels, or with incompatible products stored together.
• External yards with open gullies and no drain covers available near delivery points.
• Plant rooms with oils and dosing chemicals stored without bunding and no local spill kit.
• Science prep areas where spill kit contents are incomplete or not replaced after use.
• Contractor work where spill responsibility is unclear and site spill controls are not briefed at induction.

Each gap has a simple control: local spill kit placement, bunding/drip trays, drain protection, and clear escalation steps supported by training.

Audit and review: how do we prove COSHH spill readiness?

Question: What evidence should we keep for COSHH and spill control compliance?

Solution: Keep records that demonstrate control implementation and ongoing maintenance:

• COSHH assessments linked to departments and substances, with review dates.
• Inventory and SDS access arrangements.
• Spill kit inspection logs (contents complete, in date where applicable, easy access).
• Training records (caretakers, technicians, cleaners, relevant teaching staff).
• Incident and near-miss reports with corrective actions.

Reference: HSE COSHH guidance and general risk assessment expectations: https://www.hse.gov.uk/coshh/ and https://www.hse.gov.uk/risk/.

Need help aligning COSHH with spill control on your site?

Question: How do we choose spill control equipment that matches our COSHH assessments?

Solution: Map your substances and locations (science, site team stores, plant, external yards) to the right spill kit types, bunding/drip trays and drain protection. Then set inspection and training routines so equipment is usable when needed. Use our education spill management guide for planning and placement: Spill Management in Educational Institutions.