UCA is regularly involved in organising and attending events throughout the academic year. Events are either held within University premises or at external venues. The range of events will differ in size and scale, but all require due planning and consideration.
Events could include (held at any venue, either on Campus or at an external location):
The size and nature of your event will determine how far in advance you need to start planning your event. You should allow enough time to obtain specialist advice (if required), carry out risk assessments, consult third parties, and secure approval for the event. For larger events you may also have to allow time to liaise with statutory authorities (e.g. police, fire and ambulance services and local authority)
An ‘Event Manager’ shall be appointed for each event. In most cases this will be the key person who is organising the event, the ‘Event Manager’ will be required to complete the UCA General Events Risk Assessment. The contents of this document must be completed in liaison with the Estates’ & Facilities’ Department when the event is being held on University premises.
Step 1
Complete this Minor Events Assessment
Step 2
Email notification to the following:
Catering Manager: sdickson@uca.ac.uk
Facilities Manager: Estates.Helpdesk@uca.ac.uk
Health & Safety: healthandsafety@uca.ac.uk
Step 3
To get the event signed off:
Step 4
Contact timetable@uca.ac.uk
Step 1
Complete this General Events Risk Assessment
Step 2
Email notification to the following:
Catering Manager: sdickson@uca.ac.uk
Facilities Manager: Estates.Helpdesk@uca.ac.uk
Health & Safety: healthandsafety@uca.ac.uk
Step 3
To get the event signed off:
Step 4
Contact timetable@uca.ac.uk
You will need to carry out a risk assessment for your event to ensure that hazards have been identified and suitable control measures are in place. The level of detail required in the risk assessment will depend on the size and activities that are part of the event.
Please see the Health and safety intranet section on risk assessment for more detail.
You may need to apply for a temporary events notice from the local council. It is your responsibility to ensure that any required licenses and permits are applied for. Your event must not go ahead unless these are in place.
You should have plans in place to deal with emergencies that might occur at your event. Clear roles and responsibilities should be in place together with plans for how communications will be managed if there is an emergency.
Depending on the event, emergencies might include:
Emergency arrangements including first aid and fire must be determined prior to the event, particularly where large numbers of public visitors are anticipated. The site or event area should be checked prior to the event commencement to ensure it is free from hazards.
Consideration should be given to event set-up and clearance, activities such as working at height should be controlled. Sufficient resource and equipment should be available to ensure safe assembly of display boards, art work or any other exhibits.
You must ask any contractors involved with your event for written evidence that they hold their own Public Liability insurance. Insurance should be for a minimum limit of indemnity of £10m for any one claim with a company registered with the Financial Conduct Authority and be valid for the date(s) the event is planned.
Please contact the Insurance team for further advice.
If you are considering closing a road for your event, ensure that you apply to the Local Authority at least 8 weeks in advance.
Toilets: you must provide an adequate number of toilets/hand washing facilities for the number of people expected at the event. Depending on the size and location of your event, this may be by using existing University facilities or sourcing more.
Waste: you are responsible for clearing the site of rubbish after your event. You will also need to provide an adequate number of bins. Contact the Sustainability team for guidance on disposal of and recycling waste from your event.
Lighting: ensure there is suitable lighting throughout the site, including lighting if the event will go on after dark.
Stewards: you will need to provide enough stewards for the size and nature of your event who must be adequately trained in their roles and responsibilities.
The first-aid provision will be determined by the event risk assessment and should be suitable for the number of people expected to attend and for the risks associated with the event.
Details on the amount of first aid cover required can be found in the Health and Safety Executives (HSE) Events Safety Guide.
A list of trained first aiders can be found in the first aid section of the intranet as well as the ‘Emergency’ section of the intranet.
According Managing crowds
For larger events, your risk assessment may find that control measures to effectively manage crowds are needed. These might include using barriers, stewards, or signage etc. Further detail can be found in the HSE’s events guidance.
Consider if there are any slip, trip or fall risks associated with your event. This might be from uneven surfaces, weather conditions or trailing cables. Make sure enough measures are in place to control these risks.
If your event is outside, it is advisable to provide equipment such as fire extinguishers or fire blankets for putting out small fires throughout the site. Fire extinguishers should only be used by people who have taken the training and only then in the event of a small fire. Everyone with responsibilities at the event should be told not to fight major fires and wait for firefighters.
Marquees, tents, gazebos, and similar structures must be inherently fire retardant and meet BS7157 or equivalent. All materials, panels and liners should have a label or certificate affixed confirming this.
Please see the Fire section of the health and safety intranet for more information on fire safety.
You should consider if:
the site will be suitable in all weathers and that any staging/structures will be safe in adverse weather conditions,
there is no trip, slip or other similar hazards to the public,
wet or windy weather will not cause any other added hazards,
obvious hazards on both the site and surrounding areas are safe, such as overhead power lines, stored chemicals or machinery, unfenced holes, steep drops between different ground levels and dangerous structures that the participants should be kept away from using barriers/fencing,
vehicles and pedestrians are kept segregated as far as possible with separate entrances/exits to the site and arrange entrance queues that don’t obstruct vehicle access or nearby road or pavement junctions.
Event organisers should ensure any electrical installations and appliances are safe. Please speak to the Estates and Facilities team for more support.
Food prepared or offered as part of the event must meet food hygiene and safety requirements. Individuals preparing food must be suitability trained supervised or instructed and advice from the University’s Catering team should be followed.
The following key areas of risk must be adequately managed and considered as part of the event risk assessment (if applicable):
Allergies (food hypersensitivities): information on ingredients should be made available whether made by the organisers or sourced from a third party. This might be from the packaging if you have bought food from a third-party company, or a list of ingredients for each item if you have made them for the event. Please also ensure signage is available advising customers to ask for more information if they have a food allergy.
Cross contamination: where harmful bacteria is transferred to food (most commonly from contaminated surfaces, utensils, hands, or raw food).
microbial growth: some food requires refrigeration or hot holding to prevent harmful bacteria from growing. Food may also be at risk if it is past its use by date.
The most common types of foods offered at events are:
Charity cake sales: please see the specific advice from the Food Standards Agency: Please avoid offering high risk food (requiring hot holding or refrigeration) as it is much more difficult to control the risks.
Barbeques: it is strongly recommended that an approved caterer is used when organising barbeques. There are a range of cross contamination, allergy and temperature control risks associated with barbeques which are best managed by an approved caterer with suitably trained staff.
Third party providers: ensure only approved third party food companies are used. These suppliers have all been vetted and have adequate food safety management systems in place.
General information on food safety can be obtained from the Food Standards Agency.
If inflatables are being used as part of the event, follow the HSE’s guidance: Bouncy castles and other play inflatables: safety advice (hse.gov.uk).