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Introductory techniques
Risk assessment is a technique students need to understand and be able to action and answer questions about in their fieldwork section of the GCSE exam.
Giving them practical experience of doing this themselves in a relatively safe environment prior to a physical or human fieldwork enquiry helps to embed this skill and prepare them for their fieldwork experience.
Starter discussion in class should cover the key terms. This could be a card sort activity.
Hazard | anything that has the potential to cause harm or injury |
Risk | the likelihood of the hazard occurring and the severity of the potential harm caused |
Benefit | the possible positive outcomes of having taken a risk |
Control measures | the practical mitigation measures put in place to reduce either likelihood and or severity of the risk |
Assessing risk
Students complete a hazard ID survey around the school grounds; different groups of students can be given different sections of the hazard ID form or different areas of the school grounds.
This template is a good starting point, but students can add their own categories.
HAZARD / SOURCE OF HAZARD | Y / N | Examples of Hazards if present | Control measures |
Slips e.g. slippery surfaces |
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Trips e.g. uneven surfaces |
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Bumps e.g. obstacles |
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Cuts and scrapes e.g. sharps |
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Falls e.g. from/into/onto |
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Water e.g streams, ponds, tidal, flooding |
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Carrying objects – e.g. equipment |
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Traffic e.g. Vehicles – cars, roads |
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Environment e.g. Bacteria, Trees |
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Animals e.g. dogs |
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Contact with strangers |
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Weather e.g. lack of shelter |
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Students then use the matrix below adapted from HSE risk matrix to assess the risks of the hazards identified in the outdoor hazard ID for a particular scenario or activity.
They are assessing risk considering the control measures that have been suggested above. You can use your own scenarios or pick one of the other spiralised techniques such as water, trees, maps to use as an example.
Students complete the table below for a particular scenario in a particular area of the school grounds.
Try to get them to consider which hazards are the most realistic and likely to cause harm. See example below.
Scenario | Hazard | Risk before controls | Control measures | Risk after controls |
Measuring pond health | Bacterial infection | D3 | Wash hands after activity, do not put hands in both, antibac gel available | A3 |
Deep water | C4 | Identify boundaries, have safety device handy, keep to ankle depth | A2 |
The Geographical Association (GA) has worked closely with the Field Studies Council (FSC) to develop these resources.
