Tree surveys and risk assessments for schools

AWA Trees: School Sites 2018

Trees in school grounds create inspiring learning spaces. In urban areas, trees in schools are often the main way young people connect with nature in their day-to-day lives. Trees do a lot more than make the school look pleasant, it’s even been shown in studies that students learn better with views of trees!

The overall risk from trees to students, staff and visitors at schools is extremely low. Trees cause very few serious injuries; however, as the owner of trees, schools have a legal responsibility as dangerous, poorly managed trees can occasionally result in tragic consequences, which schools could be held liable for.

In recent years many school and colleges have been released from local authority control for services such as tree risk assessments. These were often previously undertaken by local authority tree surveyors, yet local authorities are often not able to provide this type of service. As a result, there has been a steady increase for AWA Tree Consultants working with schools of all sizes across  Yorkshire and the surrounding regions of Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and beyond. The map above shows a selection of school sites we have recently helped with tree risk surveys. From tree surveys at larger academy trusts as well as smaller schools, we have a proven track record, regularly inspecting many thousands of trees in schools around the region.

Schools have a legal duty of care to take a balanced and proportionate approach to tree safety. A tree that could cause harm if it fell must be systematically inspected by a competent person and managed to keep risks low. We take this responsibility very seriously and all our tree surveys are undertaken by experienced and qualified arboriculturists, who work with our school clients to ensure they are able to meet their duty of care towards tree risk.

If you are responsible for a school site and concerned about your duty of care about risks from falling trees, our expert arboriculturists can help. We provide clear accurate tree reports and plans, using enhanced GPS technology to accurately plot trees for easy identification on site. Our reports include easy to read schedules of work for tree contractors and managers, to help them understand the value of their tree resource and understand what needs doing when, to keep risks to a minimum in the most cost-effective way.