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Are Schools Required to Test Floor Slip Resistance?
As far as we know, there is no rule that specifically requires schools to test floor slip resistance at a set frequency. But schools do have a general legal duty to manage risks to pupils, staff and visitors so far as is reasonably practicable, and floors are part of that. Testing is one of the clearest ways to show you have taken reasonable steps. This is general information, not legal advice, so check what applies to your school.
The short why
The duty is not to prevent every accident. It is to take proportionate steps to manage the risks you can reasonably foresee. A slippery floor in a busy corridor or canteen is foreseeable. If a slip is ever questioned, the key question is what you knew about the floor and what you did about it. Measured data answers that question. An empty accident book does not.
What does the law generally expect of schools?
The main duties apply across workplaces, schools included. They are usually shared between the employer, which might be a local authority, trust or governing body, and whoever manages the site day to day. In broad terms:
- Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974: look after the health and safety of employees, and of others affected by the work, such as pupils and visitors, so far as is reasonably practicable
- Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999: assess the risks and act on what you find
- Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992: floors and traffic routes should be suitable for their use and should not be slippery enough to put people at risk
None of these names a testing frequency. They set the standard, and leave it to you to show how you meet it.
Why isn’t a quiet accident book enough?
This is the belief worth challenging directly. No incidents does not mean no problem. Most slips go unreported, and near misses are the real warning sign. A pupil who slips in a corridor, catches themselves and carries on to a lesson will never appear in your records.
An accident book only shows what has already gone wrong, and only when someone wrote it down. It cannot show you how much grip your floors have. Grip is invisible, and a corridor can look spotless and dry while still having poor slip resistance, particularly where years of footfall have worn it smooth.
How does testing help a school show it has taken reasonable steps?
The pendulum test is the method preferred by the HSE and relied on in UK slip litigation. It produces a Pendulum Test Value (PTV), and a PTV of 36 or above is generally regarded as low slip potential. Below that, risk rises as the number falls.
Dated readings give you evidence that you looked, and that you acted where a reading fell short. An insurance claims lawyer who appeared on our podcast said that if you have compliant slip test data, you should expect to defend a claim, even where the floor was wet and the person was genuinely hurt. That is one lawyer’s view, not a guarantee, and every case turns on its own facts. But it shows why measured evidence matters.
Which areas of a school should be tested first?
You do not need to test every square metre. Focus on the zones most likely to be wet or contaminated, using the CHIMES framework to think about what drives risk in each:
- Entrances and lobbies: wet weather meets indoor flooring
- Canteens, dining halls and kitchens: spills, food and cleaning residue
- Toilets, washrooms, PE changing rooms and showers: water on the floor by design
- Corridors and stairs on wet days: heavy footfall at busy transition times
- Sports halls and swimming pool surrounds, where you have them
A dry classroom floor that will never get wet is a low priority. Testing should usually be done wet as well as dry, in the zones that are likely to get wet.
What to do about it
Ask your estates or health and safety adviser what slip testing, if any, has been done, and when. List your wettest and busiest zones, and find out whether each has a recent, dated PTV reading, taken wet. Where there is none, treat that as the first gap to close.
Where a zone tests poorly, you do not always need to replace the floor. In many cases, the surface can be treated to improve its grip, or the cleaning approach adjusted. Slip Safety Services has found that organisations who measure first and then act on what they find see a 57%+ average reduction in slip incidents, because the effort goes where the real risk sits.
Next step
If you are not sure whether your school’s floors have ever been properly assessed, the Slip Prevention Scorecard takes under four minutes per building and gives you a clear starting point. For the fuller method behind measuring, improving and proving floor grip, Slipology by Christian Harris covers the process in depth.
Related questions
- Why are school canteen floors often slippery?
- How can schools reduce slip risk on a limited budget?
- Why are school corridors and canteens slip hotspots?
- What is a safe PTV (pendulum test value)?