Health, Safety and Risk Management in Physical Activity
Health, safety and risk management covers legal and professional duties, risk assessment, emergency planning and injury prevention in physical activity. The exam tests whether you can identify hazards, control risk proportionately and respond correctly when something goes wrong.
Core rules
- Risk assessment: identify hazard, decide who may be harmed, evaluate likelihood × severity, record controls, review. Controls follow the hierarchy: eliminate, substitute, engineer, administer, PPE.
- Duty of care: adequate supervision, suitable equipment, safe facilities, informed consent, qualified staff, safeguarding and insurance.
- Emergency action plan: access, alert, assess, airway/breathing/circulation, CPR/AED, immobilise suspected spinal injury, record and review.
- Injury prevention: screening (e.g., PAR-Q), warm-up, progressive loading, technique coaching, hydration, appropriate footwear and environmental checks.
Worked example
A school hall session has a loose floorboard and wet entrance. Reasoning: likelihood of a fall is moderate, severity could be serious, so risk is high. Eliminate by cordoning the area and repairing the board; administer by scheduling cleaning before sessions; supervise the entrance. Record the decision and review. If a student falls and hits their head, remove from play, monitor for concussion signs and follow return-to-play guidance.
Traps
- Writing “be careful” instead of a specific hazard and control.
- Treating RICE as a complete return-to-play decision; medical clearance matters.
- Allowing same-day return after suspected concussion.
- Ignoring environmental risks such as heat, lightning or poor lighting.