School visits at Wakehurst - Health & Safety

1. Advice on health and safety requirements for unassisted visits

Please be aware of the following:

• This is a working Garden and as such there are a large horticultural machines operating in the Garden.
• Adequate numbers of adults to pupils are required.
• Unattended horticultural equipment can be dangerous to students.
• Warning and "no entry" signs must be observed.
• There are several areas of deep water.
• Due to the toxic or irritant properties of some plants, they should not be touched or eaten.
• Medication (e.g. for asthma) must be carried at all times.
• Make good use of hand washing facilities in the toilets before eating.
• Some leaves have sharp tips or edges.

Adult to student ratios on unassisted visits:

We recommend pupils are accompanied by adults in the following ratios:

• SENs - 1:1
• Reception - 1:2
• Key Stage 1 - 1:5
• Key Stage 2 - 1:8
• Key Stage 3 - 1:10
• Key Stage 4 - 1:10

We require a minimum supervision ratio of 1 adult to 10 pupils.

2. Advice on health and safety requirements for assisted visits

Please be aware of the following:

• This is a working Garden and as such, large horticultural machines operate in the Garden.
• Adequate numbers of adults to pupils are required.
• Unattended horticultural equipment can be dangerous to children.
• Warning and "no entry" signs must be observed.
• There are several areas of deep water.
• Due to the toxic or irritant properties of some plants, they should not be touched or eaten.
• Medication (e.g. for asthma) must be carried at all times.
• Make good use of hand washing facilities in the toilets before eating.
• Some leaves have sharp tips or edge.

Adult to student ratios on assisted visits

We recommend pupils are accompanied by adults in the following ratios:

• SENs - 1:1
• Foundation Stage - 1:2
• Key Stage 1 - 1:5
• Key Stage 2 - 1:8
• Key Stage 3 - 1:10
• Key Stage 4 - 1:10

We require a minimum supervision ratio of 1 adult to 10 pupils.

Risk assessments for the visit and for individual workshops are discussed at the planning meeting. Wakehurst has a generic risk assessment for all visiting school groups, which can be downloaded here:

• Risk Assessment (pdf).