Level 1 Health & Safety Group Course

Description

Who this course is for

Everyone. Level 1 is deliberately broad, and it is aimed at the whole workforce rather than at the people who manage safety. New starters, seasonal staff, agency workers, anyone who has never had formal health and safety training, and anyone whose induction consisted of being handed a folder.

If you need someone to understand risk assessment properly, or to supervise others, Level 1 is not deep enough. That is Level 2, and for the person who writes the assessments, Level 3 Risk Assessment.

What the course covers

• Why health and safety matters, and the part each person plays in it
• The range of hazards and risks found in a workplace
• Workplace conditions that affect health and safety
• Requirements on reporting, first aid, personal protective equipment and personal hygiene

Three hours is short by design. The aim is that everyone leaves able to recognise a hazard, knows what to do about it and knows who to tell, which is the foundation everything else is built on.

How you are assessed

A 15-question multiple choice paper, half an hour, under exam conditions. Ten correct answers is a pass. It is a fair test of whether the three hours landed, not a trap.

Your certificate

A certificate valid for three years. The awarding organisation is named on it, and if you want to know which body sits behind the qualification before you book, ask us. We explain the difference between a regulated qualification and a certificate a training company has printed for itself in how to check a qualification is accredited.

How the group course works

This one runs at your premises as a group course rather than as open places, which suits it: three hours is easy to fit around a shift, and training your whole team together is the point.

The course takes up to 16 people, and a minimum of 12 places is chargeable. So if you book 16 and 12 turn up you are refunded the four unused places, but if only eight attend you are still charged for 12. In practice that means it is worth filling the room. Adding the people who are “probably due it anyway” costs nothing up to 12.

Where this sits in the wider picture

Awareness training is not a substitute for actually assessing your risks. The legal duty under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 is a suitable and sufficient risk assessment, recorded in writing once you have five or more employees. Level 1 helps your staff recognise what the assessment is talking about. It does not produce the assessment.

We set out how the two fit together in workplace risk assessment.

Frequently asked questions

How long is a Level 1 Health and Safety course?

Three hours of training, excluding breaks, followed by a half-hour exam. Most businesses run it as a morning or an afternoon session.

What is the pass mark?

Ten correct answers out of 15 multiple choice questions.

How long does the certificate last?

Three years.

Do I need Level 1 before Level 2?

No. Level 2 has no entry requirement and you can go straight to it. Level 1 is useful where you want the whole workforce to have a shared baseline and only some of them need to go further.

Is health and safety training a legal requirement?

Training is not a standalone duty with a named course attached. The duty is to provide the information, instruction, training and supervision necessary to keep people safe, and to assess your risks properly. Training is how most employers discharge part of that, and a certificate is the evidence it happened.

Can you run it at our premises?

Yes, that is how this course is delivered. We come to you, which means nobody loses travel time on top of the three hours.

How many people can attend?

Up to 16. A minimum of 12 places is chargeable, so the cost per head falls the more of your team you put in the room.

Is there an online version?

There is an online Level 2 Health and Safety course if self-paced learning suits you better. Level 1 is delivered as a group session because the discussion is most of the value at this level.

Want to work out which level your team actually needs? Call 0845 838 4643 or use the enquiry form. If Level 1 is enough, we will say so.