Sector statutory inspections

Statutory Inspections for Schools, Colleges & Universities

LOLER, PUWER, PSSR and COSHH LEV compliance from one independent inspection body.

An education estate hides a full statutory workload: passenger lifts and hoists under LOLER, fume cupboards and DT extraction under COSHH, and the prep room autoclave under PSSR, because steam is a relevant fluid at any pressure.

SEIS schedules the whole programme into holidays and quiet weeks, with enhanced DBS checked engineer surveyors and reports the estates file can show any auditor.

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  • Independent & impartial
  • Competent engineer surveyors
  • Reports issued promptly
14 months
Maximum interval for fume cupboard and LEV testing
Any pressure
The prep room autoclave sits under PSSR
6-monthly
Cycle for passenger lifts and people-lifting equipment
DBS checked
Every engineer surveyor on site

Education cover

  • Schools, academy trusts, colleges and universities
  • Enhanced DBS checked engineer surveyors
  • Examinations in holidays and around timetables
  • One programme across a multi-site trust
What needs inspecting

What needs inspecting across an education estate

Three regimes carry the estate. LOLER covers everything that lifts, on the fixed 6 and 12 month cycles. COSHH Regulation 9 puts every fume cupboard and every DT extraction system on a thorough examination and test at least every 14 months, benchmarked to HSG258 and, for science, CLEAPSS G9. PSSR covers the boiler house and the autoclaves.

EquipmentRegimeStatutory positionWhat you receive
Passenger liftsLOLERThorough examination at least every 6 monthsReport of Thorough Examination
Access platform lifts and stairliftsLOLEREvery 6 months where they carry peopleReport of Thorough Examination
Kitchen dumbwaiters and goods liftsLOLEREvery 12 months where they carry loads onlyReport of Thorough Examination
Theatre and hall winches and riggingLOLEREvery 12 months, with accessories every 6, or per the examination schemeReport of Thorough Examination
Science fume cupboardsCOSHHThorough examination and test at least every 14 months under COSHH Regulation 9LEV test report to HSG258
DT workshop dust and fume extractionCOSHHAt least every 14 months, sooner where risk assessment demandsLEV test report
Prep room autoclaves and sterilisersPSSRSteam is a relevant fluid at any pressure, so a certified Written Scheme appliesWritten Scheme certification and examination report
Boiler house plantPSSRExamination to the Written Scheme, report within 28 daysWritten Scheme certification and examination report
DT machinery (lathes, saws, sanders)PUWERInspection at risk-based intervals set by a competent personWritten record of inspection

There is no PUWER certificate: DT machinery inspections produce a written record kept at least until the next one. Fume cupboard test reports are kept for five years.

Sector compliance

The estate the timetable never sees

Education compliance fails quietly: the fume cupboard that drifted past 14 months during a busy year, or the autoclave nobody realised was a pressure system. Both are exactly what an HSE visit after an incident asks about first.

Science and DT are statutory territory

Every fume cupboard is local exhaust ventilation in law, tested to HSG258 with CLEAPSS G9 as the education benchmark, at least every 14 months with reports kept five years. The DT workshop's dust and fume extraction carries the same duty, and wood dust makes it one the HSE actively enforces.

The autoclave is the one that surprises estates teams: steam has no minimum threshold under PSSR, so even a benchtop steriliser needs a certified Written Scheme of Examination before use and examination to that scheme.

How SEIS works around a school year

Examinations are planned into holidays, INSET days and exam-season quiet weeks, so a lift is never out of service at drop-off and a lab is never closed mid-term. Every engineer surveyor attending is enhanced DBS checked as standard.

For academy trusts and university estates the programme runs across every site in one calendar, with reports in the client portal by site and by room, which is what turns an audit request from a week of chasing into an afternoon.

Related services
COSHH LEV testingThorough examination and test for fume cupboards and extraction PSSR examination servicesWritten Schemes for autoclaves and boiler plant COSHH regulations explainedThe 14 month LEV duty and what a TExT covers Passenger and goods lift examinations6 and 12 month lift examination cycles
Common questions

Schools, Colleges & Universities inspection FAQs

Do you work with schools and trusts like ours?

Yes. We inspect for individual schools, multi-academy trusts, sixth form and FE colleges and universities, from one passenger lift to a full multi-site estate programme.

How quickly can you attend?

Usually within a few working days, and we plan recurring work into holidays. Call 0330 043 8191 and we will build the calendar around your term dates.

How often do fume cupboards need testing?

At least every 14 months under COSHH Regulation 9, examined and tested by a competent person and benchmarked to HSG258, with CLEAPSS G9 the education reference. Reports are kept for five years. Our COSHH guide explains what the test covers.

Is a small prep room autoclave really a pressure system?

Yes. Steam is a relevant fluid at any pressure, so there is no small-vessel exemption: a certified Written Scheme of Examination before use, then examination to that scheme with the report within 28 days.

Are your engineers DBS checked?

Yes, every engineer surveyor attending an education site holds an enhanced DBS check, and we work to your safeguarding sign-in procedures as a matter of course.

What does the passenger lift need?

A thorough examination at least every 6 months because it carries people, alongside the maintenance contract, which does not replace the statutory examination. HSE guidance on the duty is at hse.gov.uk.

Does DT machinery need certificates?

No. Lathes, saws and sanders are PUWER work equipment inspected at risk-based intervals with a written record kept; there is no such thing as a PUWER certificate. The extraction serving them is the fixed-cycle item.

Can everything go into the summer holidays?

Mostly, yes. We front-load holidays with the disruptive work and keep only the interval-bound items in term time where the cycle demands it, planned so nothing statutory drifts past its date.

Book statutory inspections for your Schools, Colleges & Universities operation

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