There are no specific legal or mandatory requirements for schools wishing to offer study support (out of school hours learning) activity; however the terms of The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, and other legislation relating to child protection, all apply to study support.

Under health and safety legislation employers are required to ensure the safety of all who use the premises. They are required to have a health and safety policy and carry out risk assessments to identify measures that need to be taken in order to comply with health and safety law. The same requirements apply to study support settings. If the study support sessions are managed by a school or on school premises, the school's existing health and safety policy will have to be reviewed to make sure it covers the use of the building for the out of hours activities the school plans to offer.

'Safe Keeping: a Good Practice Guide for Health and Safety in Study Support' is a useful resource for establishing and managing study support activities in schools and on non-school premises. It includes examples of 'model' forms for risk assessments, pupil registration and obtaining references for volunteers.

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