Lone working and personal safety

Learning outcomes

• Carry out a dynamic risk assessment before and during a lone activity
• Use check-in, check-out and escalation procedures correctly
• De-escalate and exit safely from a threatening situation
• Report near misses and incidents of aggression

Module 1 of 3

Before you go

Read the risk assessment, know the address and who else may be present, plan your route and parking, tell someone your expected return time, and make sure your phone is charged. If information is missing or the risk assessment is out of date, that is a reason to pause, not to improvise.

Never lone work with a child whose plan requires two staff, regardless of how well you know them or how short-staffed the shift is.

Module 2 of 3

Dynamic risk assessment

Risk changes minute to minute. Keep re-reading the situation: who has arrived, has anyone been drinking, has the tone changed, can you still reach an exit. If your instinct says leave, leave — you never have to justify withdrawing from a situation that felt unsafe.

Verbal de-escalation works best early: lower your voice, increase your distance, drop demands, and give the other person a face-saving way out. Do not stand over someone, block a doorway or match their volume.

Module 3 of 3

Afterwards

Report every incident of aggression, threat or near miss, even where nothing happened. Patterns only become visible when small events are recorded, and your report is what protects the next colleague.

Expect a debrief and access to support. Being frightened at work is not a professional failing.