Educational institutions from primary and secondary schools, to college and universities are filled with students, staff and visitors every day. Health and safety signage is important in these environments to not only ensure compliance with regulations, but to also promote a safe and orderly environment for all.
Effective signage helps to prevent accidents, guides behaviour and ensures emergency preparedness.
There are a variety of different types of office signage, each having a different purpose from maintaining safety, providing guidance or communicating essential information.
These signs are standardised in shape and colour to ensure they are universally understood. Below are the main types of health and safety signage for schools and other educational institutions:
Mandatory signs are blue circles with either a white symbol or text and their purpose is to provide clear instructions on actions that need to be carried out, such as:
Warning signs are yellow triangles with a thick black boarder that communicate potential dangers, you can expect to find warning signs in a range of school situations, such as:
Prohibition Signs are circular with a red boarder and often have diagonal line through with a black symbol underneath of the prohibited action, in schools you will commonly see these types of prohibition signs:
Fire safety signs are crucial for effective emergency response. They are usually red with white text or symbols and highlight the location of firefighting equipment such as:
Emergency signs are green rectangles or squares with white symbols or text on. They direct people to safety equipment or safe escape routes in the event of an emergency. In a school environment you can expect to find the following emergency signs:
Some educational facilities might require bespoke signage tailored to them such as “library in use” or student crossing signs, staff room signs and classroom door signs.
We can also provide wayfinding signs, bespoke notice boards and dry wipe boards as well as bespoke wall signage and much more.
Health and safety signage in education environments are important for preventing accidents and reducing risks of injury to students, staff and visitors. They help to support emergency preparedness by clearly signposting evacuation procedures and routes and where to locate safety equipment during emergencies. They also help to ensure health and safety regulations are adhered to, as well as helping people to navigate a building.
It’s also important to ensure that regular inspections are carried out on signage to ensure that they are visible, legible and up to date.
It’s important to think of who your target audience is for your sign, signs for use in primary schools will be different to signs for colleges and universities. If your signs purpose is to be understood by younger children then simple language and visual cues are important to ensuring the message is understood.
Signage should be inclusive where possible which means using universally recognised symbols and braille to accommodate to diverse needs.
To ensure health and safety signage is effective it’s important to choose a placement which has the most visibility and impact. In classrooms and labs warning signs that highlight hazards such as chemicals or potentially dangerous equipment.
Many signs can be found in common areas such as fire exits in hallways, warning signs for spillages in canteens and prohibition signs in stairwells to show no running.
Emergency routes should be clearly marked to show people where exits, evacuation routes and assembly points are.
In need of health and safety signs for a School sector? Contact us today and we’ll be happy to discuss your requirements.
30 Years Experience
Dedicated Project Management
Supply & Installation
Detailed Site Surveys
In need of factory safety signs? Contact us today and we’ll be happy to discuss your requirements.
