Oakline lets an administrator create an optional Risk-benefit assessment (RBA) for a specific Forest School or outdoor education session. The assessment keeps the intended benefits, identified risks and proportionate controls beside the session that staff deliver and parents book.
An Oakline RBA is a structured record supplied and maintained by the provider. It supports professional practice; it does not make a session safe by itself and does not replace competent judgement.
The first version supports one RBA per session. When attached:
The feature is optional. A session can be created and run in Oakline without an attached RBA.
If Attach RBA is left off, Oakline does not create an assessment.
Turning Attach RBA off and saving removes the RBA attached to that session. Confirm that the record is genuinely no longer required before doing this.
Providers running similar sessions (the same fire circle, den building or water activity) do not need to retype the same benefits, risks and controls every time.
Loading a template copies its values into the session's RBA once. The session and the template are not kept linked afterwards, so editing one does not change the other, and deleting a template never affects sessions that already used it.
Use a specific title that staff can recognise quickly, such as Tool use: bow saws and peelers or Fire lighting and campfire cooking. Avoid a vague title such as General risk assessment.
Describe what learners will actually do, how the experience is introduced and the broad level of supervision. Include the activity's scope, not a complete session plan.
Record relevant site characteristics, boundaries or known environmental context. Examples include slopes, water, public access, deadwood areas or the defined tool-working space.
This field is not a substitute for the provider's site assessment or daily site check.
Explain why the activity is worth offering. Useful benefits may include:
Write benefits that relate to this activity and group rather than copying a generic list.
Focus on credible risks with a realistic potential for harm. Describe the source of harm clearly enough that the controls make sense. Depending on the activity, this might include cuts, burns, slips, falling material, moving vehicles, water, weather exposure or members of the public entering the working area.
Do not fill the RBA with trivial or fanciful risks. HSE guidance supports a sensible, proportionate focus on real risks while protecting the benefits of play and learning.
Identify the relevant groups, such as participating children, practitioners, volunteers, visitors, parents, contractors or members of the public. Consider whether an individual's needs change the practical controls, but do not put unnecessary medical or sensitive personal detail in a parent-visible RBA. Use the protected child record for child-specific health and support information.
Record practical actions that reduce significant risk while preserving the value of the experience. Controls might cover:
Controls should be specific enough for another practitioner to understand what must happen.
Choose Low, Medium or High only if that language matches your organisation's own risk method. This field is optional. Oakline does not calculate the level automatically and does not replace your organisation's risk matrix or professional judgement.
Use this for relevant review points, assumptions, linked procedures or limitations that do not fit elsewhere. Avoid turning it into a second copy of the session plan.
Additional notes are staff-only by default. Select Show additional notes to parents only when the text is suitable and useful for families. Do not enable parent visibility for safeguarding details, personal information, staff concerns or other internal operational notes.
For a new RBA, Oakline fills Prepared by with the logged-in administrator's name when available and sets Last reviewed to today's date. Both fields remain editable. Existing saved values are preserved when the assessment is edited.
These fields make ownership visible to staff, but entering a date is not the same as completing a competent review.
RBA title: Supervised bow-saw use
Activity or context: Small groups cut secured greenwood at a defined tool station after a safety briefing and demonstration.
Intended benefits: Coordination, confidence, communication with a partner, tool competence and awareness of personal space.
Identified risks: Cuts from the blade, trapped fingers, unstable wood, slips around the working area and another person entering the tool space.
Who may be affected: Participating children, supervising practitioners and people approaching the tool area.
Control measures: Competent practitioner supervision; tool talk and demonstration; marked working zone; wood secured before cutting; safe body and hand position; appropriate spacing; tools counted and stored when not in use; first aid available; activity stopped if behaviour, staffing or conditions become unsuitable.
This example is illustrative only. It must not be copied as a substitute for assessing the actual site, activity, equipment, group and conditions.
When the session has an assessment, its register shows an RBA button.
The staff view is mobile-friendly and does not include RBA editing controls. Creating and viewing an RBA currently requires an internet connection, so providers should not treat it as their only field copy where connectivity is uncertain.
When a publicly bookable session has an RBA, Oakline shows Risk-benefit assessment directly after the session description in the booking flow. Parents can open a read-only version containing the public-safe assessment details.
Parents do not receive database IDs, edit controls, the Prepared by value or unrelated administration tools. They only see Additional notes when an administrator has explicitly selected Show additional notes to parents. Write all parent-visible fields clearly and avoid personal or sensitive information.
Review the RBA whenever it may no longer represent the real session. Triggers can include:
Review means reconsidering the benefits, risks and controls. Do not update only the date if the content has not been checked.
A session RBA is one part of a provider's arrangements. Depending on the setting and activity, providers may also need:
The Forest School Association describes risk-benefit as part of a wider process that includes site, daily and dynamic assessment. HSE guidance emphasises balancing real risks with the benefits of play and learning, using sensible and proportionate controls rather than trying to eliminate all risk.
Oakline currently provides:
Oakline does not currently provide:
Yes. Oakline lets an administrator attach one structured RBA to a specific session and maintain it through the session create or edit workflow.
Yes. Enable Attach RBA while creating the session, or edit an existing session and add the assessment there.
Yes. The feature is optional. The provider decides which sessions need an attached assessment and remains responsible for its own policies and duties.
Yes. When the session has an RBA, authenticated staff can use the RBA button on the session register to open a read-only view.
No. The register view is read-only. An administrator edits the RBA through the session form.
Yes. For a publicly bookable session with an RBA, the booking flow shows a parent-safe Risk-benefit assessment link after the session description.
The RBA includes a title, activity or context, location or site notes, intended benefits, identified risks, who may be affected, control measures, optional residual risk level, additional notes, prepared by and last reviewed.
Yes. A provider can save up to five reusable RBA templates in Settings, apply one to any session's RBA with a single selection, and save a session's current RBA as a new template without leaving the session form.
Not currently. Oakline stores the session-specific RBA supplied by the provider, but it does not currently provide a separate dynamic risk-notes workflow.
Parents can read the assessment during booking. They cannot edit it, and the current version does not include a dedicated RBA download or PDF export.
Not directly, but you can save an RBA as a reusable template and load it into another session's RBA. This copies the details once; it does not keep the sessions linked, so each one can then be reviewed and adjusted independently.
No. Current RBA create, edit and view workflows require connectivity.
No. Oakline stores and presents the assessment written by the provider. Decisions remain with the competent people and organisation responsible for the session.
These external resources provide general guidance. Providers should obtain competent advice for their own activities, setting and responsibilities.