Legionella risk assessment for Nurseries and childcare

Updated 7 September 2026

Nurseries sit in an uncomfortable corner of legionella control because the two safety duties pull in opposite directions. The children in the building are among the most vulnerable to scalding, so hot water at handwash basins, baby-change sinks and any bath used for care has to be delivered at a safe low temperature through a thermostatic mixing valve. But blending hot water down to hand-washing temperature creates water that sits squarely inside the legionella growth range, so every TMV in the building is a point where legionella can establish if the valve and its local pipework are not serviced and flushed.

The system itself is usually domestic in scale, but its use pattern is not. Term-time settings can stand empty or nearly empty for weeks at a stretch over the summer holiday, Christmas and half terms, and the first day back after a closure is exactly when the water has stagnated longest. The practical regime is a written scheme that covers weekly flushing of any little-used outlet during term time, a documented full-system flush before the start of every term, and TMV servicing on the schedule set out in the risk assessment. Staff doing the flushing need to know to run taps gently, because flushing itself releases spray.

The duty holder is normally the nursery operator or the chain's estates lead rather than individual room staff, but someone on site has to be named as the person who actually carries out and records the checks. Ofsted and the other national regulators do not police legionella directly, but an inspector reviewing premises safety may ask how water safety is managed, and the log book is the answer that shows the control happened.

Is it legally required?

Nurseries and childcare providers are employers and occupiers of non-domestic premises, so the duty sits under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, with ACOP L8 and HSG274 Part 2 as the framework for how it is discharged. Scald-prevention duties in early-years settings push hot water delivery through thermostatic mixing valves, which then have to be managed for legionella under the same written scheme. Registration requirements through Ofsted in England, and the equivalent national regulators elsewhere in the UK, expect premises risks to be managed, but legionella control itself remains an HSE matter.

Who is the duty holder?

The duty holder is whoever has control of the premises or the water system. For nurseries and childcare premises, this is usually the employer, owner, landlord, or managing agent. The duty cannot be contracted out: you can hire a water hygiene consultant, but the legal responsibility still sits with you.

If you are unsure who holds the duty for your premises, see: Who is responsible for a legionella risk assessment?

What the assessment should cover

ACOP L8 sets out five things a suitable and sufficient assessment must do:

1. Identify and assess sources of risk across the whole water system, including stored hot and cold water, dead legs, rarely used outlets, and any equipment that generates aerosols
2. Produce a written scheme for preventing or controlling the risk, with specific tasks, temperatures, and frequencies
3. Implement, manage, and monitor the scheme in practice, not just on paper
4. Keep records of the assessment, the scheme, monitoring results, and any remedial action taken
5. Appoint a competent person (often called the "responsible person") to be accountable for the scheme

Specific water system risks to check

For nurseries and childcare premises, assessors typically pay close attention to:

• Hot water storage temperatures (calorifiers must reach 60°C throughout)
• Hot water distribution temperatures (50°C within one minute at outlets)
• Cold water storage tank condition, lid seal, and temperature (below 20°C)
• Dead legs, redundant pipework, and little-used outlets
• Shower heads, flexible hoses, and thermostatic mixing valves
• Any cooling tower, evaporative condenser, or spa pool (these are notifiable to the local authority under the Notification of Cooling Towers and Evaporative Condensers Regulations 1992)

How often to review

There is no fixed legal interval, but ACOP L8 requires that the assessment is reviewed regularly and whenever there is reason to believe it may no longer be valid. For most nurseries and childcare premises, that means at least every 12 months and sooner after any of the following:

• Changes to the water system (new pipework, fittings, equipment)
• Changes to the use of the building or the number of occupants
• A positive legionella test result or a case of Legionnaires' disease linked to the premises
• Prolonged periods of low occupancy or system shutdown (a risk during holidays, term breaks, or refurbishment)
• New guidance from HSE

Typical cost

A professional legionella risk assessment for nurseries and childcare premises typically costs between £250 and £600, depending on the size of the building, the number of water outlets, and whether there are any cooling towers or evaporative condensers (these add significantly to the cost because of the statutory inspection regime).

Use our cost calculator for an estimate based on your specific water system.