Legionella control in a school is not exotic. It is a written scheme and a routine of small, dull checks: run this tap, read this temperature, flush that shower after the holiday. The dullness is the danger. The checks are easy to do and just as easy to let slide, and the record only gets looked at when someone falls ill or an auditor asks. A school that can produce a complete, dated temperature log has done the boring thing properly. A school that back-fills the clipboard the night before has not, and it usually shows.
Guide · Education
Legionella and water temperature monitoring for UK schools.
A practical guide to running the water temperature monitoring log a school needs for its written scheme under the L8 ACOP and HSG274, and how to keep the record without a clipboard in the plant room.
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The point
The log does not control legionella.
The written scheme, carried out, does. Software makes the weekly and monthly water checks easy to record at the outlet, harder to miss, and impossible to lose. A good tool means the temperature log gets filled in at the tap, not back-filled from memory before an audit.
What the scheme records
The routine checks in a school water log.
Temperatures
Hot and cold outlets
Monthly sentinel outlet temperatures, plus the hot water flow and return, to confirm the system runs hot enough and cold enough to control risk.
FlushingLittle-used outlets
Weekly flushing of infrequently used taps and showers, a common issue in schools after holidays when outlets sit stagnant.
AssetsTanks, TMVs, showers
Periodic checks of cold water tanks, thermostatic mixing valves and showerheads, cleaned and descaled on the schedule the scheme sets.
Why schools
The summer holiday is the risk.
A school half-empties for six weeks. Outlets sit unused, water stagnates, and the first week back is exactly when the flushing and temperature record matters most. A written scheme that is followed and logged is how a school shows it managed that risk rather than hoped.
Log water checks on WhatsApp
No app install. No training.
Site staff use the phone they already have. Read the temperature, type the number, add a photo if needed. The log builds itself, and the trust sees every site on one dashboard. Setup to first live workflow usually takes under a week.
The short version
- Legionella risk is managed under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, the L8 Approved Code of Practice and the HSG274 technical guidance.
- A school with a water system needs a legionella risk assessment and, where risk is present, a written scheme of routine checks: temperatures, flushing and asset maintenance.
- The summer holiday is a peak risk period for schools, because outlets sit unused and water stagnates.
- The log does not control legionella. The written scheme, carried out and acted on, does.
- Per-report pricing lets a trust log water checks across every school, with unlimited users on one dashboard.
The point
What the water monitoring log is for
Legionella bacteria grow in water systems held at the wrong temperature and left to stagnate. The control regime is set out in the Health and Safety Executive's Approved Code of Practice L8 and the technical guidance HSG274, under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. A school assesses its risk, and where risk is present, follows a written scheme: monthly sentinel temperatures, weekly flushing of little-used outlets, and periodic checks of tanks, thermostatic mixing valves and showerheads.
The log does not control legionella. The written scheme, carried out and acted on, does. What the log does is prove the routine happened, on time, at the right outlets, and flag when a reading falls outside the safe range so someone acts. This is general guidance, not legal advice; check the current L8 ACOP and HSG274 and your own legionella risk assessment.
Who holds the duty
The school as duty holder
The duty to manage legionella risk sits with whoever controls the premises, which for a school is the responsible body: the local authority or governing body for a maintained school, the trust for an academy. The duty holder must appoint a competent person to help manage the risk, ensure a risk assessment is in place, and keep records of the routine monitoring. The DfE's Good Estate Management for Schools expects water safety to be managed and evidenced like any other statutory duty.
Quickler captures the routine monitoring the scheme requires and gives the trust a live view across sites; it is not the legionella risk assessment, and it is not the competent person. The risk assessment and the scheme design stay with a competent specialist. The tool holds the record of the checks being done, which is the part that most often goes missing.
The holiday problem
Why schools are a special case
Most workplaces run steadily all year. A school does not. It half-empties for the summer, and again at Christmas and Easter, and during those weeks outlets in unused classrooms, changing rooms and remote toilets sit stagnant. Stagnation plus the wrong temperature is exactly the condition legionella needs. The first days back are when the scheme's flushing and temperature checks matter most, and when a gap in the record is hardest to explain.
A written scheme that anticipates the holidays, with flushing scheduled through and immediately after them, is how a school manages this rather than hopes. Quickler can run the flushing and temperature workflow on the schedule the scheme sets, prompt the check when it is due, and record that outlets were run and read on return. It does not decide the schedule; the competent person and the risk assessment do that.
Out of range
When a reading fails
The point of a temperature reading is what happens when it is wrong. A hot outlet that reads too cool, or a cold outlet that reads too warm, is a control failure that needs action, not just a number in a column. The record has to make the out-of-range reading stand out and turn it into something someone follows up, not a figure that scrolls past in a spreadsheet.
Quickler captures each reading at the outlet, flags one that falls outside the range the scheme sets, and surfaces it as an open action on the dashboard so it is acted on rather than buried. The site manager and the competent person decide the remedy; the tool makes sure the failure and its resolution are both on the record. That trail is what the responsible body relies on if the check is ever questioned.
Pricing
Per report, not per seat
Most monitoring apps charge per seat. For a school or trust that is the wrong shape: the business manager who reads one log a month pays the same as the caretaker who runs the checks every week, and every site you add costs more.
Quickler charges per report, with unlimited users on every bundle. Bundles run from Quickler 50 at 50 pounds a month for 50 reports, up to Quickler 500 at 500 pounds a month for 500 reports. Add as many caretakers, site managers, central estates staff and admins as you like; you pay for the logs you file, not the people who could file them. Pricing is approximate and shifts, so check the current pricing page before you commit.
Questions, answered
Do schools have to monitor for legionella?
Yes, where a legionella risk is identified. Legionella risk is managed under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, the L8 Approved Code of Practice and HSG274. A school must have a legionella risk assessment, and where risk is present, follow a written scheme of routine checks: temperatures, flushing of little-used outlets, and asset maintenance. Check your own risk assessment for what applies to your site.
How often should a school check water temperatures?
A typical written scheme records monthly sentinel outlet temperatures and hot water flow and return, with weekly flushing of little-used outlets, but the exact frequency comes from the school's own legionella risk assessment. Schools should pay particular attention to flushing around and after the school holidays, when outlets sit unused. Follow the schedule your competent person and risk assessment set.
Does Quickler replace the legionella risk assessment?
No. Quickler captures the routine monitoring the written scheme requires and holds the temperature and flushing log. It is not the legionella risk assessment and it is not the competent person. The risk assessment and the design of the scheme stay with a competent specialist. Quickler holds the record that the routine checks were carried out and flags out-of-range readings.
Can I log water temperature checks over WhatsApp?
Yes. Quickler's water monitoring workflow runs over the WhatsApp Business API. The staff member receives each outlet check in their existing WhatsApp chat, types the temperature reading or confirms the flush, and the dated log generates automatically. No separate app or login is required, and Quickler manages the WhatsApp Business API account on the school's behalf.