CLEAPSS NEWS
The spring term saw some interesting projects and activities…
In January we had our annual trip to the ASE conference, which we wrote about in the spring edition, but that was followed by a variety of visits and presentations in schools.
We continued to run our online courses, with a well-attended, live, online, follow-up session, where attendees get to work through a few exercises, but, more importantly, get to discuss their own concerns following the self-study courses.
If you are interested in signing up for our online training, go to the courses part of the website, where the ‘free’ course has an online enrolment form, which provides access to the 5 short videos and exercises. The course takes around 1 hour to work through. It could be used as the basis of a departmental meeting, an INSET activity, or for an individual to refresh their understanding of H&S in D&T, art and food. D&T H&S Online Training (cleapss.org.uk)
Our online auditing course has also proven popular, with over 350 completed returns. This takes a little longer to work through, as it includes a number of videos and exercises designed to support staff in carrying out an audit of their facilities. This costs £95, which gives you access to the course for a calendar month. D&T auditing course (cleapss.org.uk)
Alongside these courses we also ran a number of face-to-face courses across the country. One of followed a number of safety audits commissioned across a multi-academy trust (MAT). We visited three schools, then ran the day’s training, which was focused on the identified needs of the MAT. All the schools attended, along with the MAT safety officer.
We have also further developed our facilities at Chesham. We have had a small metal lathe installed on our mobile tool trolley, and a Hegner saw on a second trolley. Both installations comply with the British Standard and our own guidance. They are securely bolted to their trolley, and each trolley has locking castors, to provide a secure, stable bench in use.
Each machine has its power supply routed through protective conduit, to a fused, labelled and lockable isolator. The isolator is mounted on the trolley, which then has a protected cable that can be plugged into a standard three-pin socket.
When in use the trolley can be moved into a space where the operator is able to work without fear of being jostled or causing interference to others in the area.
In February, we were invited to attend online and face to face meetings, including:
A really interesting session with the British Nutrition Foundation, going through its latest developments in the world of food teaching. These are available from the Food a Fact of Life This included a discussion about the launch of a whole range of primary food recipes and support materials. These fantastic, free resources are also available from the website.
We also attended the OCR design, technology and engineering forum. This was an interesting day, with lots of really useful presentations, including Tony Ryan from the Design and Technology Association, who gave a detailed update on the progress of the Association in its ‘Reimagining Design and Technology’ work. For further details on this, take a look at their redesigned website: https://www.designtechnology.org.uk/
This all took place alongside a wide range of discussions about all sorts of D&T subjects, including the recent developments and proposals that have come from Pearson, and the continuing fall in entries at GCSE in D&T. Liz Bull from OCR has provided a report on this meeting.
We have also dealt with hundreds of helplines and queries from schools, colleges and local authorities and produced some new or updated guides and other materials.
One of the guides that has had a number of slight, but important updates is our Ceramics in Schools guide This was first produced in 2017. A helpline query from a safety officer gave us an opportunity to look at this area a little more closely than we had for some time.
We found that with the increased interest in ceramics, many schools are discovering that staff may be new to using a kiln, or may not have used one for some time, and are finding it difficult to access training. We contacted Tim Thornton Ceramics, which has been, for a number of years, running courses on the use of electric kilns, and has produced an online course geared specifically for schools. This online training covers the basic features of a kiln; firing the kiln; firing schedules to match the clay and glaze; basic kiln maintenance and troubleshooting; and health and safety considerations. For more information, go to Tim has also written a relevant, informative article in this edition of Futureminds.
We have also invested in a new 3D printer, a Raise3D Pro3 machine. We will keep you posted on its use, but so far, we are impressed. It has a 300x300x300 build space, which has built-in fume control, and the enclosure is interlocked to reduce the risk of accessing hot or moving parts. As readers will be aware, these are the three main hazards associated with such machines, and should be controlled.
In March, CLEAPSS finally held its grand opening day. We have been in Chesham for a year, but our previous attempt to hold such an event was, for a number of reasons, postponed. However, this time it went off without a hitch.
We were pleased to welcome a lot of friends to the event, and our special guest, Dr Ajay Sharman, who unveiled a commemorative plaque, made in house of course!
The day included a tour of the premises and lunch. It also gave CLEAPSS staff a chance to have some useful discussions with the guests, which included representatives from the awarding organisations. These discussions will continue over the coming months, as the world of D&T continues to develop.
Or contact: courses@cleapss.org.uk
SUMMER 2022 ISSUE
SPRING 2022 ISSUE
AUTUMN 2021 ISSUE
WINTER 2021
