The Small Print
We are often asked about using MRATs or other guidance with pupils, or whether to post the MRAT next to a particular piece of equipment, we thought a simple explanation of the role of CLEAPSS guidance may help: Our guidance is written to fulfil our role as advisers to the employer on health and safety for practical subjects. It is designed to be used by teachers and technicians to help to keep what they do as safe as is reasonably practicable. In providing advice for teachers and technicians, we are indirectly providing advice for how to keep pupils safe, but the guidance itself is not written for pupil use. For example, if a teacher feels that safety can be improved by having some instructions posted on the wall near a machine, they should look at the associated guidance, the MRAT and any other guides, then adapt the information into language that the pupils can access.
We have a template for such a poster on the website: dt.cleapss.org.uk/Resource-File/GL351-Safety-Cards.pdf
The most common way for us to hear about issues in schools is via the Helpline. We get around 30 – 40 Helpline queries a week, some of which have a number of similarities and some that are a little more challenging.
As we head toward the end of the summer term, we tend to get quite a few schools asking us about class sizes. If you are in a school in England or Wales and are asked about increasing class sizes above the recommended 20, please get in touch and we will help you to put together a rationale for following the guidance.
We also get asked about the safety of equipment. We recommend that any powered equipment should be manufactured to a safe standard, and should be marked as meeting certain safety standards, at present, this would mean that they are marked with a CE/UKCA/UKNI mark. Equipment that is sold as a kit, to be put together by the teacher or technician, will not carry such marking, as the final device cannot be certified as safe. If you are considering purchasing such equipment, it would be part of your due diligence to speak with your employer and find out what they feel about this.
Dichloromethane is still the subject of queries. We have published guidance about this over the years:
Dichloromethane is no longer recommended for use in school science and in D&T should only be used as a constituent of Tensol, and not as the raw chemical.
Raw Dichloromethane (DCM) should not be used in schools – it is a highly volatile chemical, and we have been recommending for some time that it should be replaced with Tensol cement.
As the weather is getting warmer and drier (at last) we are also seeing an increase in queries about ventilation, particularly in food rooms. Ideally, all practical rooms will have adequate ventilation, and opening windows may be all that is needed, but in food rooms, this can be problematic, as it could increase the chance of pests entering the room.
Our guidance in this matter is built on the Building Bulletin 101:
As Helpline queries are often part of the risk assessment being carried out in the school. It is always worth bearing in mind the hierarchy of control:
1) Elimination: Redesign the job or substitute a substance so that the hazard is removed or eliminated.
2) Substitution: Replace the material or process or activity with a less hazardous one. Care should be taken to ensure the alternative is safer than the original.
3) Engineering controls: Use work equipment or other measures. Install or use additional machinery such as local exhaust ventilation to control risks from dust or fume. Separate the hazard from operators by methods such as isolating, enclosing or guarding dangerous items of machinery/equipment. Give priority to measures which protect collectively over individual measures.
4) Administrative controls: Identifying and implementing the procedures you need to work safely. For example: reducing the time workers are exposed to hazards; increasing safety signage, and performing risk assessments.
5) Personal protective clothes and equipment: Only after all the previous measures have been tried and found ineffective in controlling risks to a reasonably practicable level, must personal protective equipment (PPE) or Respiratory Protective Equipment (RPE) be used.
New guides:
If you need further information on these or have any other concerns, please use the Helpline:
We are already planning our autumn edition of Futureminds. We have had some early discussions with the Institute of Imagination (Home | Institute of Imagination London (ioi.london)) about a theme of creativity in D&T. We will have articles from teachers and technicians about their work in D&T, food and art, as well as content provided by suppliers and those working to support these subjects across the UK and overseas.
If you are interested in contributing to Futureminds, please get in touch: mailto:dt@cleapss.org.uk