Physicists and Primary Schools Project
Safety
Please read carefully:
The notes on safety for each topic have been checked by Richard J J Orton of Science Education Consultants, formerly Senior Advisor and Deputy Director of CLEAPSS. Do read them carefully. We have attempted to identify all the recognised hazards in the activities in this website, provide suitable warnings about them and suggest appropriate precautions.
It is important to discuss and agree a risk assessment for your activities with the teacher before each visit to give a presentation, i.e. during your initial discussions with the school and the class teacher. The teacher should know that where a hazard has been identified.
(The employer is required to provide a risk assessment under either the COSHH Regulations or the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations. Most employers have met their duty for Primary Science activities by providing the publication Be Safe! and by requiring the schools to follow it.) In practice, the function of writing a risk assessment is delegated to the teachers on the spot.
We recommend: Be Safe! 3rd Edition ISBN 086357324X
Be Safe!, published by the Association for Science Education is the major guidance for science health and safety in primary schools.
Science and Engineering Ambassadors
If you become a Science and Engineering Ambassador, you will have a free Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check. Also training is available and you will be covered by SETNET insurance. Both you and the school benefit.
Note: If you have not been CRB checked you must ensure that a teacher accompanies you at all times when you are with the children.