Health and Safety in the Primary Science Classroom

Introduction

Practical work is at the heart of science learning, yet there is a popular misconception that many practical activities in science can’t be carried out in schools because of the limitations imposed by health and safety legislation (ASE). Managing health and safety in the classroom need not be difficult, nor should it inhibit effective and exciting science teaching.

When planning any science activity, the teacher should ensure that children are safe at all times. Any activity should be risk assessed when planning the lesson, and any potential problems identified and minimised.

Much of the legal responsibility lies with your employer. It’s their job to make sure that you, and your colleagues, have access to appropriate safety advice and, where necessary, training to work safely and effectively with children. In England and Wales it will either be the Local Authority and Head Teacher, your academy trust & Head Teacher or in the case of an independent school, the school’s Trustees, Head Teacher and the Chair of Governors (Harding, 2021). Check with your school leadership team for the latest health and safety policies and guidance.

Hazards and Risks

An important aspect of managing health and safety is making sure that all the relevant hazards are identified, the risks from them assessed and, if necessary, controlled and any ‘significant findings’ suitably recorded on the lesson plan. (Borrows, 2003)

A hazard is anything that might cause harm ASE (2010). For example

Electricity at high voltages can kill.
Some chemicals can burn the skin.
Some microbes can make you sick.
Some plants may cause allergic reactions.

A risk is the likelihood that a hazard will cause harm. This will depend on the chances of something going wrong in the lesson, how serious the injury would be and the number of people who might be affected ASE (2010).

Hazard: Anything that can cause harm (e.g. chemicals, electricity etc.)
Risk: The chance, high or low that somebody will be harmed by the hazard.

Hazards and Risks from ASE (2010)

Control measures are put in place to reduce the risk, but the hazard will still be present. The aim of the risk assessment is to reduce the risks to as low a level as reasonably practicable.

Nothing in life is completely safe, and children should be introduced to the ideas of hazards and risks and how to reduce them in their daily lives (ASE, 2010).

Sources of Support

CLEAPSS

CLEAPSS is the only organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland that specialises in providing bespoke advice about keeping children safe during practical science, which is why most schools are already members. As membership is organised by your employer it is quite common to find that your school is already a member but that no one knows this. Contact CLEAPSS and they’ll be able to tell you.

If your school isn’t a member the employer i.e. your Local Authority, Academy Trustees or Head teacher and Chair of Governors must provide you and your colleagues with alternative, appropriate risk assessment resources and advice. (Harding, 2021)

In most cases, information about hazards, and the safety measures you need to implement to reduce the risks during an activity, can be found by searching the CLEAPSS website. If you can’t find the information on their website, there is a helpline you can call.

Note: Schools in Scotland should use SSERC instead.

For other countries check with your school leadership teams or

ASE Be Safe Booklet

‘Be Safe’ is a booklet produced by the ASE which gives additional guidance on health and safety matters for primary schools. It covers most of the science-based activities that will be found in the primary classroom, many of which will be taught by non-specialists. It could be used alongside CLEAPSS advice.

The Risk Assessment Process

Risk assessments are a key tool for ensuring health and safety in primary school science. They are a systematic process of identifying, evaluating, and controlling the risks that may arise from a science activity, and of deciding whether the activity is safe and suitable to carry out.

Risk assessments help teachers to plan and deliver science lessons that are engaging and challenging, but also safe and appropriate for their pupils.

At the basic level the teacher should be considering: “I need to teach my children ‘X’, using ‘Y’ activity. What is the safest way to do this? What do I need to do for this to happen?” (Cleapps)

When you are planning the lesson, and you have decided on an activity to do, carry out these 4 steps:

Read: Use the CLEAPSS website to see what it says about how to do the activity safely. They will suggest safety measures to minimise the chances of the hazard causing harm.

Think: Think about how you will implement the safety measures CLEAPSS has recommended, so that they will work for their class.

Record: Make a note of the safety measures somewhere useful, so that you remember to carry them out. Typically this can go at the end of your lesson plan, but it could go in your teacher planner.

Do: Carry out the activity, and make sure the safety measures you have planned are implemented.

The Risk Assessment Process. From CLEAPSS

Things to consider when planning a practical task

Do you have children with particular educational needs that may need additional support or supervision to carry out the activity safely? Will you have an additional adult in the room?

Do you need to split the class and have a small number of children doing the activity whilst the rest of the class are doing independent work?

Plan how you will support children to use specific pieces of equipment and handle materials, eg modelling how to use it and how to behave/communicate while using it.

How will you get the equipment to the children and back in. Often it could be placed on each table in trays. However, sometimes you may have to plan how the children are going to collect and return some equipment or resources from another part of the classroom.

What procedures do you have for counting out and counting in certain items, such as scissors?

If you think the children are in a troublesome mood, e.g. a high risk activity would normally take place straight after lunch on a Friday afternoon, consider rescheduling to another time.

When recording the safety measures needed, do you need to make a sign to go next to a piece of equipment to warn of the risk? Should you add additional messages to the PowerPoint or any instruction sheet the children are following?

Dealing with an Accident

Teach children how to behave if something does go wrong. Involve them by discussing how they could react responsibly and remind them periodically to help them remember (CLEAPSS). Do the children know what to do if there is a spillage? Have a dustpan and brush, paper towels or a mop/bucket available to clean up.

When planning higher risk activities, is it possible to move the furniture in the room to make it easier to reach children in the event of an incident. In the event of an accident, always follow your school’s health and safety policy. Check with your science lead, and/or school leadership team for guidance.

Most teachers are not trained first-aiders. If a child has got a material in their eye, in their mouth, on their skin or they inhale something and you are concerned it might be an issue, send for a first-aider but be prepared to take immediate remedial measures. For support call the CLEAPSS Helpline or ring 111 for guidance.

Safety Equipment

Primary science is very different to secondary school science. It typically takes place in a classroom, rather than a laboratory, the teacher is a non-specialist, and there’s no science technician support. This will limit the range of practical activities you can do, particularly with chemicals. If your risk assessment requires personal protective equipment (PPE) in any form, for example, eye protection or safety gloves, then the general guidance is that the activity is probably not suitable for you to carry out in your classroom (CLEAPSS).

This does not count for clothing that might protect from getting dirty, such as aprons when doing something messy or gloves when gardening. Keep using those if you need to.