View Full Version : Gudelines for kids school workstations?
Heres a question for any orger out there who may be able to help or if you have any advice on this one.
Out of curiosity I am trying to find out if there are any obligations for the Education Authority to assess and deliver a safe working space for the children in school. :o)
At work we have health and safety guidelines covering our desk, chair, computer, etc, etc and this has made me wonder is there something similar around to cover childrens use of computers, desks and chairs in the school environment.
I can't find anything so assume that council employees and workers are covered by regulations but not the children attending school. Any one got any ideas ??
Work station regulations at work are aimed at employees who spend x hours sat in one place. I think that due to school kids only spending maybe 1 or 2 hours a day working at a computer they wouldn't be applicable.
I know I tried to get a decent chair, table and other items for working on a computer from my previous employer but they stated that I didn't spend enough time during a working day to qualify under the workstation regs.
Alice in Blunderland
28-May-09, 21:28
Would this be covered by Health and Safety at work act ? or is Schools exempt :confused
Interesting.!
I think you will find that the majority of health and safety rules geared towards those in the workplace do not apply in school.
Alice in Blunderland
28-May-09, 21:59
I think you will find that the majority of health and safety rules geared towards those in the workplace do not apply in school.
Kids dont count :(
gosh...how did we all survive in the past??????????????????///:roll:
We weren't wrapped in cotton wool. We played outside until it got dark (or even later), we walked to school in all weathers, we sat on hard seats, school didn't close down when there was a hard frost, teachers could reprimand pupils properly, risk assessments hadn't been invented, we played sports to keep fit, we weren't humilated if we lost at those sports, we sorted things out behind the bike shed, we didn't have mobile phones or even iPods and so on and so on....
We weren't wrapped in cotton wool. We played outside until it got dark (or even later), we walked to school in all weathers, we sat on hard seats, school didn't close down when there was a hard frost, teachers could reprimand pupils properly, risk assessments hadn't been invented, we played sports to keep fit, we weren't humilated if we lost at those sports, we sorted things out behind the bike shed, we didn't have mobile phones or even iPods and so on and so on....
Exactly.....................very well put.;)
If you'd used the term "workstation" in 'my time' I wouldn't have had a clue what you were on about... :)
My first introduction to a computer was sitting at a thing called a desk making up punch cards for some behemoth in the bowels of Dounreay....
I know I tried to get a decent chair, table and other items for working on a computer from my previous employer but they stated that I didn't spend enough time during a working day to qualify under the workstation regs.
So it's alright for you as an adult to expect to have a decent desk and chair for working on a computer but not for a child to expect the same. :roll:
changilass
28-May-09, 23:00
A kid shouldn't be spending enough time at a comupter in school to need the same regulations to apply.
Unless a child is complaining about their work station I fail to see what can be done. At school every pupil has an individual learning plan now. Can you tell us more about the original post (expand)?
So it's alright for you as an adult to expect to have a decent desk and chair for working on a computer but not for a child to expect the same. :roll:
Not at all - I don't think I said that, so no need to roll your eyes...
I merely used my personal experience in trying to get a decent desk/chair to sit at while doing work on a computer for a few hours a day, every day of the week. I only suggested that maybe as children only spend a lesson or two working at a computer during their 'working' day. I would hope that monitor heights in relation to eye levels are correct, keyboards and mouse mats have wrist supports, room lighting is suitable to reduce eyestrain etc and I expect that IT classrooms in schools will be 'risk assessed' to ensure they meet guidelines. Whether they have to reach the same guidelines in place for someone spending 8 hours at a computer I am not able to say. One factor might be the wide range of the size of children having to use such equipment - unlike a request for ergonomic furniture for offices under H&S regs where chairs and desks may be bought specifically for the 'operator'.
I would hope that classroom furniture has moved on since my days of sitting at a one piece wood bench and desk, and children have comfortable chairs (not too comfortable ;) Zzzzzz ) to sit on now...
I'm afraid that school furniture is very basic and does not cater for all the different shapes and heights of children today. The type and size of desks and chairs provided in secondary school may have been adequate when you arrived there aged 12, but they are not so comfortable when you are 6ft 3ins withthe build of an adult in 5th/6th year. They're even worse when you have to sit at them for three hours doing exams.:(
I'm afraid that school furniture is very basic and does not cater for all the different shapes and heights of children today. The type and size of desks and chairs provided in secondary school may have been adequate when you arrived there aged 12, but they are not so comfortable when you are 6ft 3ins and the build of an adult in 5th/6th year. They're even worse when you have to sit at them for three hours doing exams.:(
Totally get you point!:(
Thanks for all the comments. I had been referring not just to the computer stations that kids work at but also as some of you have picked up on the tables and chairs. I think that the height of pupils is an issue at Primary school as well as Secondary.
I guess that there are no official guidelines and that it comes down to duty of care. :roll:
susan.leith
29-May-09, 15:48
Well aware of the issues of matching chairs and tables to children! There are no guidelines that I am aware of, other than the tables and chairs should be fit for purpose. In my school, we check this at the start of every term - children do grow throughout the year! As a very rough guide, the child should be able to sit with their feet flat on the floor and thighs flat on the chair (ie making an L shape), so no knees under chins or dangly legs. If the table is too high, then this affects their handwriting and general posture. Too low and this also affects posture. It also means scraped thighs - especially on tables with drawer runners underneath. Ouch!
In terms of wrapping children up in cotton wool, I've told my class that after next week their homework is to go out to play....... think they're still puzzling over that one!
Well aware of the issues of matching chairs and tables to children! There are no guidelines that I am aware of, other than the tables and chairs should be fit for purpose. In my school, we check this at the start of every term - children do grow throughout the year! As a very rough guide, the child should be able to sit with their feet flat on the floor and thighs flat on the chair (ie making an L shape), so no knees under chins or dangly legs. If the table is too high, then this affects their handwriting and general posture. Too low and this also affects posture. It also means scraped thighs - especially on tables with drawer runners underneath. Ouch!
In terms of wrapping children up in cotton wool, I've told my class that after next week their homework is to go out to play....... think they're still puzzling over that one!
like it...haha...where will they plug all their doings in????:roll:
Schools, and therefore your children, are covered by the same Health & Safety at Work Act that you are. There should be a copy posted up at the school in a prominent place the same as any workplace. They should also be covered by a child safety on the Internet policy set up by the local authority - if they aren't then insist on someone telling you why not.
You need to read the regulations regarding the H&S Act - most of the regulations cover a period of time that school chidren (and their teachers) are not exposed to, since lessons are less than one hour actual usage time. School admin staff are subject to much longer periods of time and therefore should be covered to the same standards as office staff.
David Banks
04-Jun-09, 10:27
. . . that are left handed.
The bairns wilna tell ye if everythin' is OK.
By now, the're have become used to gettin' what the right handers provide.
Southpaws unite!
We're the only ones in our right minds.
David Banks
04-Jun-09, 10:29
. . . and yes!
I mean left-handed mouse location
Switch mouse buttons, and
Change orientation of curser on the screen.
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