D and T Education provides professional support for Design and Technology education and other areas of the school curriculum.

Health & Safety Training for Design and Technology Staff

D and T Education offers a range of health and safety services to support the development of design and technology in schools including:

TDA/D&TD Accredited Health and Safety training for Core, Specialist and Specialist Extension Levels; health & safety audits of design and technology accommodation advice on room design and layouts, equipment and furniture

TDA/D&TD Accredited Health and Safety Training

When planning and conducting design and technological activities, teachers must be aware of current relevant health and safety responsibilities, legislation and liability and give due regard to the health and safety of their pupils, themselves and other adults.

Teachers and support staff should be able to identify the hazards and assess the risks, and determine how toremove, control or minimise the risks within design and technology specialist accommodation. The Health & Safety Accreditation Scheme has  been introduced to provide a sound professional framework for health and safety training for design and technology staff and covers the minimum expectations for trainees and qualified design and technology teachers in the following areas:

Primary

For trainees taking Design & Technology as a specialist course and coordinators of D&T in primary schools, with guidance for non-specialist primary schools.

Secondary

There are three levels of accreditation:

• Core level - for all trainees and teachers involved in teaching Design and Technology.

• Specialist levels - trainees and teachers are expected to demonstrate this level if they are to teach in a specialist field of knowledge, for trainees the minimum expectation is for two of the four specialist areas to be covered.  These are:

   

  • Food Technology
  • Resistant Materials
  • Systems and Control
  • Textiles Technology

• Specialist Extension levels - are not part of the minimum requirements for trainee teachers. However before these specialist pieces of equipment, and/or processes, can be used training is required. There are 9 Specialist Extension Levels. S1HS and S2HS are part of the minimum entitlement expected of trainee teachers during their training. 

All secondary trainees and colleagues working in resistant materials need to be aware of the specialist extension levels for health and safety related to specific equipment and processes.  Such equipment and processes must not be used without authoriziation, because of the dangers inherent in their use.   These include: