Advice for workshop use from September 2020 – Support for school leaders returning post COVID Lockdown

Published 24th August 2020

We are living and working in uncertain and challenging times. By the time secondary students start to return to design and technology department workshops this September, many workshops will have been in a closed state for five months or longer. Facilities may have lain idle or alternatively could have been set up as a production environment for PPE to assist clinical workers in their hour of need.

School leaders and governors will be considering how to safely open up all facilities to students wherever possible. The downloadable document in Associated Files below has been produced recognising that many schools will have the expertise in place to carry out safety audits of their facilities, machines and equipment but may benefit from an expert external perspective.

This guidance has been produced with close reference to the CLEAPSS guidance issued last week. Our intention is to take a practical view of the guidance issued and consider what actions might be necessary in order to enable workshops to be safely opened for student use. It should be pointed out that each workshop environment will pose a unique set of risks dependant upon the space available, entry/exit points, ventilation, tool and machine availability etc. This makes generic guidance difficult.

The downloadable document contains advice covering:

• Before lessons
• Curriculum change
• Personal protection
• Technical support
• Group sizes
• Managing the workshop
• First aid or an accident in the workshop

It is to be used alongside the appropriate CLEAPSS guidance; it is in no way intended to replace this guidance.