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that pupils do not sit next to a draughty window, hot radiator or a tall piece of furniture
with freestanding objects resting on top. Eighth, pupils must only use specialist
equipment with adult supervision and after appropriate training. Ninth, pupils must be
regularly reminded not to suck or put small objects in their mouths. Finally, class rules
need to stress that pupils walk and do not run in the classroom.
The use of computer equipment raises specific issues with regard to electrical safety,
ensuring that children are properly supervised, liquids are not permitted in the area of the
machines and attention is given to the possible hazards from trailing leads and flexes.
Teachers are also careful that pupils do not spend an excessive amount of time in front of
a computer screen and that chairs are correctly positioned and suitable for the purpose.
The danger of repetitive strain injury caused through excessive keyboard work is not a
serious problem for pupils in school, though it may be a problem in the home if adult
supervision is slack. Teachers, too, have to be cautious that when they spend time
entering data into a computer or (especially) writing reports they abide by the same safety
considerations that they enforce with pupils in the classroom or computer suite.
A-Z 79
Healthy eating, personal hygiene and awareness of the dangers from drugs form an
important element of primary pupils education. All children require nutritious food,
regular exercise and appropriate amounts of rest and sleep to function efficiently during
the day and make the best use of the learning opportunities provided in and out of school.
Schools promote healthy eating, encourage children to eat fruit rather than snacks, and
pay close attention to the nutritional value of school meals. School safety programmes
tend to reflect adult concerns about children s safety, such as accident prevention,
ensuring that pupils are taught about hazards from traffic and roads, trains and railway
lines, electricity, fire and heat, machinery sharp objects, medicines, poisons, and so forth.
Danger from strangers is also commonly emphasised in primary school safety
programmes. Children, however, may harbour more concerns about burglars and
violence. Younger children may be worried by imaginary dangers, especially those that
result from exposure to unsuitable television programmes.
Inexperienced teachers tend to take advice from senior colleagues about health and
safety issues, especially when using specialised equipment and during apparatus work in
the gymnasium. Should an injury occur then national laws about appropriate adult and
child behaviour and relationships, regional guidelines about procedures and agreed
school policies are activated, depending upon the nature of the incident. In situations
where a number of different activities are taking place in the room simultaneously,
teachers have to ensure that sufficient adult help and supervision is available. In large-
space activities involving heavy or potentially hazardous equipment (in aspects of
physical education, for instance) teachers carry out safety checks beforehand and monitor
pupil access closely. Teachers generally use a limited range of equipment safely than
attempt too much at one time, which might create unsafe working conditions.
Further reading
McWhirter, J.M. (2000)  Evaluating Safe in the Sun: a curriculum programme for primary
schools , Health Education Research, 15, 2, pp. 203 17.
Wetton, N. (2003)  Growing up safely in a changing world , Wired for Health, NHS Health
Development Agency, London: The Stationery Office. http://www.wiredforhealth.gov.uk/
(accessed April 2005).
HOMEWORK
Most primary teachers provide relevant forms of homework and other out-of-class tasks
for pupils that help to consolidate and extend the work that has been carried out during
the school day, involving parents where possible. The homework has to be manageable,
as there is little point in setting work that is impossible for the children to complete or
that requires expensive ICT resources that may not be available at home. Government
guidelines suggest that children as young as 5 should spend up to an hour a week doing
homework on reading, spelling and number.
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Homework is particularly useful if it builds on previous schoolbased work or teases
open intriguing new avenues of learning, with tasks organised in such a way that children
can cope unaided if necessary and directly linked to the learning objectives that the
teacher has established for the lesson. Some homework consists of  finishing off
incomplete work from the day; however, this penalises slower workers and does little to
extend the more able. Commonly, children are given a number of activities that have to
be completed over a period of time (a half-term, say) in addition to short-term tasks such
as learning how to spell a list of words. Homework can provide a starting point for
discussion and sharing experiences, and a useful spur in promoting dialogue in learning. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]