NAAIDT: D&T for the Under-Fives

	General
	Background
	Aspects of D&T for the Under-Fives
	Potentially Hazardous Areas
	Conclusion

Design and Technology for the Under-Fives:

Some Health and Safety Issues

GENERAL

Experiences for the under-fives include activities which may be defined as Design and Technology, (D&T), since they support the development of knowledge and skills contributing to capability in this area. D&T related activities often contribute to the development of under-fives in a natural and realistic way. However, the nature of these activities and the materials and equipment used can lead to some potentially hazardous situations and it is important for teachers and all classroom helpers to be fully aware of health and safety issues. This Guideline has been produced to support all those working with under-fives.

BACKGROUND

Children develop their independence, self-confidence, thinking, concepts, skills and understanding, during these early years. Through D&T activities development is enhanced and children make judgements, explore, experiment, select and order. At nursery level there is more time for learning through play which offers good opportunities for D&T capability to develop. It is important to make use, at this stage, of the ways individual children learn. Children's patterns and stages of learning - eg 'rotating', 'enclosing' and 'building' - can be used as useful starting points for D&T activities. Three and four year old children need a secure environment that allows for supervision without stifling creativity, but children at this stage are often unaware of others and need to be encouraged to initiate and experiment in a safe and supportive atmosphere.

ASPECTS OF D&T FOR UNDER-FIVES

Designing Skills
Designing at an early stage involves:
exploring, experimenting, handling materials, selecting, choosing, organising, communicating - (including talking, early writing, drawing/painting), sharing, playing, expressing, following diagrams and instructions, asking questions and reviewing

Adults can help by asking appropriate questions and by providing opportunities for children to talk about their ideas.

Making Skills
Making at an early stage mainly involves:
cutting, sticking/joining, mixing, assembling, combining, folding, building, finishing, testing.

Knowledge and Understanding
Children should gain knowledge and understanding of a wide range of materials, their simple properties, qualities and characteristics. In addition D&T involves making simple structures such as box structures, as well as simple mechanical concepts such as push, pull, twist, lever, press, lift, screw.
Children also gain knowledge and understanding by examining familiar products, such as examining artefacts, touching fabrics, observing/tasting foods.

POTENTIALLY HAZARDOUS AREAS

The materials, tools and equipment deemed potentially hazardous for use with under-fives will depend on whether the activity is one where children are working independently, (which is important at times), or whether adults are carrying out the activity, such as cooking, using heating appliances and perishable foods, where the adult uses the equipment and perhaps the children select or mix ingredients independently.

Materials
Some materials which may be potentially hazardous if used with under-fives include:

hardwoods or plywood which can be difficult to work and can be heavy or produce splinters;
use of metals, such as sharp cut-open drink cans;
some perishable foods;
adhesives which are toxic, such as wallpaper adhesive which contains fungicide;
materials which have hazardous dust, such as polystyrene when sanded;
materials which can be unhygienic, such as empty toilet roll tubes, or used egg boxes;
some food materials which can cause allergies, such as peanuts, or foods which are 'high risk', such as shellfish, cooked rice, untreated milk;
unwashed natural fleeces, which may transmit diseases.

Some materials are both more appropriate for young children and often more familiar to the teacher. Teachers should only use materials with which they are fully familiar. Such appropriate materials may include: sand, water, natural materials (stones/gravel/twigs), paper, card, softwood strip, foil, some re-claimed materials such as plastic bottles, kitchen roll tubes, etc., old toys, play dough/Plasticine, cotton reels, straws, dowel, wheels/card discs, rubber bands, string/yarns, fabrics/textiles, pipe cleaners, lolly sticks, corks, clothes pegs, glues (sticky tapes, PVA glue - eg Marvin), non-perishable foodstuffs such as cereals, flour, sugar and dried foods, which require air-tight storage. There are also several construction kits suitable for the under-fives.

Tools
The use of some tools may be potentially more hazardous than others. Teachers should only use those tools with which they are fully familiar. Special consideration is needed regarding the following:

junior hacksaw - if its use is considered necessary it should only be used with an appropriate jig or clamp that holds the material firmly whilst it is being cut; (NB vices should be firmly fixed to tables and checked by the teacher);
craft knives and chisels - these tools must NOT be used by children;
utility snips - whilst these may be used at KS2 they are potentially dangerous for small fingers and should not be used with under-fives;
hammers - a hammer may not be the most appropriate tool for a nursery child to use and the process of nailing pieces of wood together, although enjoyed by young children, is not easy or successful even at KS2 level, since wood tends to split and nails can bend or fly. The process also requires careful tuition and continuous, close supervision by the teacher. In addition, the banging together of two hammer heads can lead to the heads chipping or shattering violently;
sewing machines and heating equipment, such as an oven, hob, microwave or glue gun, if considered to be essential by the teacher, should only be used by adults, with the children observing under close supervision, and with the appliance fitted with a RCD circuit breaking plug.

Appropriate tools for use with under-fives can include: round-ended scissors, brushes, spreaders, pencils/crayons/felts/pens, hole punch, rule, cutlery knife and spoons, biscuit cutters, glass paper/emery boards, and junior hacksaw used with jig/cramps(optional).

Processes
Potentially hazardous processes include activities in which there is: cutting, knocking, dust, gluing, carrying tools, building large structures which may collapse (eg do NOT make climbing frames), where there is a lack of hygiene and where taking products apart may reveal sharp edges, toxic materials or small items which might be swallowed, (eg NOT radios, TVs or other electrical goods).

Supervision
Work with under-fives often involves a range of adult helpers in addition to the teacher. It is important that all are aware of potential hazards and that supervision is only undertaken by those adults with appropriate experience and/or knowledge of the materials, tools and processes involved. The teacher is responsible and routinely should carry out risk assessments for each activity. NAAIDT recommends that it is this risk assessment which should be used to determine whether or not an activity takes place and if so, by whom and how closely it is supervised. In some cases it may be supervised, or indeed carried out, by the teacher only.

Environment
Potential hazards can be caused where:

there is insufficient space for the activity;
there is a lack of safe space for others around the child undertaking the activity;
unhygienic surfaces are used;
clay dust is not properly wet-wiped down;
incorrect heights of work surfaces are used (do NOT use duck boards to stand on);
there is unsafe/untidy storage (eg not stored above the eye level of the child, etc);
inappropriate storage containers are used - eg too big to grasp or made of glass.

CONCLUSION

There may be other activities and occasions with under-fives where health and safety matters occur and each time a separate risk assessment routinely needs to be made by the teacher. The over-riding considerations for any process must always be:

the safety of children and adults;
the intended learning outcome;
the manageability of the situation by the teacher and other adults.

Those involved in teaching young children may wish to refer to the NAAIDT publication:

Make it Safe ISBN No 0 906 457 07
Safety guidance for the teaching of D&T at KS1 and 2.

Please send any comments on this Guideline to: Guideline@naaidt.org.uk
For a list of other NAAIDT publications see the Publications section or send s.a.e. to:
DATA, 16 Wellesbourne Road, Wellesbourne, Warwickshire CV35 9JB.
For more information on the work of the Association contact: Hon.Sec@naaidt.org.uk