The Design and Technology Association (D&TA) Accreditation Scheme is designed to ensure that all staff regardless of status who operate in or around the D.T. Department should be trained and work in accordance with the BS4163 (The Code of Practice for Design and Technology in Schools and colleges,) when using tools and machinery.

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This training follows the accreditation scheme and therefore enables any member of staff completing all or part of it to be fully trained. This training is suitable for Teachers of DT, Head of Department, Technicians, TA's, DT ITT's or NQT's, and school services/support staff, plus any other staff who teach in the DT rooms.

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The accreditation is broken down into different elements:

• CORE

  • this looks at the legal side and all aspects of paperwork associated with DT and Health and Safety, including COSHH, Risk Assessment, LEV, PAT plus teaching and maintenance.​

• SMHS

  • this deals with a wide range of machines and process found commonly in DT rooms in both secondary and primary. the list of machines is extensive but includes Drilling Machines, Sanding Machines, Power Fret Saws, Heat Treatment, Plastics Moulding, Polishing, Grinding, Textiles Machining etc.​

• SPECIALIST MACHINERY

  • within this section there is 12 different elements that you can choose from depending upon your schools facilities. These include:​

    • Wood Cutting Machines, Center Lathe, Casting, Welding, Milling Machines, Wood Lathe, Thicknesser/Planner,​ Power tools and sharpening and grinding.

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On completing the accreditation or parts of it the member of staff will be issued with a nationally recognised certificate which lasts for 5 years.

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Below is a copy of part of a informational leaflet produced by D&TA explaining their scheme. For more information or to see the leaflet in full go to https://www.data.org.uk/media/1701/hs-training-courses-flyer.pdf 

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The D&T Association supports schools, academies, colleges, initial teacher training and other educational establishments to enable employers to meet their statutory obligations for health and safety training for employees.

• The D&T Association Health and Safety Training Standards for Design and Technology were established in 2000 and over 23,000 teaching and support staff have now been accredited on these Standards.

• These Standards provide the benchmark for health and safety training in design and technology, providing staff with the training, competency and accreditation to meet the requirements of the British Standard, BS4163:2014 Health and safety for design and technology in educational and similar establishments – Code of practice.

• The code of practice sets clear expectations about the H&S training required by all staff working in design and technology.

• Codes of practice have a special legal status. Any Body, such as the HSE, investigating the circumstances of an accident will consult the relevant code of practice as well as the relevant H&S Regulations.

• In practice an employer must have a good reason for not adhering to a code of practice, and BS 4163:2014 must be treated as the standard against which you should expect your procedures and practices to be compared.

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