§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what guidance she has issued concerning the use of paper correction fluid in schools. [24115]
§ Mr. PaiceThe Department has drawn the attention of all schools to the Health and Safety Commissions's Education Services Advisory Committee's guidance, issued in 1994, entitled "Managing Health and Safety in Schools". ESAC has also produced specific guidance for schools on the safe use of substances hazardous to health. Education employers are required to assess the risks to health, of both employees and pupils, arising from the use of such substances and to have in place appropriate precautions to control those risks. This includes the use of liquid paper correction fluid where it contains substances hazardous to health. Normal use of correction fluid in schools should not, however, give rise to significant risks to health and safety.
The Department has also given advice in circular 4/95—"Drug prevention and schools"—on substances which are open to misuse. These include volatile substances or solvents such as correction fluid. The Department's digest of drug education resources for schools, issued last May, refers to materials which give advice about solvents. Solvents are also specifically mentioned in the references to drug education included in the national curriculum science order at key stages 3 and 4.The School Curriculum Assessment Authority—SCAA—offered guidance on related curricular matters in "Drug Education: Curriculum Guidance for Schools", also issued in May.