Worked example · IT · Year 8
DCF: Citizenship → Health and well-being
A secure Year 8 response, annotated so you can see which success criterion each part meets. Show it after pupils have filled their own risk table, not before. The poster at the end is drawn full size on the sheet; this version is shrunk to fit.
| What is wrong | Body part or effect at risk | The change I would make |
|---|---|---|
| Laptop flat on the table, so the screen is far below eye level and he looks down at it for two hours. | Neck and shoulders. | Stand the laptop on a stack of two ring binders so the top of the screen is roughly level with his eyes, and plug in the spare USB keyboard. |
| Stool with no back rest. | Lower back. | Swap the stool for the dining chair, which supports the lower back. |
| Feet dangling, not reaching the floor. | Lower back and thighs, because his weight hangs off the front edge of the seat. | Put a shoebox or a thick book under his feet as a footrest so his knees sit at about a right angle. |
| Wrists bent upwards over the front edge of the laptop while typing. | Wrists and hands. | Lower the keyboard or raise the chair so his forearms are roughly level, and rest the heels of his hands on the table, not on the laptop edge. |
| Window directly behind the screen, so he is squinting into the light. | Eye strain and fatigue. | Turn the table 90 degrees so the window is to one side, and close the blind in the evening. |
| Mouse on a pile of books beyond a stack of folders, so he reaches sideways for every click. | Shoulder and upper arm. | Move the folders off the table and put the mouse flat next to the keyboard, within easy reach. |
Six specific faults, each named precisely, and each matched to a body part from the HSE list rather than "it is bad for you". Evidences criteria 1 and 2.
Dylan works 6pm to 8pm, which is two continuous hours, so under the DSE regulations he counts as a user. HSE says short breaks often beat long breaks rarely, so I would stop at 6.55pm for 5 minutes and again at 7.50pm for 5 minutes rather than taking one 20 minute break at 7pm.
In each break he should stand up, walk to the kitchen for a glass of water and roll his shoulders — not just sit still and scroll on his phone, because a phone is display screen equipment as well, so that is not a change of activity at all.
Quotes the HSE break guidance accurately (5 to 10 minutes every hour, get up and change posture) and spots that swapping a laptop for a phone is not a break. Evidences criterion 3.
I game for about three hours on a Saturday at a desk that is too high for me, and my right wrist aches afterwards. This week I am going to raise my chair two notches and put my monitor on the old printer box, because that is the same fault as Dylan's, and HSE says wrist pain is a reason to reassess a workstation rather than something to put up with.
Applies the guidance to the pupil's own habits and names one concrete change. Evidences criterion 4.
Five rules, each one instruction plus a reason, readable from a distance, and it credits the source. Evidences criterion 5.