Presentation: Ergonomics in the Workplace

Slide 1 of 7 · Settling starter · IT · Year 8

5 minutes

Ergonomics in the workplace

“Display screen equipment” (DSE) means computers, laptops, tablets and phones. Sitting badly at a screen for hours causes real injuries, so there is a law about it. Today you inspect a described workstation, list what is wrong with it, and design a poster that tells other pupils how to set up a screen safely.

While the register is called: write your name, class and date on your worksheet, then read the grey HSE facts box. Underline the numbers: one hour, 5 to 10 minutes, every hour.

Starter question: Who counts as a “DSE user” under the regulations?

DCF: Citizenship → Health and well-being No computers needed · every fact is in the grey box

Supply teacher script (no subject knowledge needed)

Hand out: one worksheet per pupil. Pupils need a pen and a pencil for the poster. Every fact they need is in the grey box on the sheet; it is taken from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) guidance on display screen equipment.

Say aloud: “Write your name, class and date at the top. While I take the register, read the grey HSE facts box and underline the numbers: one hour, 5 to 10 minutes, every hour. Then answer the starter question in rough.” Read the facts box aloud to the class once the register is done.

Starter answer: People who use screens daily, for continuous periods of an hour or more. If any pupil says their own back, wrist or eyes hurt when using a screen, pass that on to the class teacher: HSE treats pain or discomfort as a trigger for a fresh assessment.

Slide 2 of 7 · Today’s brief and key words · IT · Year 8

2 minutes

Your brief: inspect Dylan’s workstation, then make a poster

You will find 6 faults in Dylan’s set-up, fill in a risk table linking each fault to a body part and a free fix, write a break plan using the HSE numbers, then draw an A4 poster called “Set up your screen safely” with 5 rules.

DSE user

Someone who uses a screen daily for continuous periods of an hour or more. The regulations protect them.

Workstation assessment

The check an employer must do to find and reduce risks. Needed again when anything changes or a user complains of pain.

Short breaks often

5 to 10 minutes every hour beats 20 minutes every 2 hours. Get up and move, or at least stretch and change posture.

DCF: Citizenship → Health and well-being Badly set up screens hurt necks, shoulders, backs, arms, wrists, hands and eyes

Slide 3 of 7 · Step 2: find the faults · IT · Year 8

8 minutes

Step 2: read Dylan’s set-up and mark the 6 faults

Dylan does his coursework for two hours every evening, 18:00 to 20:00, on a laptop at the kitchen table. Read his set-up on the worksheet carefully. Underline or number every fault you find. There are 6.

Model fault 1: the laptop is flat on the table, so the screen is well below his eye level and he looks down at it for two hours.

Ask of each line: which part of the body does this hurt? Use the HSE list: neck, shoulders, back, arms, wrists, hands, fatigue, eye strain.

Step 2 on your worksheet · 8 minutes Be specific: not “it looks uncomfortable”

Slide 4 of 7 · Step 3: the risk table and break plan · IT · Year 8

10 minutes

Step 3: fill in the risk table, then write Dylan’s break plan

For each of the 6 faults, name the part of the body at risk and write one change Dylan could make tonight for free.

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.

Break plan: Dylan works 18:00 to 20:00. Using the HSE break advice, write the times he should stop and what he should do in each break.

Step 3 on your worksheet · 10 minutes Every change must cost nothing

Supply teacher script (no subject knowledge needed)

Say aloud: “The first 2 rows are on the board. Fill in all 6 rows. Every fix must be free: binders, a shoebox, moving furniture. Then write the break plan with actual clock times.”

Quick check, table: feet dangling → lower back and thighs → a shoebox or thick book as a footrest so his knees sit at about a right angle. Wrists bent up → wrists and hands → lower the keyboard or raise the chair so forearms are level, heels of hands on the table. Window behind the screen → eye strain and fatigue → turn the table 90 degrees so the window is to one side, close the blind. Mouse on books past the folders → shoulder and upper arm → move the folders and put the mouse flat next to the keyboard.

Quick check, break plan: two continuous hours makes Dylan a DSE user. Short breaks often: stop at 18:55 for 5 minutes and again at 19:50 for 5 minutes, rather than one 20-minute break at 19:00. In each break stand up, walk to get a glass of water, roll his shoulders. Scrolling on a phone is not a break, because a phone is display screen equipment too.

Slide 5 of 7 · Step 4: the poster · IT · Year 8

18 minutes

Step 4: design your poster, “Set up your screen safely”

Draw it in the frame on your worksheet. 5 rules maximum, each with a small drawing and a reason, and a title someone can read from across the room. A Year 7 pupil should be able to follow it without help.

Model rule 1: Top of screen at eye level. Look straight ahead, not down. Saves your neck.

Model rule 5: Break every hour. 5 to 10 minutes, standing up. Better than 20 minutes every 2 hours.

Footer idea: “Aching neck, wrists or eyes? Tell a member of staff.” Credit the source: rules from HSE guidance on display screen equipment.

Step 4 on your worksheet · 18 minutes 5 rules, not 10, so it can be read in a few seconds

Slide 6 of 7 · Step 5: self and partner check · IT · Year 8

4 minutes

Step 5: swap with a partner and tick their sheet

Swap worksheets. Tick each success criterion your partner has met. Then take your sheet back and correct 1 thing.

I can name 6 specific faults in a workstation and not just say it “looks uncomfortable”.
I can link each fault to the part of the body it puts at risk, using the HSE list of neck, shoulders, back, arms, wrists, hands, fatigue and eye strain.
I can state the HSE break advice accurately: short breaks often, roughly 5 to 10 minutes every hour, getting up and changing posture.
I can explain that my own screen habits at home affect my health, and name one thing I will change.
My poster gives 5 clear instructions that a Year 7 pupil could follow without help.

4 minutes · partner check Finished early? Try the 3 tasks at the bottom of your sheet

Supply teacher script (no subject knowledge needed)

Say aloud: “Swap sheets with the person next to you. Tick each success criterion they have met. For the fourth one, ask them to tell you one thing they will change about their own screen set-up at home, and write it in the margin. Then take your sheet back and correct 1 thing.”

Extension answers: assessment questions should cover screen height, chair and back support, feet on the floor, wrist position, glare from windows and lighting, and breaks; HSE publishes a real checklist called CK1. Eye tests are part of the law because badly set up screens cause eye strain and fatigue, and the causes are not always obvious, so an employer must provide a test if a worker asks. A phone rule might be: hold the phone up at eye level rather than looking down, and look away from it for a few minutes each stop.

Slide 7 of 7 · Plenary review · IT · Year 8

3 minutes

Quick-check answers before handing in

Check your main answers before your worksheets are collected.

Question	Correct answer
How often should a DSE user take a break, and for how long?	5 to 10 minutes every hour, getting up and moving, better than 20 minutes every 2 hours.
Dylan’s laptop is flat on the table. Which body parts are at risk, and what is the free fix?	Neck and shoulders. Stand the laptop on two ring binders so the top of the screen is at eye level.
Is scrolling on a phone a proper screen break?	No. A phone is display screen equipment too, so it is not a change of activity.

Check your name and class are on your worksheet Hand in with the table and poster completed