DSE Assessments In Schools – Boost Focus
Being sat at a desk for hours at a time can cause huge problems such as a bad back, aches and pains and hard to treat musculoskeletal disorders. Although thousands of school staff worked from home during the pandemic, all are now back in, meaning administrative staff are suffering from poorly set-up workstations and teachers have to get used to teaching pupils and marking books in a classroom that is not ergonomically friendly for them.
Suffering with aches and pains?
Did you know that 34,000 of those who work in education are recorded to suffer from some sort of musculoskeletal problem. This equates to around a quarter of all ill health in the educational sector. Display screen equipment (DSE) assessments should be therefore be conducted annually and all educational staff’s workstation set-ups carefully considered.
We see time after time, staff members who work in a school reception are often uncomfortable. They are sat on a chair that doesn’t support their posture and the equipment they have is sub-standard. This over time leads to an increase in pain and subsequently prolonged periods of absence.
Educational facilities often have tight budgets so, when given a brochure to pick a new chair, staff members think they are doing the right thing by choosing an office chair that fits within the price range and, matches everyone else’s chair. Not long after however, they are still uncomfortable and suffering with aches and pains. This is because more often than not, the ‘office’ chair just isn’t suitable. Don’t worry though, ergonomic office chairs don’t break the bank and, we can help you find the right one for you.
What can be done to resolve this problem?
At VergoUK, we have years of experience working with schools to ensure all staff can work comfortably. Our display screen equipment (DSE) assessments can be carried out on any member of staff, in schools, colleges, academies, and universities.
We can carry out our assessments on administrative and office staff, teachers and faculty members. Basically, wherever you work in education, we can help!
Over our decades of experience assisting schools, we find the biggest problem area for working comfortably starts with administrative or reception desk staff . They are often sat all day on uncomfortable chairs and the desks are not positioned correctly meaning aches and pains quickly develop.
We also find that teachers need assistance with DSE. They can be crouched down to assist pupils or sit at low tables. Circumstances like this can affect your posture which leads to musculoskeletal problems. In this instance, it is important to always have a chair and desk that you can go to and work from so that you get a rest from uncomfortable sitting.
Having a desk that you can return to in between helping students gives your body a much-needed break from un-ergonomic sitting. The correct workstation set up encourages correct posture, improves blood flow and means that you can be comfortable.
If this isn’t possible in a classroom, a correctly set-up staff room is the ideal place to ensure you can work comfortably. We redesign staff and meeting rooms to create break-out spaces so that educational staff have somewhere comfortable to carry out their work that is not in the classroom.
Do You Need A DSE Assessment?
Whether you have one member of school staff that requires a DSE assessment or, you would like your entire school team assessing, we have solutions to help. Our services are completely scalable meaning no task is too small or large to complete.
Our DSE assessors are ergonomic specialists and know how to get you working comfortably. If it is a simple case of making adjustments to your workstation when at the DSE assessment, they will do this. If however, you would benefit from new equipment such as a new chair, mouse or keyboard this will be recommended (but, it is completely up to you whether you go ahead and order or not). All DSE assessments also come with a full written report and, if you decide to go ahead and order new equipment (if it is needed), we also come back to set you up on this, free of charge.
DSE assessments increase productivity, improve comfort, reduce aches and pains, lower absenteeism and allow educational facilities to meet Health and Safety obligations.
If you have any questions about how we can help you or any of your colleagues at your school, feel free to reach out and a member of our team would be more than happy to help.
If you would like more information or, would like to book, get in touch today.