AnonyMouse_22106 Posted January 10, 2011 Posted January 10, 2011 Could you tell me how often do you get your electrical items tested? My Ealy Years dept say it should be yearly - my Landlord says every 3 yrs. When you look on the internet there are varying times depending on what the items are. How often do you do it?
AnonyMouse_19782 Posted January 10, 2011 Posted January 10, 2011 My landlords do it yearly - afterall you could buy new equipment, or not strictly new equipment but bring it in from home and start using it at work, better to be safe. Could you arrange your own testing?
Guest Posted January 10, 2011 Posted January 10, 2011 I have (hopefully) given you a link to the HSE site, that may help. http://www.hse.gov.uk/myth/july.htm
Guest Posted January 10, 2011 Posted January 10, 2011 Thanks for the HSE link, phew! Not sure we have any electrical stuff, beyond a kettle, and that belongs to the hall we rent!
AnonyMouse_22106 Posted January 10, 2011 Author Posted January 10, 2011 My landlords do it yearly - afterall you could buy new equipment, or not strictly new equipment but bring it in from home and start using it at work, better to be safe. Could you arrange your own testing? I'm thinking that I will have to arrange my own as the debate just keeps going around in circles! Do you know roughly how much it costs?
AnonyMouse_19782 Posted January 10, 2011 Posted January 10, 2011 Sorry I don't know how much it costs, but I do know that it doesn't take long - they have a little gadget type machine with a probe to test each appliance and then put a sticker on it! Sounds like a look through the local yellow pages or paper - or any of your parents perhaps might be in the electrical business.
AnonyMouse_6721 Posted January 10, 2011 Posted January 10, 2011 Hi Yes it does need to been yearly. Our man charges about £3 per appliances. It should be done on anything that can be plugged in / unplugged. He puts a little sticker on the appliances and gives a certificate for the whole lot.
AnonyMouse_3544 Posted January 10, 2011 Posted January 10, 2011 We have ours done yearly in school. I don't know how much it costs but we have loads of appliances across the school and it takes a couple of days, the men go round the whole school routing through cupboards as well.Last year we found all sorts of old machines we have to take apart in our workshop area had been tested. I hadn't thought about a price per object we must sort that out before next time, there's no point in having them tested if there not plugged in!!
Guest Posted January 11, 2011 Posted January 11, 2011 Hi Yes it does need to been yearly. Our man charges about £3 per appliances. It should be done on anything that can be plugged in / unplugged. He puts a little sticker on the appliances and gives a certificate for the whole lot. But the HSE link seems to suggest that it doesn't have to be done annually, just at your discretion? We only really have a laptop and a stereo, do you really think we need to get them tested?
AnonyMouse_705 Posted January 11, 2011 Posted January 11, 2011 The £3 per item seems about right, we had ours done today costing £87 for around 25 items. Our electrician had a minimum charge of £25 for this - I guess it has to be worth their while. He PAT tested everything from battery charger to extension leads and the obvious larger items. The main problem we had was getting someone to do it. We've been waiting for the electician for months. We have a health and safety inspection on Friday so I will try to ask then how often PAT testing needs doing.
AnonyMouse_22106 Posted January 11, 2011 Author Posted January 11, 2011 thanks for your replies everyone, it seems like there is no hard and fast rule about this. The risk assessment should cover anything with which a child may come into contact. The premises and equipment should be clean, and providers should be aware of the requirements of health and safety legislation (including hygiene requirements). This should include informing and keeping staff up-to-date. A health and safety policy should be in place which includes procedures for identifying, reporting and dealing with accidents, hazards and faulty equipment. Suzie - this is the bit that Early Years say refers to this testing, and as we aren't electricians we don't know if something is safe or not hence the PAT testing. Having spoken to my children's head today it seems that schools in our area do their's yearly, because that's what our LEA say. things we need testing are, lap top, computer, kettle, toaster, battery charger, photocopier, laminator, CD player....
AnonyMouse_8466 Posted January 11, 2011 Posted January 11, 2011 Would you believe there's a PAT testing information website? You can find it here! Literally everything you ever wanted to know and a lot more about PAT testing... Another comparison website reveals that PAT testing machines cost between £400 and £1400!
Guest Posted January 11, 2011 Posted January 11, 2011 This is making my brain hurt. I'm only a lowly volunteer, do I really need to organise for a test? I read the website and all our stuff is 0 on the risk assessment. The kettle isn't ours and I don't think the hall we rent from ever test it. We don't have a toaster. Might try and delegate this one to someone else on committee, as I seem to be doing pretty much everything at the moment.
Guest Posted January 11, 2011 Posted January 11, 2011 Might be worth emailing Ofsted and ask what their view is on this. Peggy
Guest Posted January 11, 2011 Posted January 11, 2011 Our Pat testing is done annually. We pay approx. £1.00 per item which I think is fairly cheap. For peace of mind, I would advise you to get the electrical items tested annually.
AnonyMouse_30128 Posted January 11, 2011 Posted January 11, 2011 if its only a kettle you are worried about i would just go out and buy a new one anually or biannually and then it will be covered under european guide lines ( basic ones are about £5/6 from major supermarkets)
AnonyMouse_30128 Posted January 11, 2011 Posted January 11, 2011 oh and p.s. i work in a large educational establishment and they now only test bi-anually ( they are ofsted inspected ....amongst others!) new equipment is not tested at all.they pay £5 per item
AnonyMouse_8466 Posted January 11, 2011 Posted January 11, 2011 new equipment is not tested at all.they pay £5 per item But on the fees they charge, no doubt they can afford it! Do they tests yours for you, finleysmaid? I'd have thought that if the electrical items are provided by the hall for hirers to use then they have ultimate responsibility for ensuring the testing is done. Our toasters are left out in the kitchen and as such were tested the last time round. If only I'd known I'd have left out every other electrical appliance I own!
AnonyMouse_30128 Posted January 11, 2011 Posted January 11, 2011 yes they do happy maz ! (worked it out then have you?..took your time )
AnonyMouse_8466 Posted January 11, 2011 Posted January 11, 2011 yes they do happy maz ! (worked it out then have you?..took your time ) Worked it out some time ago actually, was just waiting for the right moment!
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