Teachers in England are using health and safety as a “convenient excuse” for not organising practical experiments and school trips, a group of MPs has found.

The Commons Science and Technology Select Committee has been investigating the perception that health and safety concerns are preventing science practicals in schools, as well as fieldwork and field trips. Publishing its findings in a report on 14 September, the committee found “no credible evidence to support [health and safety’s] oft-cited explanation for decline of practicals and work outside the classroom”, and concluded that the perception is “to a large extent, misconceived”.

Instead, the MPs felt that more fundamental factors were at play in discouraging teachers from organising fieldwork and science experiments. These include the availability of teachers who are well-trained and confident in their ability to effectively organise work outside the classroom, and issues surrounding fit-for-purpose facilities and sufficient qualified and experienced technical support. The MPs said they are “convinced that good training and guidance should not only provide teachers with the information and skills to carry out the work but also work toward dispelling any myths about health and safety”.

Research evidence the committee received from two organisations, in particular, indicated that health and safety is not the main barrier to the organisation of practical science work. A survey by the Council for Learning Outside the Classroom found cost the greatest barrier (57 per cent), followed by health and safety at 46 per cent.

A similar study by the Association for Science Education showed health and safety well down the list of concerns – just 16 per cent cited it as a barrier, compared with 52 per cent claiming the main reason was a lack of time; 45 per cent citing the requirements of exams and assessments; and 38 per cent pointing to the demands of the curriculum.

The MPs also recognised the success of the Learning Outside the Classroom Quality Badge in trying to transfer some of the health and safety burden for field trips away from schools and on to providers.

They said: “We see value in a central scheme, like the Quality Badge, to allow teachers, quickly and easily, to assess health and safety for other practical activities outside the classroom and practical classes inside the classroom.

“We recommend that the Government work to establish a central repository or facility (or network of such facilities with a common interface), which will contain details and guidance on standard experiments. This facility should provide access, for member schools, to any CLEAPSS*-provided health and safety guidance for those experiments.”

IOSH praised the report and said it chimed with the Government’s recent statement on busting the myths that surround health and safety in general.

The Institution’s head of policy and public affairs, Richard Jones, said: “We greatly welcome this report by such a prestigious committee. The findings echo our long-held view, and the comments made by Employment minister Chris Grayling last month, that health and safety legislation can be misinterpreted as an excuse for banning activities.

“We are particularly supportive of the comments made in the report about making sure health and safety is not used as a convenient excuse in schools and colleges to stop experiments and activities taking place outside of the classroom. It’s very important for the development of young people that they are exposed, in a controlled way, to risks and issues.”

The Committee’s report is at: www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201012/cmselect/cmsctech/1060/1060i.pdf

* CLEAPSS is an advisory service providing support in science and technology for a consortium of local authorities and their schools, including establishments for pupils with special needs.