PAT testing in schools is crucial in ensuring student safety because there are large amounts of lives at risk, as well as electrical equipment if a PAT test has not been carried out in schools on a regular basis. PAT testing in schools is usually seasonal and has to be performed during holiday periods when the students are not on the school’s premises. PAT testing in schools is generally straight forward as most of the testing in modern schools is IT (PCs, Monitors, Printers and Communications Equipment etc) either class I or II.
Annual PAT testing in schools usually consists of appliances such as:
• IT equipment
• Kitchen equipment
• lab equipment
• power leads
The biggest caution when testing in schools in regards to IT and Communications equipment is ensuring that there is no loss of data whilst testing electronic circuits. In order to prevent loss of data the engineer should seek permission from the person in charge of the area so they can shut the systems down and make sure they bring them back up after the test to prove the system.
PAT testing in schools has been an imperative in regards to health and safety. Many schools already carry out PAT testing, either through an independent contractor, or by delegating the task to qualified members of staff.
Regular PAT testing in schools is reinforced by having regular checks by someone who is trained, school staff who are encouraged to look for any obvious signs of danger when using appliances, also known as “user check”.
