3. Context

3.1 The experience of science which a young person gains at school is an important determinant of his or her understanding of and attitude toward science in later life. Exactly the same could be said of the pupil's understanding of risk. Although the pupil will develop his or her understanding of risk in many contexts, science and science related issues should be an important contributor. The key question both for school science and for the way in which the pupil learns to relate to risk at school is, "How well does what happens in school equip in the individual pupil for later life?"

3.2 In later life, such understandings will be reflected in the citizen's confidence in using scientific information to address as effectively and objectively as possible issues which relate to risk, whether at a personal level or in relation to issues which affect the community at large. A part of this will be the realisation that there is always some degree of uncertainty and therefore some degree of risk in any activity, and also that judgements about taking risks have important non-rational components.

3.3 The response of the public and the media to the BSE-CJD controversy and other science related issues in recent times indicates the major importance of enhancing the public understanding of risk. This was underlined by the Speech "Science and the Perception of Risks" made by Mr Ian Taylor, MP, then Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Science and Technology, at the 1996 British Association for the Advancement of Science Festival of Science. The Minister noted that the public response often does not match informed scientific understanding of the risk involved and he called for new thinking in communicating the understanding of risk in science- and technology-related areas to the public. Education in school clearly has an important long term contribution to make to this.

3.4 The National Curriculum for Science raises Health and Safety issues within the preamble to the Programmes of Study for Science at all Key Stages. For example, at Key Stage 4 (age 14-16) it states that students should:

take responsibility for recognising the hazards in a range of materials, activities and environments, including the unfamiliar;
use information sources in order to assess the risk of the unfamiliar;
manage their working environment and justify the action taken to control risks;

GNVQ Science Curricula and many A-level courses also place a major emphasis on students' understanding of Health and Safety issues. It is clearly important for students to be able to transfer what they learn in these contexts to real life situations outside school.

3.5 In 1995, with sponsorship from BNFL, ESSO, HSE, ICI and Nuclear Electric, IChemE launched a "Boxes into Schools" scheme. This comprises boxes of health and safety materials targeted at the primary sector (Key Stages 1 and 2; age 5-11) with the intention of "helping children to develop an early awareness of the risks in their everyday lives and enable them to grow up better equipped to lead safer, healthier lives".

3.6 The CLEAPSS (Consortium of Local Education Authorities for the Provision of Science Services) School Science Service provides schools, colleges, science advisors and others with valuable support in the area of laboratory safety, and is also adapting their highly regarded "Hazcards" (information relating to the chemical hazards associated with materials used in schools and colleges) into a "Student Safety Sheet" format for use by students themselves.

3.7 Important curriculum support is also provided in a safety section in the student book, "The World of Science" which is being published as part of the on-going SATIS Project. This is aimed primarily at Key Stage 4 students. SATIS (Science and Technology in Society) is a major project of the Association for Science Education. Sections of the new book comprise double page spreads on Hazard and Risk in Everyday Life, Living with Risks, First Jobs, Low Level and High Standard, Safe Messages and Safer Chemicals.

3.8 However, although there is much to support schools and colleges in providing a safe environment and in teaching students safe procedures, remarkably little is in place in the broader context of using health and safety issues as contexts for education ("Perceptions of Risk", SSERC Bulletin 187, Spring 1996, Scottish Schools Equipment Research Centre, Edinburgh) of teaching safety as well as teaching safely.

3.9 Clifton Scientific Trust's "Science for Real" Initiative, supported by the Office of Science and Technology and the Nuffield Foundation, seeks to contribute to addressing these issues by developing and facilitating opportunities for young people in school to share something of the experience of science as it is pursued by real people in the real world.