Education: PAT Testing requirements in schools

PAT-iT has retained many schools and academies for several years. We understand discretion is needed whilst PAT testing for schools, so we are always open with our background and welcome any DBS checks (previously CRB). We’ve worked in many places such as nurseries, infant schools, secondary schools, further education, colleges, academies, universities, tutors and private tutors to name a few. We normally organise testing to be done throughout the half term holidays, or the summer break depending on the size of the school. We work closely with your appointed Health & Safety representative to insure we meet your requirements. It’s all to easy to "Just do it all” as you could be paying to have equipment tested when it’s not entirely necessary. With your Risk Assessment we can ascertain a frequency of testing that suits you.

Frequently Asked Questions –

How long does it take?

Every PAT testing firm is different, we at PAT-iT however, work to a high standard so please expect 150 to 200 items per day per engineer (this can fluctuate due to accessibility). Anything above 300 is not within our remit as quality of testing and data recording suffers.

How much does it cost?

Every school is different, we advise a site visit before work starts. We offer 2 price structurers:

per item rate, or
per engineer per day rate.

A per item rate is normally better for those schools with smaller quantities as work can be completed within a day. Per engineer per day rate suits those schools that run into the Thousands of items. However, we can quote for both and let you decide.

How often does PAT testing need to be done in schools?

The PAT testing frequency in schools can vary from school to school, the most common myth is "pat testing regulations UK is yearly". This is a myth because it should be a risk based approach and documented within a Risk Assessment based on guidance from the Code of Practice for in-service inspection and testing of electrical equipment or guidance from your competent Test engineer. However most schools (in our experience) tend to prefer it yearly.

Do we do the offices every year?

Working with your risk assessment, we would advise that offices are Low Risk environments that don’t necessarily need testing yearly. There are other factors to consider before making this decision.

What about Teachers Laptops?

In our experience, yes do them every year. The chargers and flexes are the most common to become damaged.

What about personal equipment, like phone chargers?

This is an area for your risk assessment, most people bring a cheap charger (not the nice one from home!) and these are the ones to be cautious of. A PAT test might not necessarily pick up that it could be fake, as much as we try, fake chargers are getting much better at copying. An electrical PAT test does not normally show the poor circuitry and cheap products used to make the charger… it’s just a matter of time when something goes wrong. So yes, we can include it, but it’s better that your policy reduces or stops the use of personal equipment within the school.

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