Southend High School for Girls
Job Description
Role
Grade
Reports to
Responsible for
Senior Science Technician
Band 3
Director of Science Faculty
Science Technicians
Duties
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Ensuring that all Risk Assessments are in place for all technician activities. Contacting
CLEAPSS for specialist information.
Updating the Science Department Health and Safety Policy document as necessary.
Carrying out termly and annual safety checks, to include First Aid kits, eyewash tubes, spill
kits, certain chemicals and apparatus as listed in our safety check lists. Annual monitoring of
fume cupboards and pressure vessels. Preparing mains electrical apparatus for annual PAT.
Updating departmental stock lists following stock taking. Ensuring the lists are correctly filed
and distributed.
Carrying out Assessed Practicals at the same time as students to provide a set of results
against which the students’ work is marked.
Organisation and storage of equipment and maintenance of resources. Ordering basic items
to maintain stock levels and capital items in consultation with the Director of Science.
Checking deliveries and dealing with any discrepancies and liaising with suppliers.
Arranging for the removal by external agents of unwanted hazardous chemicals.
Organising repairs and maintenance with external agents for items such as microscopes and
balances.
Maintaining standards of health and safety in the science department. Ensuring that all
health and safety information is up-to-date and accessible. Risk assessing all technician
activities. Advising teachers and students on health and safety aspects of their classroom
experiments. Recognising potential dangers and taking appropriate action. Safely handling
hazardous substances.
Preparation of materials, making up accurate chemical solutions and assembling apparatus
as required by teaching staff for demonstrations and class experiments. Alerting teachers to
possible clashes of lessons and equipment and advising on the need for laboratory
exchanges, for example where a fume cupboard is required.
Preparing and trialling Assessed Practicals, setting up laboratories, laying out apparatus and
being available to support the teacher throughout the assessment.
Removing all apparatus and chemicals at the end of lessons and cleaning all apparatus.
Disposing of all waste, including the treatment and disposal of hazardous waste.
Ensuring good order in the laboratories at all times, to include replacing apparatus and
essential laboratory sundries.
Organising safe and secure storage of materials and apparatus including hazardous items.
Regular checking of the condition of chemicals. Ensuing chemicals are correctly labelled
using current nomenclature and appropriate hazard labels.
Maintenance of stock levels. Researching equipment prior to purchase. Obtaining materials
by local purchase via the school’s finance office.
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Maintenance of equipment and apparatus to include simple repairs such as soldering and
glass working, fault finding and rectifying.
Constructing and testing prototypes and modifying apparatus as required facilitating safe
and efficient operation. Testing newly purchased apparatus to ensure good working order.
Trialling experiments and apparatus to improve results, checking chemical reactions to
determine the required concentrations of solutions. Suggesting innovative ideas for
demonstrating a particular scientific concept and adapting common items for new
experiments.
Helping in class during practicals and carrying out demonstrations as requested by the
teacher. Giving technical advice to inexperienced teachers and those teaching outside their
subject specialism. Advising and helping students with practicals and projects, both within
science and outside the department. Accompanying groups of students on field trips and
educational trips.
Ensuring the Science Department is safely locked up, windows closed and gas turned off at
the end of the day.
Sharing specialist knowledge within the technician team to ensure best practice. Attending
training courses to improve and update skills.
Carrying out a comprehensive stock take of all department property at the end of each
academic year.
Annual monitoring of fume cupboards and pressure vessels.
Numbering, labelling and covering new textbooks. Issuing stationary.
Attending Department meetings and contributing to the development of policies when
required.
General
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To participate in the performance and development review process, taking personal
responsibility for identification of learning, development and training opportunities in
discussion with line manager.
To comply with individual responsibilities, in accordance with the role, for health & safety in
the workplace
Ensure that all duties and services provided are in accordance with the Academy’s Equal
Opportunities Policy
The Governing Body is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children
and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share in this commitment
The duties above are neither exclusive nor exhaustive and the post holder may be required
by the Headteacher to carry out appropriate duties within the context of the job, skills and
grade