Deb Posted February 9, 2009 Posted February 9, 2009 Thank you for your comments. These are two of the replies I have had so far. Others have replied that they do not have any guidance. Will let you know if I receive any further information. My inclination so far is to follow the PLA advice. Thank you for contacting the Pre-school Learning Alliance. The Alliance does not recommend the usage of polystyrene in pre-school, nurseries or after school clubs. Polystyrene is not safe to use because children might ingest and the material can cause problems if that happens. Polystyrene packaging used to be used in setting for sticking or for weighing as it has some interesting properties. However it looked like crisps or other snacks and there were some cases of children eating the stuff. Flat polystyrene disintegrates into small pillules and this also carries dangers of ingestion and possible inhalation. If you require any further information please contact the Information Service team at info@pre-school.org.uk or by telephoning 020 7697 2595 Child Accident Prevention Trust There are problems associated with polystyrene but these are primarily when it is used in large bean bags that babies may, wrongly, be put to sleep on. Such bean bags present a suffocation risk to babies.Loose polystyrene is a different issue. Like any substance that exists in small pieces or that can break into small pieces, it can present a choking hazard to young children who will, of course put things in their mouths given half a chance. My understanding is that it does not show up on x-ray but I may be wrong here. I suspect that there no rules about its use. Pre-School Learning Alliance may be a source of advice on this although there is nothing on their website about it.
Guest Posted January 19, 2010 Posted January 19, 2010 well it sounds like it is not a good idea to use it even though we supervise the children? It's a shame when they can learn so much from the properties of polystyrene. I have quite a few Early years books that have brilliant activities for children involving the stuff and no H and S warning! I have use hammers, golf tees and blocks of polystyrene for hand-eye coordination which really engages the boys. Any ideas what else I can use to hammer these into?
Upsy Daisy Posted January 19, 2010 Posted January 19, 2010 We used a pumpkin for that at Hallowe'en. Something similar?
Panders Posted January 19, 2010 Posted January 19, 2010 What's that stuff they sell in the Early Learning Centre which looks like coloured "Wotsits" the snack or polystyrene noodles. I've always shied away from using any of that. I believe it sticks to itself when used with water.
Cait Posted January 19, 2010 Posted January 19, 2010 yes, it's a maize/cornstarch thingy. Always looks as if it should smell like wotsits (I feel another bleugh coming on!)
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