• Healthy Working MOVE will teach children and young people how to work and relax safely when using electronic devices
• Cardinus Risk Management course will be offered free of charge to all primary schools, secondary schools and colleges in the UK

An exciting new e-learning course has been launched by Cardinus Risk Management to help keep young people safe from the health risks of poor posture, careless use of electronic devices and bad manual handling activity.

The past few years have seen a significant increase in the number of children showing signs of musculoskeletal disorder with more than 72 per cent of primary school children suffering back or neck pain in the last 12 months. An increasing number of children are requiring NHS treatment and taking medication.

Almost all of these problems can be attributed to the dramatic rise in children’s use of computers, smartphones, games consoles and iPad-style tablet devices. Poor posture when working and relaxing with technology is also a major contributing factor and the need to carry heavy school bags also plays its part.

Jon Abbott, managing director – ergonomics and safety at Cardinus Risk Management, said, “It’s important that we raise children’s awareness of the importance of healthy spine posture, at school and at home. The long-term benefits are many and varied; the cost of failing to address musculoskeletal problems in children could be high.

“School is a child’s place of work and the health and safety considerations that apply to adults in the respect of technology, seating, lifting and carrying, should also apply to children. They are also at risk from the bad habits they develop at home.

“Healthy Working MOVE will teach children how to stay comfortable and safe by using technology sensibly, sitting properly when working and relaxing and managing their school bags correctly.”

Healthy Working MOVE has been developed by Cardinus in association with the Health and Safety Laboratory, part of the Health and Safety Executive, and is based on an award-winning training programme called Healthy Working that helps to protect adult workers around the world. The e-learning course uses engaging online activities to teach young people about the safe use of technology. There is a version for primary school children, a version for secondary school children and another for students in higher education.

Jon Abbott added, “We all want to protect our children and spare them pain and discomfort, but as a successful business we also see them as the workforce of the future. By acting now to educate them about healthy working we are potentially preventing a catastrophic and expensive problem in years to come.

“The experience Cardinus has with its ergonomic training programmes for corporate clients worldwide, plus our close relationship with the Health and Safety Laboratory means we are in a great position to help protect children. Healthy Working MOVE is our first response to the problem and we have taken the decision to make it available free to education establishments across the country.”

Healthy Working, the innovative online DSE assessment and e-learning solution, provides award-winning solutions that are fully endorsed by the International Institute of Risk and Safety Management. (IIRSM)

Healthy Working MOVE takes all the expertise that went into Healthy Working and presents it in a format that young people will enjoy and that is available completely free of charge to all schools and colleges. Healthy Working MOVE is supported by IIRSM, NEBOSH, IEHF and Jolly Back (Back Care and Ergonomics for Children). For more information, schools and colleges should telephone 020 7469 0200.