Apprenticeship training course

Thatcher (level 2)

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Information about Thatcher (level 2)

Covers commercial, agricultural, domestic, new-build and historic buildings with a variety of differing roof designs and materials.

• Knowledge, skills and behaviours:
  View knowledge, skills and behaviours

  Knowledge

  • Thatching materials: how they are grown, harvested and prepared including long straw, combed wheat reed (CWR) and water reed.
  • Fixing methods and techniques: spars, screws and wires, crooks, pins, stitching. Understanding of spar production.
  • Techniques and practices for the selection, use, maintenance and storage of hand tools and equipment.
  • Health and safety: Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH), electrical safety, Health and Safety at Work, Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations (LOLER), manual handling, Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR), risk assessments, safe systems of work, working at height, working in confined spaces, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
  • Building, conservation, trading standards and fire safety regulations affecting thatched buildings and materials.
  • Methods of interpreting information from drawings, specifications, the production plan and producing work instructions, utilising paper and digital methods.
  • Thatched building types including historic, listed, new-build and existing commercial, and residential, maintaining the local and vernacular character and thatching techniques.
  • Techniques and practices for moving, handling and storing materials, including protecting thatching materials from vermin and inclement weather.
  • Techniques and considerations for the selection of materials for thatching work.
  • Principles of assessing the roof condition.
  • Methods of preparing the roof for thatching.
  • Preparation of materials for installation for thatching work: architectural details and building features.
  • Quality assurance measures in thatching.
  • The importance of restoring the site area to a safe and tidy state on completion of thatching, and what this entails.
  • Methods of quantifying thatching materials and fixings required for roof building and repairs.
  • Running a thatching business: business operation considerations, efficiency, customer satisfaction, competitiveness, minimising risks to operation, ethical issues.
  • Methods of abutting the thatch to adjoining materials: such as lead, slate, tiles, flat roof, fiberglass, corrugated roof, brickwork and stonework.
  • Principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion in the workplace. Unconscious bias.
  • Verbal communication techniques. Giving and receiving information. Matching style to audience. Barriers in communication and how to overcome them. Thatching terminology.
  • Collaboration working techniques: colleagues and internal and external stakeholders.
  • Methods of safe working including risk assessments, method statements, control measures and safe systems of work.
  • Impact of the sector on the environment. Efficient use of resources. Recycling, reuse and safe disposal of waste.
  • Common issues, symptoms and warning signs of stress, anxiety and depression, including where to go for help and the resources available.

  Skills

  • Interpret instructions and information for thatching work.
  • Apply planning, prioritising and time management techniques.
  • Apply budgetary considerations to thatching work: time, cost and waste management.
  • Apply safe systems of work in compliance with regulations and standards.
  • Select, inspect, and use working at height equipment for example ladders, scaffolding, Mobile elevated working platforms (MEWP).
  • Assess the condition of the roof prior to thatching work taking place: condition of existing materials, quality of materials, cover over fixings, condition of fixings, overall thickness of thatch, factors affecting the performance of the roof.
  • Quantify thatching work and materials required from documentation: drawings, specifications and production plan.
  • Select the thatching and fixing materials for thatching work.
  • Prepare thatching and fixing materials for installation on the roof for example damping and yealming long straw; butting and bundling combed wheat reed; trimming, splitting and twisting spars and rods.
  • Prepare the roof prior to thatching. Including completely stripped or stripped to a sound base coat, new structures and work surfaces prepared for subsequent thatching.
  • Apply thatching material to prepared roof area and features.
  • Fix thatching material to the roof.
  • Apply quality assurance measures to the finished thatching: pitch, tension, density, cover over fixings.
  • Carry out thatching works where it abuts with other materials such as lead and brickwork.
  • Communicate with others verbally for example, internal and external customers and colleagues.
  • Select, use, maintain and store thatching tools and equipment.
  • Move, handle and store thatching materials, including storing and protecting against vermin and weather conditions. Ensure materials are accessible when required.
  • Select materials and use thatching techniques specific to historic or listed buildings.
  • Follow procedures in line with environmental and sustainability regulations, standards, and guidance. Segregate resources for reuse, recycling and disposal.
  • Apply team working principles.
  • Maintain a tidy work area restoring it on completion of work.
  • Carry out and record learning and development activities.
  • Follow equity, diversity and inclusion rules.

  Behaviours

  • Put workplace health, safety and wellbeing first.
  • Act ethically.
  • Take responsibility for work.
  • Committed to maintaining and enhancing competence of self through Continued Professional Development (CPD).
• Apprenticeship category (sector): Construction and the built environment
• Qualification level: 2; Equal to GCSE
• Course duration: 24 months
• Maximum funding: £21,000 ; Maximum government funding for ; apprenticeship training and assessment costs.
• Job titles include:
  • Thatcher

View more information about Thatcher (level 2) from the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education.