Schools and nurseries have a slightly awkward hot water problem. The building often has a big, hot system, sized for kitchens, cleaning and a few hundred people. And the people using the taps include some of the least able to judge hot water: very young children, and pupils with special educational needs or disabilities who may not react to heat the way an adult would.
TMVs bridge that gap. Here's a practical look at where they belong, what to fit, and how to keep on top of them without disrupting the school day.
Why young children are more at risk
Children's skin is thinner than adults', so it burns faster at the same temperature. Young children are also slower to recognise that water is too hot and may not pull their hands away. Some pupils with additional needs can't feel heat properly, can't tell anyone it's hurting, or need help washing. HSE's guidance on scalding in care settings specifically mentions special schools among the places where people may be vulnerable.
None of that means every tap in a secondary school needs a TMV. It means you look at who uses each outlet and decide from there.
Which outlets usually need one
Your risk assessment has the final say, but these are the places we'd expect to see TMVs:
- Early years and nursery toilets and basins. The children are small, often unsupervised for a moment at the sink, and still learning what "too hot" means.
- Primary school pupil washrooms. Especially in infant classes.
- SEN schools and resource bases, including hygiene rooms, changing areas and any assisted baths or showers.
- Showers in changing rooms, where whole-body contact makes scalding more serious.
- Any basin or shower used for personal care, wherever it is in the building.
Staff-only areas, kitchens and cleaners' sinks are usually a different case. Staff there need hot water for cleaning and food hygiene, and they're adults who can judge the risk. That's still worth confirming in your assessment rather than assuming.
TMV2 or TMV3?
TMV2 valves are certified for domestic-type use. TMV3 valves are certified to the tougher NHS performance specification, aimed at healthcare and care settings. For young children and pupils with additional needs, TMV3 is a common choice because of how tightly the valves have to hold temperature and how they behave when a supply fails. Lots of valves are certified under both schemes, which keeps things simple on a mixed site.
We've gone through the differences properly in TMV2 vs TMV3: which valve do you actually need?
Getting the temperature right
For basins where children wash their hands under running water, 41°C is a sensible target. It's warm enough to be pleasant and encourage proper handwashing, without being dangerous. Showers are usually set at 41°C too. Your water safety contractor or risk assessor may recommend something slightly different for particular outlets, and that's fine as long as it's written down and the valves are tested against it.
One practical tip: if the water at a pupil basin is uncomfortably cool, children won't wash their hands properly. Too cold is a hygiene problem, not just a comfort one.
Tamper-resistance and position
Curious fingers will find anything that turns. Most TMVs used in schools have a set temperature that needs a tool to change, and many are fitted out of sight under the basin, behind a panel or in a duct. That's good for tamper-resistance, but it needs planning so the valve can still be reached for testing and servicing. A valve that takes half an hour to get to is a valve that doesn't get tested.
The valve should also sit as close to the outlet as practical. The pipe after a TMV carries warm, blended water, and the shorter that run, the less chance of it becoming a Legionella concern.
Fitting testing around the school year
This is where schools have an advantage. Testing a TMV means running the outlet, measuring temperatures and briefly isolating the cold supply. It's much easier when there aren't thirty children queuing for the sink. Half-terms, holidays and INSET days are ideal.
October half-term is a good example. It's early enough in the year to catch anything that went wrong over the summer, and it's well before the cold months when the heating and hot water are working hardest. It also fits neatly with a six-monthly pattern if you do the second round at Easter.
The flip side of the holidays is low use. Outlets that sit unused for weeks over summer can become a Legionella risk. HSG274 sets out how little-used outlets should be flushed, and your written scheme should say who does it while the site is quiet. Pupil basins with TMVs should be part of that routine, not an afterthought. We've covered this in bringing TMVs back after a quiet spell.
A typical scenario
Imagine a primary school that's just converted two classrooms into a nursery. The new toilets have been fitted with standard basin mixers, and the hot supply comes from the main system at full temperature. Before the youngest children start, it would make sense to fit TMV3-certified valves to the nursery basins, set and commission them at 41°C, add them to the school's asset register, and book their first in-service check for the next holiday.
Keeping records the business manager will thank you for
Schools change staff, contractors and premises managers more often than you'd think. A register that lists every valve, where it is, its set temperature and its last test result means the knowledge stays with the building, not with whoever happened to be in post. Our asset registers page explains what we include.
For more on how we work in education settings, see schools and nurseries on our sectors page. Or if you're planning new washrooms, our TMV installation page covers choosing, fitting and commissioning valves.
Need your school's TMVs tested?
Tell us roughly how many valves you've got and when the site is quiet. We'll quote and book the work around your term dates.