The Early Years Health and Safety Handbook

Lynn Parker

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9781136676833
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

The layout and presentation of the text, with bullet points, checklists and sample policy documents make the book useful for staff training sessions as well as a reference point for practitioners with management responsibility for any aspect of early years practice.' - Early Years Update If you work in Early Years settings it is essential that you

1 Planning for safety

Introduction

Children are naturally curious and need constant supervision. This is why it is important to assess your setting for risks and to incorporate safety features into your structure, policies and practice. When considering both inside and outside spaces it is important to think of the activities that will be undertaken there. Whilst most accidents that happen to young children occur in and around the home, accidents can and do happen to children in early years settings. Children experience minor injuries every day, ranging from scratches to bumps and bruises. Most injuries of the minor or indeed more serious type are the result of falls, burns, scalds, poisoning and near drowning. Planning for safety means that everyone has to be involved – including parents and the children themselves. This chapter provides a template for a suggested safety plan, a self review activity and a checklist of best practice to consider.

Appointing a safety worker

Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 everyone has a responsibility to maintain a safe working environment but there should be one person with overall responsibility for co-ordinating and making sure that it happens. It is important to be clear about who will manage this responsibility when the named worker is on holiday or off sick.

Even the smallest of early years settings needs to have someone to be named as being specifically responsible for safety.

Areas of responsibility

Once appointed, the person responsible for safety should look at the physical environment and the routines in place for maintaining a safe environment. The named worker has responsibility for:

• arranging inspections of the premises on a regular basis;

• making an inspection after an incident or change in use/purpose has happened;

• maintaining accident records and organising practice drills for evacuation and fire;

• maintaining first aid provision;

• providing information to parents of existing safety plans;

• taking a leadership role in developing, implementing and monitoring safety plans;

• regularly reviewing the accident records of the facility to identify areas for improvement;

• arranging and supervising work that needs doing;

• providing to officials inspecting the premises the safety plan, timeframe for its implementation and any other documentation required.

Once appointed the person responsible for safety should look at the physical environment and the routines in place for maintaining a safe environment.

The early years environment

The building

If the building has more than one purpose and has to be shared with others then there should be an agreed safety plan for the shared areas. Check that all shared areas comply with your own safety plan before allowing children to access them. Consider the following questions:

• Does the building have to be shared with other organisations?

• How much storage space is there and does it have to be shared?

• What access do children have to different parts of the premises?

Safety routines

Safety should be included as part of everyday practices without being seen as something that is extra to the daily routine. It should become second nature for staff to consider the environment in which they work and identify hazards to either themselves, their colleagues or children.

Routine tasks

Assessing, monitoring and maintaining safety

Not everything needs to be checked every day but it is important to draw up a checklist that can be signed and dated to make sure nothing is forgotten. The safety plan should identify what needs to be checked on a daily, weekly, monthly or yearly basis. Future dates for inspections should be put in the diary to remind staff when they are to take place, and an independent inspection of the early years setting of premises, equipment and policies should be undertaken. Such safety checks include:

• a visual inspection by walking around the premises making sure that safety equipment is in good order and being used;

• checking safety gates are in place and in good working order;

• ensuring storerooms are closed and not accessible to children or visitors;

• ensuring floors are clear of clutter and spillages, and are clean and well maintained;

• checking that all equipment works by physically testing it.

Buying, installing and using equipment

Early years settings should have written guidelines for the purchasing, installing and use of new equipment. Such guidelines should state that only equipment that complies with current safety laws and standards is purchased. Once purchased, information about their use and cleaning protocols should be made available for staff.

Access to the early years settings

There should be clear procedures for managing access not only to make sure that children stay on the premises but also to prevent unwanted visitors gaining access.

Access can be controlled by a number of things including:

• the height of handles on doors and locks on windows;

• use of security systems of alarms, door keypads, intercoms, name badges, CCTV;

• promoting staff awareness of other people on the premises of visitors, contractors or other users;

• information to staff, parents and visitors through posters, notices and leaflets.

Security measures

Security measures can include:

• a system for reporting suspicious incidents;

• staff reporting strangers on the premises;

• security lighting at entrances, footpaths and building facades;

• surveillance system such as CCTV or security patrols;

• use of intruder alarms;

• automated fire detection system;

• marking of property and secure storage of expensive equipment;

• secured area for waste and recycling bins.

Provisions for managing access include:

• having a book that visitors are required to sign on entering the premises, stating the purpose of the visit with arrival and departure times;

• setting up procedures for staff, children, parents and visitors that use identity checks;

• establishing what to do if children are not collected at the agreed time;

• requesting written permission from parents if children are to be picked up by another adult.

Record keeping

It is very important that accurate and concurrent records are kept whether they are paper based or on computer. It is essential that there are:

• up-to-date contact details for each child, including home phone number, work contact details and where parents or carers are usually based while the child is at your facility;

• accurate details of any medication, medical or physical conditions or allergies that a child may have;

• details of each child’s General Practitioner and surgery contact details;

• daily register of attendance;

• an accurate record of all accidents that happen to children or staff members, in a special accident record book;

• records of those visiting the premises.

All records should be available for inspection and reviewed on a regular basis. They are a legal record and important for insurance purposes and provide valuable information. As such they can help with forming policies and when undertaking health and safety audits of the premises. If reviewed regularly the records can identify areas of practice that need to be improved. Any changes that are made must be recorded in the accident record book to demonstrate the steps that have been taken to prevent similar accidents happening in the future.

Communication

Staff training

Th...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• 1 Planning for safety
• 2 Developing a safety culture in your setting
• 3 The essentials of health and safety legislation
• 4 Safety inside the early years setting
• 5 Safety outside the early years setting
• 6 Preparing for outings and trips
• 7 Aiming for quality and auditing the early years setting
• 8 Individual policies and procedures
• Bibliography