Health, Safety and Security Policy
Policy:
We believe that the health and safety of children is of paramount importance. We make our setting a safe and healthy place for children, parents, staff and volunteers.
We aim to make children, parents, staff and volunteers aware of health and safety issues and to minimise the hazards and risks to enable the children to thrive in a healthy and safe environment.
Our Health and Safety officer is Andrea, she is responsible for health and safety on the premises. The Health and Safety Officer is competent to carry out these responsibilities. We ensure the Health and Safety Officer has conducted relevant and regular training. We display necessary health and safety posters.
We have Public liability insurance and employer’s liability insurance. The certificate can be found on the notice board.
Our induction training for staff and volunteers includes a clear explanation of health and safety issues so that all adults are able to adhere to our policy and procedures as they understand their shared responsibility for health and safety. All staff receive adequate training in Health and Safety procedures.
The induction training covers matters of employee well-being, including safe lifting and the storage of potentially dangerous substances. We keep records of these induction training sessions and new staff and volunteers are asked to sign the records to confirm that they have taken part.
We explain health and safety issues to the parents of new children, so that they understand the part played by these issues in the daily life of the setting.
As necessary, health and safety training is included in the annual training plans of staff, and health and safety is discussed regularly at our staff meetings.
We operate a no-smoking policy.
We make children aware of health and safety issues through discussions, planned activities and routines.
We make the setting a safe and healthy place for children, parents, staff and volunteers by assessing and minimising the hazards and risks to enable the children to thrive in a healthy and safe environment. We conduct risk assessments which take note of aspects of our workplace and activities that could cause harm, either to yourself or to others, and deciding what needs to be done to prevent that harm, making sure this is adhered to.
The law does not require that all risk is eliminated, but that ‘reasonable precaution’ is taken. This is particularly important when balancing the need for children to be able to take appropriate risks through physically challenging play. Children need the opportunity to work out what is not safe and what they should do when faced with a risk.
Staff and parents should be involved in reviewing risk assessments and procedures they are the ones with first-hand knowledge as to whether the control measures are effective – and they can give an informed view to help update procedures accordingly.
We carry out a risk assessments for the following, (but are not limited to)
Fire safety
Food Safety
Administering medicine
Allergies
Chemicals used in the setting
Changing children
Preparation and serving of food/drink for children
Cooking activities with children;
Supervising outdoor play and indoor/outdoor climbing equipment
Putting young children to sleep
Assessment, use and storage of equipment for disabled children
Visitors to the setting who are bringing equipment or animals as part of children’s learning experiences
Off site activities including children’s outings, home visits and other off site duties.
We maintain lists of health and safety issues, which are checked daily before the session begins, as well as those that are checked on a weekly and termly basis when a full risk assessment is carried out.
Building information
Windows – We have no low level windows or glass.
Doors – We take precautions to prevent children's fingers from being trapped in doors.
Floors and walkways - All our floor surfaces are checked daily to ensure they are clean and not uneven, wet or damaged. Any wet spills are mopped up immediately. Walkways and stairs are left clear and uncluttered. Stair gates are in place.
Electrical/gas equipment – We ensure that all electrical/gas equipment conforms to safety requirements and is checked regularly. Our boiler/electrical switch gear/meter cupboard is not accessible to the children. Fires, heaters, electric sockets, wires and leads are properly guarded and we teach the children not to touch them. There are sufficient sockets in our setting to prevent overloading. We switch electrical devices off from the plug after use. We ensure that the temperature of hot water is controlled to prevent scalds. Lighting and ventilation is adequate in all areas of our setting, including storage areas.
Storage – All our resources and materials, which are used by the children, are stored safely. All our equipment and resources are stored or stacked safely to prevent them accidentally falling or collapsing.
Outdoor area – Our outdoor area is securely fenced. All gates and fences are childproof and safe. Our outdoor area is checked for safety and cleared of rubbish, animal droppings and any other unsafe items before it is used. Adults and children are alerted to the dangers of poisonous plants, herbicides and pesticides. We leave receptacles upturned to prevent collection of rainwater. Where water can form a
pool on equipment, it is emptied and cleaned before children start playing outside. Our outdoor sand pit is covered when not in use and is cleaned regularly. We check that children are suitably attired for the weather conditions and type of outdoor activities; ensuring that sun cream is applied and hats are worn during the summer months. We supervise outdoor activities at all times; and particularly\ children on climbing equipment.
Hygiene - Our daily routines encourage the children to learn about personal hygiene. We have a daily cleaning routine for the setting, which includes the play room(s), kitchen, rest area, toilets and nappy changing areas. Children do not have unsupervised access to the kitchen. We have a schedule for cleaning resources and equipment, dressing-up clothes and furnishings. The toilet area has a high standard of hygiene, including hand washing and drying facilities and disposal facilities for nappies. We implement good hygiene practices by:
- cleaning tables between activities;
- cleaning and checking toilets regularly;
- wearing protective clothing - such as aprons and disposable gloves - as appropriate;
- providing sets of clean clothes;
- providing tissues and wipes; and
- ensuring individual use of or disposable flannels and towels.
Activities, resources and repairs - Before purchase or loan, we check equipment and resources to ensure that they are safe for the ages and stages of the children currently attending the setting. We keep a full inventory of all items in the setting for audit and insurance purposes. The layout of our play equipment allows adults and children to move safely and freely between activities. All our equipment is regularly checked for cleanliness and safety, and any dangerous items are repaired or discarded. We make safe and separate from general use any areas that are unsafe because of repair is needed. All our materials, including paint and glue, are non-toxic. We ensure that sand is clean and suitable for children's play. Physical play is constantly supervised. We teach children to handle and store tools safely. We check children who are sleeping regularly. Children learn about health, safety and personal hygiene through the activities we provide and the routines we follow. Any faulty equipment is removed from use and is repaired. If it cannot be repaired it is discarded. Large pieces of equipment are discarded only with the consent of the manager.
Jewellery and accessories - Our staff do not wear jewellery or fashion accessories, such as belts or high heels, that may pose a danger to themselves or children. Parents must ensure that any jewellery worn by children poses no danger; particularly earrings which may get pulled, bracelets which can get caught when climbing or necklaces that may pose a risk of strangulation. We ensure that hair accessories are removed before children sleep or rest.
Safety of adults - We ensure that adults are provided with guidance about the safe storage, movement, lifting and erection of large pieces of equipment. We provide safe equipment for adults to use when they need to reach up to store equipment or to change light bulbs. We ensure that all warning signs are clear and in appropriate languages. We ensure that adults do not remain in the building on their own. We record the sickness of staff and their involvement in accidents. The records are reviewed termly to identify any issues that need to be addressed.
Control of substances hazardous to health – We implement the current guidelines of the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH). We keep a record of all substances that may be hazardous to health - such as cleaning chemicals, or gardening chemicals if used and where they are stored. Hazardous substances are stored safely away from the children. We keep all cleaning chemicals in their original containers. We keep the chemicals used in the setting to the minimum in order to ensure health and hygiene is maintained. We do not use: bleach; anti-bacterial soap/hand wash, unless specifically advised during an infection outbreak such as Pandemic flu; or anti-bacterial cleaning agents, except in the toilets, nappy changing area and food preparation areas. Anti-bacterial spays are not used when children are nearby. Environmental factors are taken into account when purchasing, using and disposing of chemicals. All members of staff are vigilant and use chemicals safely. Members of staff wear protective gloves when using cleaning chemicals.
We maintain the highest possible security of our premises to ensure that each child is safely cared for during their time with us. Our entry system prevents unauthorised access. We do not allow access unless prior appointments have been made. We check the identity of anyone before access is granted.
Our systems prevent children from leaving our premises unnoticed. We keep front doors and gates locked / shut at all times. Back doors are kept locked shut at all times where they may lead to a public or unsupervised area. possessions of staff and volunteers are securely stored during sessions. Minimal petty cash is kept on the premises.
We ensure that all employed staff have been checked for criminal records via an enhanced disclosure with children’s barred list check through the Disclosure and Barring Service. All staff are expected to join the update system to enable monthly DBS checks.
Adults do not supervise children on their own and all children are supervised by adults at all times. Whenever children are on the premises at least two adults are present. We carry out risk assessments to ensure children are not made vulnerable within any part of our premises, nor by any activity.