Every child deserves the best possible start in life, with the opportunity to develop in an environment that is safe and secure.
Parents and guardians who use early years settings should be able to do so with confidence that their children will be getting the best possible care and are protected from harm at all times.
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)‘s safeguarding and welfare requirements is the framework that provides this assurance.
The general legal requirements, including those concerning health and safety, are supported by more detailed specific legal requirements.
Both the general and specific legal requirements are regulations and must be complied with by all early years providers.
The EYFS welfare requirements also contain statutory guidance that all providers must have regard to, as this underpins the general and specific requirements.
Providers have a responsibility and duty of care towards those who work in and receive a service from their settings.
Individual employees and service users also have responsibility for ensuring their own health and safety as well as that of others.
A comprehensive set of policies and procedures written to meet the EYFS safeguarding and welfare requirements is paramount and key to ensuring this is achieved.
The EYFS requires that ‘providers must take all necessary steps to keep children safe and well’. Providers should also have contingency plans for dealing with emergencies such as:
- Public health incidents (e.g. a significant infectious disease)
- Severe weather (e.g. flooding, snow)
- Serious injury to a child, pupil, student, or member of staff (e.g. requiring hospital treatment)
- Significant damage to property (e.g. from weather or fire)
- Criminal activity (e.g. bomb threat)
- The effects of a disaster in the local community
Further advice can be found here non-statutory guidance for emergency planning.
Policy-making
Health and safety policies should contain reference to the procedures that your setting has in place, which may include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Risk assessment
- Premises, including fires safety and hygiene requirements
- Manual handling
- Administering medicines
- Food and drink, including hygienic preparation and storage, and managing allergies
- Accident and/or injury
- Reporting Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences (RIDDOR) events
- Emergency evacuation and other emergency procedures, i.e. intruder on the premises
- Control of substances hazardous to health (COSHH Regulations)
- Outings/outdoors
- Maintenance and repairs of the premises
- Staff personal safety (including home visits and threats and abuse towards staff)
It is important that health and safety procedures are regularly reviewed, particularly after an event in which a procedures has had to be followed.
Everyone involved should have the opportunity to reflect and evaluate how the procedure worked for them – were they able to follow it correctly and, understand what they needed to do in the first place?
This is paramount in an emergency situation, where you have to act quickly and competently, with little or no time to refer to a written document for clarification.
When reviewing a procedure after an ‘event’, changes may be required according to the needs identified. Any changes made need to be shared with all staff members, parents and guardians.
Risk assessments
Early years providers are required to conduct regular risk assessments, which identify aspects of the environment that must be checked on a regular basis.
This involves deciding what should be done to prevent harm and ensuring that the relevant actions are taken and are updated whenever necessary.
Health and safety law does not expect all risk to be eliminated but that ‘reasonable precautions’ are taken and staff are trained and aware of their responsibilities.
This is especially important in an early years setting, children should be able to grow, develop and participate in risk appropriate play.
Children must have the opportunity and be encouraged to learn work what is not safe and what they should do when faced with risk.
Early Years setting must have a competent and trained person in charge of completing risk assessments that help support procedures to keep children safe.
Not all risk assessments need to be written. However, staff need to be trained and confident to risk assess constantly as they work with children. Therefore, all members of staff should be involved in reviewing risk assessments to ensure they are effective in practice.
It is important to work in partnership with parents and guardians, they should be informed of their responsibilities such as closing gates behind them and not letting unknown adults into the building, and also encouraged to report any potential hazards to staff.
The basis of effective risk management is that everybody is involved and can therefore take responsibility for their and others’ safety.
Risk assessments on aspects such as security of the building, fire safety, food safety, nappy changing, outings and personal safety should be considered. Along with other high risk activities such as, cooking, climbing frames or visitors bringing animals or vehicles to the setting.
Risk assessments are also necessary when making reasonable adjustments for disabled children or children with additional needs, to ensure every child is able to take part in the activities planned, regardless of their level of need or ability.
Patterns of minor accidents require further investigation and possible actions to be taken may also be informed by a risk assessment.
Keeping children safe is of paramount importance, but that should not mean that all risks are eliminated.
When completing a risk assessment there are five steps that need to taken:
- Identification of risk or hazard: where is it and what is it?
- Decide who is at risk and how: for example, childcare staff, children, parents, cooks, cleaners, visitors.
- Evaluate the risks and decide on precautions: can you get rid of the risk altogether; if not how can you reduce/control it?
- Record the findings and implement them: prioritise, implement a procedure or plan.
- Monitoring and review: evaluate the impact, is it sufficient?
More information about legal requirements and standards can be found on the website of the Health and Safety Executive.
