Early years providers are required by law to carry out and maintain regular risk assessments, whether you are working alone, with a small group of colleagues, or whether you are a large business. A risk assessment makes sense; it ensures that you are complying with health and safety requirements, and it will help protect yourself and your setting in the event of an allegation being made against you regarding safety in the workplace. A risk assessment is simply a careful study of those things that could cause harm to anyone who enters your setting, be it the children, parents and carers, work colleagues, inspectors, advisors or visitors. There are two important terms you need to fully understand before continuing with your assessment. A hazard is anything that can cause harm. A risk is the chance that someone might be harmed by the hazard. There are five steps to risk assessment: Identifying hazards Deciding who might be harmed by them and how Evaluating the risks and deciding whether existing precautions are adequate or whether further action is necessary. Recording your findings (this must be in writing if you have five or more employees, but is good practice even if your setting is smaller than this) Reviewing your assessments regularly and revising them if necessary Step One: Look for the hazards The first thing you need to do is walk around your setting, room by room and also the outdoor environment, with a form such as this one. This could be used on an annual basis. On observing your setting, keep in mind: Electrical sockets and cables Wet, slippery, unclean or uneven floor surfaces Poorly lit areas Lack of suitable ventilation Condition of doors and windows Cleaning materials, or storage of nappy changing/toileting products Waste management Protective wear for staff and children Cooking facilities Washing facilities Security of children in/outside building Storage of toys and equipment Storage of personal belongings Instruction or training for staff in safety procedures Accident records (is there a pattern emerging?) During the working session, continue with this assessment, inviting all colleagues to take part, noticing potential hazards raised in your routine, eg snacktime, getting ready to go outside, children who are independent in using the toilet, playing at the sand table, woodworking area, etc. Consider planned and unplanned activities that the children are engaged in, and all adult-directed and child-initiated play. Any identified hazards now need to be recorded on your risk assessment form. Step Two: Decide who might be harmed and how Once you have your list of hazards, you need to decide who might be harmed. Of course your first thought will be the children, parents and staff, but don't forget other people who will visit your setting; potential new families including those with expectant mothers, babies or toddlers, students and trainees, temporary staff, advisors and inspectors, cleaners, delivery personnel, window cleaners, vulnerable groups such as physically disabled people or other people who share your workplace, perhaps if your setting is in a church hall. This information is recorded in the second column of the risk assessment form. Step Three: Evaluate the risks You now need to consider how likely it is that the hazard could cause harm. Are the present precautions adequate or do you need to put more in place? Even after all precautions have been taken, there is usually some risk remaining. You need to decide whether this remaining risk, high, medium or low. This doesn't mean removing everything in your setting that could conceivably harm someone, but it does mean that you must do whatever is reasonably practical to keep your workplace safe. Your aim should be to put in place precautions that make all risks small. Once you have decided on those risks which need further precautions in place, think about prioritising them. Address the high risks as a matter of urgency. There will be many ways in which you can put in place further safety measures; for example by preventing or reducing access to the source of harm; by making individuals responsible for maintaining/reviewing the source of harm; by writing policies and procedures to ensure better working practices and suitable safety measures are maintained; by issuing suitable clothing or equipment; by improving communication in the workplace, ensuring consistent training is provided for all your employees. Step Four: Recording Your Findings You do not need to write anything down if you have fewer than five employees, but it is clearly good practice, and shows that you take the safety of everyone attending your setting very seriously. Similarly, you need to inform your employees about your findings, if you employ five or more people. How often do you need to complete a risk assessment? When you complete one assessment, you need to set a date for the next one. This could be termly, half-yearly, or annually, depending on the size of your setting, the number of staff changes, changes to your physical environment, or additional equipment or resources. Of course, when new equipment arrives, it would be a good idea to perform a risk assessment and add your findings to your risk assessment document accordingly. That way, everything is up to date. Your risk assessment can refer to other documents that you may already have produced, eg your health and safety policy, outdoor provision policy and procedures, procedures for use of the kitchen area, first aid routines, procedures for fire safety, etc. You do not need to reproduce all of these for your risk assessment requirements. Some settings have written a risk assessment policy, detailing how often risk assessments are carried out, what exactly is checked, and by whom. Finally, once your risk assessment has been completed, share the information with your colleagues; one person may well be responsible for the risk assessment itself, but everyone in the setting has a responsibility in ensuring that the workplace is as safe as it can possible be. Your team needs to work together to maintain health and safety standards and to always be aware of potential hazards.
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