Safety Checks

Safety Checks

At Rabbit Patch Day Nursery, we take reasonable steps to ensure the safety of children, staff and others on the premises including carrying out safety checks on a regular basis in accordance with the timescales set out in the nursery checklists table at the end of this policy.

These include daily safety checks of the premises, indoors and outdoors, and all equipment and resources before the children access any of the areas. The checks are recorded and show any issues and solutions.

(This policy should be read in conjunction with the Health and safety – general policy, Fire safety policy, Overall approach to risk assessments policy, Visits and outings policy and the Equipment and resources policy).

All staff are trained in health and safety to raise awareness. Staff know how to recognise potential hazards, including near misses in the nursery environment and monitor safety at all times.

Risk assessments (refer to the Overall approach to risk assessments policy)

Risk assessments document the hazard, who could be harmed, existing controls, the seriousness of the risk or potential injury, any further action needed to control the risk, who is responsible for what action, when and how often will the action be undertaken, and how will this be monitored and checked and by whom.

The nursery carries out written risk assessments at least annually. These are regularly reviewed and cover potential risks to children, staff and visitors at the nursery. When circumstances change in the nursery, e.g. a significant piece of equipment is introduced or new activity or experience planned, we review our current risk assessment or conduct a new risk assessment dependent on the nature of this change.

All staff are trained in the risk assessment process to ensure understanding and compliance of how they manage risks.

All outings away from the nursery are individually risk assessed. For more details refer to the Visits and outings policy.

Hints and tips

Please refer to the Health and Safety Executive’s ‘Five Steps to Risk Assessment’ located in the office for further support with the risk assessment process The Five Steps to Risk Assessment publication and risk assessment templates can be downloaded from the Health and Safety Executive’s website at www.hse.gov.uk.

Electrical equipment

• All electrical cables are kept out of the reach of children wherever possible and shielded by furniture where they need to be at floor level
• We take a risk-based approach, considering the type of equipment and what it is being used for, to make a decision whether to have certain electrical items Portable appliance testing (PAT) tested (as per HSE guidance)
• Electrical sockets are all risk assessed and any appropriate safety measures are in place to ensure the safety of the children.

Mains information

Locations of:

• Water stop tap: By the car park entrance on the main pathway
• Fuse box: Store cupboard
• Main electricity box: Store cupboard

Dangerous substances

All dangerous substances including chemicals are kept in locked areas out of children’s reach. All substances are kept in their original containers with their original labels attached. Safety data sheets (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH)) and risk assessments are kept for all substances and the appropriate personal protection taken and used e.g. gloves, apron and goggles.

Hot drinks and food

Hot drinks must only be consumed in the staff room. No bottled or canned drinks, sweets or crisps are to be kept or consumed in the nursery rooms or outside.

Transport and outings

The nursery has a comprehensive documented policy relating to outings, which incorporates all aspects of health and safety procedures including the arrangements for transporting and the supervision of children when away from the nursery.

Room temperatures

• Staff should be aware of room temperatures in the nursery, ensure that they are suitable at all times and recorded on the appropriate sheet. There is a thermometer in each room to ensure this is monitored
• Staff must always be aware of the dangers of babies and young children being too warm or too cold
• Temperatures should not fall below 18°C in the baby rooms and 16°C in all other areas
• Where fans are being used to cool rooms, great care must be taken with regard to their positioning.

Water supplies

• A fresh water drinking supply is available and accessible to all children, staff and visitors
• All hot water taps accessible to children are thermostatically controlled to ensure that the temperature of the water does not exceed 40°C.

Gas appliances

• All gas appliances are checked annually by a registered Gas Safety Register engineer
• Carbon monoxide detectors are fitted.

The checklists used in nurseries include: