Why risk assess?
It's sometimes argued that risk assessment is 'common sense', and therefore unnecessary. But people's idea of what constitutes 'sense' differs, and assessments help playworkers to approach risk management consistently.
Handled correctly, assessment puts levels of risk into perspective, giving playworkers confidence to allow children to take acceptable levels of risk, while prompting them to minimise inappropriate risks, preventing serious injury.
Risk assessment is required under legislation applicable to all workplaces (see below) that protects the health, safety and welfare of workers and the public. Since the safety of children is important, childcare also has parallel legislation (principally the Children Act 1989 and the recent Care Standards Act 2000), requiring that additional risk assessments are carried out with regard to children's particular needs, which we will focus on further.
What and when to assess
The following should be assessed:
* Club premises, indoors and outdoors, for both safety and security * Activities * Hazardous equipment and appliances, both in use and in storage * Events - anything that happens outside of the play setting or usual structure of the play session, such as trips or visitors * Escorting of children to and from school, and the arrival and departure of children * Transport * Hazardous chemicals (cleaning fluids and so on) should be assessed under COSHH regulations (COSHH stands for Control of Substances Hazardous to Health). See the further information section below.
As a general guide, you should risk assess any of the above that have not been done before, and re-do existing assessments if there are significant changes. It's good practice to assess each event separately; you may have been to the same trip destination before, but the environment may have changed, or the needs of the current group of children could be different.
Once initial assessments have been undertaken, it's important that playworkers keep up to date as the need for new assessment arises.
How to assess and review
There are five steps to follow:
1 Identify the hazards. A hazard is the actual item or situation that may cause harm - a stack of chairs in the play space for instance.
2 Decide on the level of risk posed by the hazards, low, medium or high.
Consider who may be harmed, in what way, how frequently and how seriously?
3 Evaluate the risks. Are adequate precautions already in place? What measures (if any) can be taken to minimise unacceptable risks? Consider if the risk is appropriate to the age and abilities of the children involved.
The benefits of activities must be stated and balanced against the potential for harm (see 'Risky Business' on page 8). Finally, decide if the risk is suitable to take. If so, put any necessary measuresin place, and if not, remove or contain hazards.
4 Record your findings. Maintain signed, dated records of all five steps for each individual assessment, identifying who took what measures and when. Ofsted inspectors may view records, and they could be required should there be an accident. Risk assessment forms are available to buy or download, or they can be designed by settings.
5 Review the assessment, monitoring the effectiveness of the measures taken. Make revisions if necessary. You also mustre-assess if there are significant changes that impact on the original assessment.
It's good practice to review all assessments periodically. Record, sign and date comments and any measures taken at each review.
FURTHER INFORMATION AND HELP
* The Health and Safety Executive produces free guides. Call 01787 881 165 or download at www.hse.gov.uk.You can also call for health and safety advice.
* An Introduction to Health and Safety - INDG259 1997 * Five Steps to Risk Assessment - ISBN 0 7176 1565 0 * Essentials of Health and Safety at Work (third edition) - ISBN 0 7176 0716 X * Management of Health and Safety at Work: Approved Code of Practice - ISBN 0 7176 2488 9 * Management of Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (4th edition) - ISBN 0 7176 0441 1 * COSHH: A Brief Guide to the Regulations - ISBN 0 7176 2444 7
