3.1 3.2 3.3 It is important to take a balanced approach to risk management so not to over protect the children we care for but providing them with the safety to explore and make some decisions about risks confidently themselves with guidance.Children need to learn to manage some risks themselves and recognise their own boundaries and limitations by practitioners helping children and young people recognise the risks and dangers around them in the appropriate way.
Any activity a child does involves some risk – even something as simple as painting. If the activity is well planned and organised, with thought given to possible risks, the likelihood of an accident or injury should be minimal. The secret is to balance the risk of an activity against the benefit to and safety of the child.Risk and challenge are important to a child or young person’s development. Avoiding all risks and challenge would result in a very timid adult lacking in many everyday skills and abilities. It would be very easy to respond to all risks to which children are exposed by not allowing them to explore or experiment. Children need to explore their environment – it is one of the ways in which they learn – but it needs to be a ‘safe’ environment where risk is controlled by adults. It is important that children are given the freedom to develop their skills, with adult support but not too much intervention.Understanding the stage of development a child is at and their individual needs can help you to provide the right amount of risk in activities, for example children under the age of 8 cannot safely judge the speed or distance of a car on the road, so a child under the age of 8 should never be allowed to cross the road alone. When children are involved in new activities to progress their development it can create conflict or dilemmas between duty of care and an individual’s rights. You should always:
* Risk assess activities and the environment, making sure it is