The Provision of Healthy, Safe and Secure Environments for Children

Unit 2 Assignment TaskThe provision of healthy, safe and secure environments for children | Describe why risk assessment approaches may differ at various stages of child development.Risk assessment is very important in a childcare setting, it is a way to ensure that any potential danger to a child has been noticed and all possible measures have been taken to minimise or remove that risk. The health and safety policy in the setting should have a section covering risk assessment and should cover things such as checking for hazards on a regular basis and deciding what measures need to be taken (if any), deciding on what action to take, how the action will be funded and who’s responsible for taking this action. A risk assessment should have a checklist to be followed which should include things like: heating, lighting, electrical and safety equipment, windows, doors, security, food, toys, fire risk, kitchen and outdoor play area. Risk assessments should cover anything which a child in the setting may come into contact with. It is a good idea for the setting to have one member of staff who carries out the health and safety responsibilities and has overall responsibility for safety and first aid in the setting, this person should carry out the risk assessments and organise any work that needs to be carried out as a result of their findings. The risk assessment itself may differ depending on the ages of the children who attend the setting, it is important therefore that the setting uses the appropriate safety equipment, for example if the setting cares for pre-school children they will need to use equipment such as socket covers, stair gates and fire guards, whereas this equipment may not be as appropriate for older children. Any equipment that is used in the childcare setting should conform to the British standards agency regulations, all equipment should carry the British kite mark as this indicates that it has been tested to British standards and meets the current

Bibliography: hildren’s care, Learning and Development, NVQ L2 – Kate Beith, Penny Tassoni, Kath Bulman, Maria robinsonChildren’s care, Learning and Development, NVQ L3 – Penny Tassoni, Kath Bulman, Kate BeithCourse Handbookwww.daycareresourse.comwww.safekids.co.ukwww.teachernet.gov.uk | |