Policy: Health and Safety Policy

Here we go into detail as to the overarching principles that govern our approach to health and safety throughout our schools and our organisation, supported by more detailed policies that speak to specific procedural issuess...

At Hatching Dragons we provide and maintain safe and healthy working conditions, equipment and systems of work for all our employees and a safe early learning environment in which children learn and are cared for. To develop and promote a strong health and safety culture within the nursery for the benefit of all staff, children and parents, we provide information, training and supervision. We also accept our responsibility for the health and safety of other people who may be affected by our activities.

The allocation of duties for safety matters and the particular arrangements which we will make to implement our health and safety procedures are set out within this policy and we make sufficient resources available to provide a safe environment.

Legal framework

We follow all relevant legislation and associated guidance relating to health and safety within the nursery including:

• The requirements of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) 2017
• The regulations of the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 and any other relevant legislation such as Control Of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulation (COSHH)
• Any guidance provided by Public Health England, the local health protection unit, the local authority environmental health department, fire authority or the Health and Safety Executive.

Aims and objectives

The aim of this policy statement is to ensure that all reasonably practical steps are taken to ensure the health, safety and welfare of all persons using the premises.

To achieve this we will actively work towards the following objectives:

• Establish and maintain a safe and healthy environment throughout the nursery including outdoor spaces
• Establish and maintain safe working practices amongst staff and children
• Make arrangements for ensuring safety and the minimising of risks to health in connection with the use, handling, storage and transport of hazardous articles and substances
• Ensure the provision of sufficient information, instruction and supervision to enable all people working in or using the nursery to avoid hazards and contribute positively to their own health and safety and to ensure that staff have access to regular health and safety training
• Maintain a healthy and safe nursery with safe entry and exit routes
• Formulate effective procedures for use in case of fire and other emergencies and for evacuating the nursery premises. Practice this procedure on a regular basis to enable the safe and speedy evacuation of the nursery
• Maintain a safe working environment for pregnant workers or for workers who have recently given birth, including undertaking appropriate risk assessments
• Maintain a safe environment for those with special educational needs and disabilities and ensure all areas of the nursery are accessible (wherever practicable)
• Provide a safe environment for students or trainees to learn in
• Encourage all staff, visitors and parents to report any unsafe working practices or areas to ensure immediate response by the management.

We believe the risks in the nursery environment are low and we will maintain the maximum protection for children, staff and parents. The nursery will:

• Ensure all entrances and exits from the building, including fire exits are clearly identifiable and remain clear at all times
• Regularly check the premises room by room for structural defects, worn fixtures and fittings or electrical equipment and take the necessary remedial action
• Ensure that all staff, visitors, parents and children are aware of the fire procedures and regular fire drills are carried out
• Have the appropriate fire detection and control equipment which is checked regularly to make sure it is in working order
• Ensure that all members of staff are aware of the procedure to follow in case of accidents for staff, visitors and children
• Ensure that all members of staff take all reasonable action to control the spread of infectious diseases and wear protective gloves and clothing where appropriate
• Ensure there are suitable hygienic changing facilities (see infection control policy)
• Prohibit smoking on the nursery premises
• Prohibit any contractor from working on the premises without prior discussion with the officer in charge
• Encourage children to manage risks safely and prohibit running inside the premises unless in designated areas
• Risk assess all electrical sockets and take appropriate measures to reduce risks where necessary and ensure no trailing wires are left around the nursery
• Ensure all cleaning materials are placed out of the reach of children and kept in their original containers
• Wear protective clothing when cooking or serving food
• Prohibit certain foods that may relate to children’s allergies, e.g. peanuts are not allowed in the nursery
• We follow the EU Food Information for Food Consumers Regulations (EU FIC). These rules are enforced in the UK by the Food Information Regulations 2014 (FIR). We identify the 14 allergens listed by EU Law that we use as ingredients in any of the dishes we provide to children and ensure that all parents are informed
• Follow the allergies and allergic reactions policy for children who have allergies
• Ensure risk assessments are undertaken on the storage and preparation of food produce within the nursery
• Familiarise all staff and visitors with the position of the first aid boxes and ensure all know who the appointed first aiders are
• Provide appropriately stocked first aid boxes and check their contents monthly
• Ensure children are supervised at all times
• Ensure no student or volunteer is left unsupervised at any time
• Ensure staff paediatric first aid certificates are on display (or made available to parents).

Responsibilities

The designated Health and Safety Officer in the nursery is the nursery manager, who is the employer’s Health & Safety officer in each of the following sites: 

The deputy nursery manager will be responsible in his/her absence.

All employees have the responsibility to cooperate with senior staff and the manager to achieve a healthy and safe nursery and to take reasonable care of themselves and others. Neglect of health and safety regulations/duties will be regarded as a disciplinary matter (see separate policy on disciplinary procedures).

Whenever a member of staff notices a health or safety problem which they are not able to rectify, they must immediately report it to the appropriate person named above. Parents and visitors are requested to report any concerns they may have to the manager via the customer service desk on Hubspot.

Daily contact, monthly staff meetings and health and safety meetings provide consultation between management and employees. This will include health and safety matters.

Health and safety training

The person responsible for monitoring staff training is the nursery manager, working with central team, Educare and NDNA / third party trainers to ensure that all staff, post probation receive all of the necessary welfare and health and safety training certificates before being moved into the permanent staffing team. Health and safety is covered in all induction training for new staff.

Training table:

At present at least one member of staff on duty MUST hold a full paediatric First Aid certificate in the nursery and when on outings. In addition to this, all newly qualified entrants to the early years workforce who have completed a level 2 and/or level 3 qualification on or after 30 June 2016, must also have either a full PFA or an emergency PFA certificate within three months of starting work in order to be included in the required staff: child ratios at level 2 or level 3 in an early years setting. All trained first aiders must be listed in the first aid policy.

Health and safety arrangements

• All staff are responsible for general health and safety in the nursery
• Risk assessments will be conducted on all areas of the nursery, including rooms, activities, outdoor areas, resources and cleaning equipment
• These are reviewed at regular intervals and when arrangements change
• All outings away from the nursery (however short) will include a prior risk assessment – more details are included in our outings policy
• All equipment, rooms and outdoor areas will be checked thoroughly by staff before children access them or the area. These checks will be recorded and initialled by the staff responsible. Unsafe areas will be made safe/removed from the area by this member of staff to promote the safety of children. If this cannot be achieved the manager will be notified immediately 
• We provide appropriate facilities for all children, staff, parents and visitors to receive a warm welcome and provide for their basic care needs, e.g. easy to access toilet area and fresh drinking water
• The nursery will adhere to the Control Of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulation (COSHH) to ensure all children, staff, parents and visitors are safe in relation to any chemicals we may use on the premises
• All staff and students will receive appropriate training in all areas of health and safety which will include risk assessments, manual handling and fire safety. We may also use benefit risk assessments for particular activities and resources for children
• We have a clear accident and first aid policy to follow in the case of any person in the nursery suffering injury from an accident or incident
• We have a clear fire safety policy and procedure which supports the prevention of fire and the safe evacuation of all persons in the nursery. This is to be shared with all staff, students, parents and visitors to the nursery
• We review accident and incident records to identify any patterns/hazardous areas
• All health and safety matters are reviewed informally on an ongoing basis and formally every six months or when something changes. Staff and parents will receive these updates, as with all policy changes, as and when they happen
• Staff and parents are able to contribute to any policy through the suggestion scheme and during the regular meetings held at nursery.

The policy is kept up to date and reviewed especially when the nursery changes in nature and size. It is revised annually, or as and when required. We therefore welcome any useful comments from members of staff, parents and visitors regarding this policy.