Health and Safety - General Policy At Brookdale
Day Nursery Ltd 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 regularly 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 Carole Croft .
The employer has overall and final
responsibility for this policy being carried out at:
Brookdale Day Nursery Ltd , Hala rd Lancaster LA1 4QJ
The nursery manager/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 *senior
member of staff in the area/*deputy manager/*manager.
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
Person responsible for monitoring staff
training is Carole Croft
Health and safety is covered in all induction
training for new staff.
Training table
Area
Training required
Who
Paediatric First aid
Course
All staff
Dealing with blood
In house training/course
All staff and students
Safeguarding/Child protection
In house training/course
All staff and students
Care of babies
In house training/course
Half of the staff working with under
2's
Risk assessment
In house training/course
All staff
Fire safety procedures
In house training
All staff and students
Use of fire extinguisher
In house training/course
All staff where possible
Food hygiene
In house training/course
All staff and students
Allergy awareness
In house training/course
All staff and students
Manual handling
In house training/course
All staff and students
Stress awareness and management
In house training/course
All staff
Changing of nappies
In house training
All staff and students
Fire warden duties
External course
Fire Warden
Medication requiring technical or
medical knowledge e.g. Epi Pen
External course
As required
SENCO
External course
SENCO
Supervision and appraisal
External course
Manager, deputy and room supervisor
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.
This policy was adopted on
Signed on behalf of the nursery
Date for review
Jan 2020
Susan Walker
Jan 2021
