Ccld_Unit_027

Unit 027 – Support children and young people’s health and safety Outcome 1 There are many factors to take into account when planning healthy and safe indoor and outdoor environments and services. When I am planning to take the children outside to play in the garden I first check there are no open gates in the garden or animal waste. I also make sure there are no broken toys or litter in the area and the toys outside are clean and safe to be played with. When planning an indoor activity I ensure all toys and activities are safe and clean for the children to use and nothing unwanted has been dropped on the floor. This ensures I follow our health and safety procedure policy in order to maintain duty of care. I take into consideration my desired outcome of the specific environment or service for the children or young people to progress to the next milestone in their development, for example a toddler progressing from using scissors with two hands to being able to just use one hand to cut, Another example being a preschool child learning pencil control and how to hold it properly in order to write their own name. In doing this it ensure children are always mentally stimulated to the best of their abilities in accordance to their needs and age group. In the workplace health and safety is monitored and maintained by the use of risk assessments which are displayed on walls around the nursery to make people aware of the hazards and encourage a safe working environment for all. Risk assessments are also explained and shown to new members of staff on their induction day and placed in areas of the nursery where parents can also see them. In my workplace there are many sources of guidance for planning healthy and safe environments and services. One of these is the manager, who oversees the nursey ensuring there is a correct child to staff ratio and level of supervision in each area and all toys and equipment are in good condition and easily accessible. The manager also makes sure all risk assessments are kept up-to-date and passes on guidance and help on how to minimise risks and plan/keep safe environments and services. An early years advisor visits the nursery at regular intervals. The early years’ advisor’s role is to help provide advice and guidance to settings to deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework. They also provide advice on childcare. A social worker is appointed to each nursery. The role of a social worker is to help people to help themselves, by ensuring they have access to relevant support services. Social workers who work with children are likely to specialise in child protection, youth offending, disabilities or mental health, therefore have a broad range of knowledge and advice which can be passed on and implemented in a day nursery. Health and safety executives play a key role in helping the nursey keep all their service users safe. The health and safety executive requires the nursery to take reasonable steps to make sure that their customers, employees and anyone else affected by their activities and services are not harmed in any way by those activities, including risk assessments. Although the executive does not regularly inspect services, it has to be informed if certain things happen, e.g. accidents which cause more than 3 day absences, any breakages of bones, any harm to a member of the public, and harm to a child/young person. They also require that every firm has a comprehensive health and safety policy in place.