Risk Assessments: Safeguarding Children

Risk assessments are a vital part of safeguarding children. In my setting, before we are able to allow the children into nursery, we must ensure that all the rooms and the garden have been risk assessed. Garden checks are also carried out any time before we take the children into the garden to play, to make sure that the area is safe and conducive for them to play in. Risk assessment encourages managers and practitioners to think about what could go wrong either in or out of the setting, so that they can control the situation before accidents or ill health occur. By law, formal risk assessments must be carried out in every workplace. The risk assessors are usually specially trained, competent managers or supervisors who are familiar with the

task being assessed and safety controls. They must also be up to date with relevant legal requirements. As a practitioner I have to carry out risk assessments on a regular basis. These include checks on the premises, equipment and planned activities, as well as outings away
from the setting. Each risk assessment is carried out on a risk assessment form and assess the potential hazards, identify who is at risk and the level of risk involved, the action to be taken and a date for review. The risk assessment form used will vary according to the type of setting.