Keeping Children Safe

I have been involved in identifying hazards in my setting, such as in the water play area, the children accidently spilling water on the floor from splashing the water out of the water bowl and from trying to experiment with pouring and filling bottles. Therefore, because this happened I proceeded to use in initiative and clean up the spillage on the floor.

The procedure I had took in this situation was that I asked the children to step away from the puddle on the floor and I informed one other staff about what I had seen and asked if they can keep an eye on children while I went to go and get a mop or a towel to clean up the spilt area. I then went to collect the appropriate facilities and clean up the wet area so the children would not slip over and hurt themselves.

Once I had cleaned it all up I changed the clothes of a child, as they was wet from playing in the water and it hen put a dry towel on the floor so if there is another spillage, the towel will keep it fairly dry. P4. 2it is important to understand the different policy’s that provide a healthy and safe environment for staff and children. My nursery follow the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, the Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH) and the Reporting of Injuries and Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR).

When I have identified the hazard, the procedure, the setting would like me to take, is to clean it up straight away. This is so the children do not fall over and injure them self. It mentions in the health and safety policies that when there is a spillage on the floor you must clear the area and mop up the spillage. I now know how to follow the settings policies and procedure as I have a copy of them at home therefore I can keep looking through them and making sure I am following the rules.

P4. 3- If this was to happen again I would act quicker in dealing with the situation because I noticed while I was clean up the spilt area more children was wanting to come over and play with the water. However I think I acted well because I managed to see a hazard and act upon it straight away before any children slipped over. P4. 1- I have been involved in dealing with minor accidents and injuries in my setting. For example I have filled in two different accident forms of

incidents that I have witnessed, such as a child falling over and grazing a knee or arm. The procedure I took in this situation was to comfort the child who had fallen over and bring the child to a bench in the outdoor play area to sit down. I had a look at the graze on the left leg and then I then told the child that I was going to get a wet paper towel to put over the graze. I went into the classroom and got the wet paper towel and the accident form. I went back over the child and asked her if she would want to hold the towel on her leg.

While she was holding it down I started to fill the form out, I wrote down her full name, her age, location of incident, the date on incident, what happened, were she hurt herself, the treatment she was given, then I had to write down my name as I was the witness, another member of staff who witnessed it and finally I had to put my signature. Once I finished filling the form out, I had another look at her grazed leg and it was looking better, I asked if she wanted to stay sitting down or if she wanted to go back and play again, she said she wanted to play so I let her go but I kept a close eye on her.

P4. 2- An accident book is available which must be filled in if any child or member of staff sustains an injury whilst on the premises. Details of how, when, where and who the accident happened to must be recorded by the member of staff who saw and dealt with the injury. The treatment given must also be recorded. The child’s parent will be shown this information when the child is collected from nursery and requested to sign the form. If a child’s injury is more serious than the everyday bumps and bruises, the parent will be contacted immediately and informed of the situation.

Accident records are reviewed regularly during senior meetings. P4. 3- looking back now at this incident I think I acted positively trough out the incident, because comforted the child and acted upon the injury accurately. I think if this happened again I would ask for a member of the staff to help as I left the child alone of a little while and the child may of needed some with them for comfort while I went for the wet paper towel. Also I think I will look out for any safety hazards in the outdoor play area so the accident is prevented and no one else will hurt themselves.