Health and Safety Essay Example

and safety is monitored in the setting and how staff are made aware of risks and hazards The school health and safety representative carries out safety checks on a regular basis. Any risks to safety are identified and rectified immediately or the area placed out of bounds until the risk is removed.

Electrical items are safety tested on an annual basis, and fire extinguishers are also checked and the checks recorded on the fire extinguisher casing. Health and safety is a regular topic at staff meetings, with any new risks, changes to policies or legislation being communicated to staff at these meetings. Should the need to urgently inform staff of a new risk arise, the staff will be informed directly by the head teacher. 3. 1 Outline the importance of taking a balanced approach to risk management Children need to learn to assess risk for themselves.

Inevitably this means that they will need to take some risks, and most activities will involve some element of danger. If children's experiences are limited due to adults' anxieties, it is likely that they will find it difficult to assess and manage risk when they become adults. A balanced approach to risk management involves: Taking into account the young person's age, needs and abilities Avoiding excessive risk taking Allowing them to take sufficient risk (not being excessively risk-averse) Recognising the importance of risk to their healthy development

An example of a balanced approach would be working with year 4 children on a Design and Technology activity using hot glue guns and hacksaws – they would not necessarily be prevented from using the hacksaws and glue guns themselves, but the availability of the

glue guns and hacksaws could be limited so that they had to have close adult supervision on a 1:1 basis whenever they were using the dangerous tools – this approach would help them understand the risk, and takes into account the maturity of the children.