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At Tots and Time Out and Bright Beginnings 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.

This policy also covers how the nursery premises are compliant with fire safety regulations, including following any major changes or alterations to the premises and seeks advice from the local fire safety officer as necessary.

 

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 all electrical cables are kept out of the reach of children wherever possible and shielded by furniture where they need to be at floor level

• Electrical sockets are all risk assessed and any appropriate safety measures are in place to ensure the safety of the children. 

• Ensure that all staff, visitors, parents and children are aware of the fire procedures and regular fire drills are carried out

• The nursery carries out written risk assessments at least annually. These are regularly reviewed and cover potential risks to children, staff and visitors at the nursery. When circumstances change in the nursery, e.g. a significant piece of equipment is introduced; we review our current risk assessment or conduct a new risk assessment dependent on the nature of this change. 

• All staff are trained in the risk assessment process to ensure understanding and compliance.

• 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 

• All gas appliances are checked annually by a registered Gas Safety Register engineer

• Carbon monoxide detectors are fitted.

• 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 up to date and on display (or made available to parents).

 

Responsibilities 

The designated Health and Safety Officer in the nursery is Becky Cogan, Nursery Owner

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 Nursery 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 Becky Cogan, Nursery Owner

Health and safety is covered in all induction training for new staff.

 

Training table (example):   

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. 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.

Although at Tots and Time Out and Bright Beginnings we ensure that ALL Staff Members are First aid Trained.

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 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.

 

Fire Safety

 

The Nursery Manager has overall responsibility for the fire drill and evacuation procedures. These are carried out and recorded for each group of children every two months or as and when a large change occurs, e.g. a large intake of children or a new member of staff joins the nursery. These drills will occur at different times of the day and on different days to ensure evacuations are possible under different circumstances and all children and staff participate in the rehearsals. The Nursery Manager checks fire detection and control equipment and fire exits on a regular basis. We also have annual visits from the Fire Safety Officer.

Registration

An accurate record of all staff and children present in the building must be kept at all times and children/staff must be marked in and out on arrival and departure. An accurate record of visitors must be kept in the visitor’s book. These records must be taken out along with the register and emergency contacts list in the event of a fire.

No smoking policy

The nursery operates a strict no smoking policy – please see this separate policy for details. 

Fire drill procedure

On discovering a fire:

• Calmly raise the alarm by breaking the alarm glass 

• Immediately evacuate the building under guidance from the nursery manager 

• Using the nearest accessible exit lead the children out, assemble in the nursery garden 

• Close all doors behind you wherever possible

• Do not stop to collect personal belongings on evacuating the building

• Do not attempt to go back in and fight the fire

• Do not attempt to go back in if any children or adults are not accounted for

• Wait for emergency services and report any unaccounted persons to the fire service/police.

 

If you are unable to evacuate safely:

• Stay where you are safe

• Keep the children calm and together

• Wherever possible alert the manager of your location and the identity of the children and other adults with you. 

 

The nursery manager is to:

• Pick up the children’s register, staff register, mobile phone, keys, visitor book and fire bag/evacuation pack (containing emergency contacts list, nappies, wipes and blankets)  

• Telephone emergency services: dial 999 and ask for the fire service

• In the fire assembly point area – Nursery Garden check the children against the register

• Account for all adults: staff and visitors

• Advise the fire service of anyone missing and possible locations and respond to any other questions they may have.

 

Remember 

• Do not stop to collect personal belongings on evacuating the building

• Do not attempt to go back in and fight the fire

• Do not attempt to go back in if any children or adults are not accounted for.

 

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

January 2019

 

July 2021