Assessment Task – CYP Core 3.4 Support Children and Young People’s Health and Safety Introduction Providing children and young people with a safe environment requires knowledge and understanding of potential hazards and risks. Task 1 links to learning and outcome 1, assessment criteria 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 and 1.4. You are asked to provide a resource to inform staff in the setting about health and safety issues. You will need to provide: 1.1 A description of the factors to take into account when planning healthy and safe indoor and outdoor environments and services. There are a variety of different factors that should be taken into account when planning safe and healthy environments.
1. Understand how to plan and provide environments and services that support children and younge people's health and safety. 1.1 - Describe the factors to take into account when planning healthy and safe indoor and outdoor environments and services. There are alot of factors to think about when planning for any healthy and safe environments or activities where children or young people are involved. Some are general common sense but you must remember that each child or young person is an individual and could have different needs from the next.
D1: Explain how Legislation can support strategies to establish and maintain Healthy, Safe and Secure environments in Early Years settings The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (HASAWA) ensures that all practitioners within an Early years setting follow particular guidelines and rules in order to ensure that both children and the adults within the setting are provided with a Healthy, Safe and Secure environment. As stated by Tassoni et al (2007) “everyone within a children’s setting, including student learners, has a responsibility for the health and safety of anyone who is there”. HASAWA is able to support early year’s settings to maintain a Healthy, Safe and Secure environment through ensuring that practitioners carry out Risk Assessments. As stated by Beaver et al (2008) “Practitioners must always be aware of potential hazards/possible dangers and take action to stop this from happening”. Because of this, it is essential that early years settings carry out Risk assessments on all new/existing activities, risk assessments indoors and outdoors, and also complete a Risk assessment if practitioners are planning to take children on an outing.
CYP 3.4 AC 1.1 Explain how you would adapt the setting to suit pupils or visitors with the following needs: 1 Pregnancy Risks need to be reassessed and reviewed regularly as the pregnancy progresses and the work setting to be adapted as necessary and feasible, ie. ensure there is adequate space to ensure mobility and that everything is within easy reach to avoid unnecessary stretching and lifting of heady loads. Ensure good housekeeping of classroom/school areas to avoid trip hazards. To minimise discomfort/stress/fatigue ensure there is adequate lighting, controlled noise levels, adequate ventilation, minimise exposure to high/low temperatures. Minimise exposure to nauseating smells, such as cooking or chemical odours (glue/solvents).
CYP Core 3.4: Support children and young people’s health and safety 1.UNDERSTAND HOW TO PLAN AND PROVIDE ENVIRONMENTS AND SERVICES THAT SUPPORT CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE’S HEALTH AND SAFETY 1.1 Describe the factors to take into account when planning healthy and safe indoor and outdoor environments and services Most of the factors to consider when planning safe and healthy environments for children and young people come down to common sense. As everyone is an individual we need to take in to account each childs level of development and ability when planning a safe and healthy environment. When planning for a healthy and safe indoor environment firstly rooms should be organised to optimise safety, by ensuring there is adequate space in relation to the number of children who will be using it. This allows the children to move around easily and comfortable. Ratios of Staff to Children should also be met to meet current requirements.
Unit 4222-345 Understand how to safeguard the wellbeing of children and young people (CYP M3.3) 1.1 Outline current legislation, guidelines, policies and procedures within own UK home nation. The legislation, guidelines and policies that affect safeguarding children have come about due to the Children’s Act (1989). This act was updated in 2004 to include the principle of integrated children’s services and to also incorporate the five main principles of Every Child Matters. I will list the main legislations, guidelines and also my workplace’s policies and procedures: Children’s Act (2004) - The Act was created with a certain set of goals. Its primary purpose was to give boundaries and help for local authorities and/or other entities to better regulate official intervention in the interests of children.
There are a number of important aspects that need to be taken into account within a setting working with young children. Any setting should have clear policies and procedures set in place surrounding health and safety. All of the rooms and the equipment that is used by the children should have regular health and safety checks to make sure that there is no risk of harm and that they are safe to use. There are checks that should be done by law, including the checks on electrical equipment, which must be checked every year to ensure its safety. The designated officer is in charge of making sure that all required health and safety checks are carried out.
Unit Three 1. Describe four factors to consider when planning healthy and safe indoor and outdoor environments As a professional working with children, it is our responsibility to ensure that the children we work with feel safe, secure and protected. When it comes to planning activities, we must take into account the safety, security, hygiene and comfort of pupils who will be taking part. A learning environment can be in almost any area, inside or outside the school that is used for learning. For example, a learning environment could be; classroom, science lab, art studio, playground or sports field.
CYP Core 3.4: Support children’s and young people’s health and safety 1.Understand how to plan and provide environments that support children and young people’s health and safety. 1.1 There are a number of factors to take into consideration when planning activities for children to ensure they have healthy and safe environments, in which to develop and thrive without being presented with unnecessary hazards. The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 covers many health and safety legislations in England and Wales. These include, RIDDOR, COSHH, First Aid, Fire Regulations etc. All of these legislations need to be understood and adhered to when planning any activities.
Unit 4 Support Children and Young People’s Health and Safety 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Understand how to plan and provide environments and services that support children and young people’s health and safety All activities involving children and vulnerable adults, regardless of their nature and apparent risk level, should be planned. Part of this involves undertaking a risk assessment to consider the dangers and difficulties which may arise, and make plans to reduce them. This means that before an indoor or outdoor activity is carried out, the environment in which the activity will take place will have been previously observed and any hazards removed. Factors to be taken into consideration include: • The individual needs, age and abilities of the children and young people• Specific risks to individuals such as pregnancy, sensory impairments etc.• The needs of carers where relevant • The function and purpose of environments and services offered• The duty of care• Desired outcomes for the children and young people• Lines of responsibility and accountability The individual needs of a child are very important, and knowing children and young people well when planning activities and designing risk assessments. Knowledge of the child can influence the risk assessments as knowledge of allergies, physical ability, concentration span, and knowing how favoured the activity is can help in understanding the risk involved and how to make the activity as safe and enjoyable as possible for everyone involved.