Playground Safety Essay example

This is really important because if there are toys on lying on the floor carelessly it is more likely that a child could trip over it or put it in their mouth and injury themselves with it.

There are a number of important principles to think about when you are planning for healthy and safe environments or activities with children. Most of these are common sense but you need to remember that everyone is an individual and may have different needs. There are several points to take into consideration when planning safety:

The book Safety 24/7 was a book basically about safety in an industrial workplace. The book explained many safety tips to improve a safe working environment. There were a few main characters in this book that were very easily to understand their purpose in the story. The first character that appeared in this story is Kurt Bradshaw. He was promoted to the manager of worldwide safety. His great leadership skills and motivational techniques had put him in this new position. Kurt was very excited for the job and ready for it, but he was not too familiar about any safety tasks that could improve the workplace.

Usage of equipment should be monitored constantly and children should be given instructions of how to use it. Equipment should be stored safely and should be checked and maintained regularly. Any damaged equipment should be removed, repaired or made unreachable if its condition creates a risk of hazard.

Security: Any outside area used by children should be secured and boundaries regularly inspected, to ensure the safety of all pupils.

A schools Health and safety policy should conform to the requirements contained in the Health & Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. Specifically the policy should contain :-

8. Evaluate different approaches to managing risk during children and young peoples play. An approach to managing risk could be to talk to those children involved with e.g. play fighting and if they got too carried away I would stop them from playing together. Another approach would be to provide crash mats if children are playing on an indoor climbing frame, I would place them underneath to steady their fall so they don’t injure themselves too badly.

Other possible hazards are doors and exit points. Doors should have a spring device to close on themselves once they’re open to minimise anyone leaving without being notices, secure stair-gates should be fitted at both ends to minimise falls, and the main entrance should have a secure lock/ buzzer system to minimise unlawful entry or exit.

If pets are present then children’s play areas must be free of pet food and waste

As a level 3 practitioner it is important to take a balanced approach to risk management so that children are able to learn and develop. Practitioners need to be aware of the risks, however “if the activity is well planned and organised, with thought given to possible risks, the likelihood of an accident or injury should be minimal” (Tassoni et al, 2010, p144). Practitioners working with children have a duty of care towards the children and must make sure that they are safe at all times. They should plan the play environment and activity which is safe for the child, but there also needs to be a balance between the risks a child is able take. Children should be allowed to take risk they think they are able to achieve with adult support but not too much intervention, If they are not allowed to take risk they will not be able to develop the skills required to deal with risks and make judgement about their own strengths and skills which may affect their development, self-esteem and confidence. Avoiding risks and challenges may result in a very timid adult lacking in every day skills and abilities. Children can take risks in all different areas by following the seven areas of development which was introduced by the foundation phase, these areas are as follow:-

The display of the resources respecting different areas of play (relax corner, building games, reading corner, art table, dolls, fancy dresses, tents,....)

1. Explain and discuss the Introduction to the New York City Police Department based in the School Safety Agent Student Guide.

Early years require sponge flooring in the play area outside to prevent injury that you would receive from concrete areas. The equipment that the teacher uses needs to be safe. For example, when reaching up high in the classroom to do a display an elephant’s foot or stepladder should be used as opposed to standing on a chair or table. When using equipment for physical activity (PE) safety mats for climbing frames, the beam, etc. must be in place.

The main health and safety and security requirements that apply to a play environment are that the facilities are clean and

1. explain the procedures to follow for safety checking the following in a play environment: