Health and Safety, Fire Safety and Evacuation Procedure

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Little Pippins Pre-school believes that the health and safety of young children is of paramount importance. We understand the importance of ensuring that systems are in place for checking that Little Pippins is a safe and secure place for children, parents, staff and other visitors. All staff, students, volunteers and children are aware of the safety procedures set out in this policy.

The Pre-school will:

  • Comply with current legislation.
  • Seek out and eliminate bad practices.
  • Establish and maintain safe working procedures of all persons using the Pre-school.
  • Develop a Health and Safety awareness among all staff and visitors and teach safe practices and awareness of obvious, presumed and anticipated hazards.
  • Indicate Health and Safety documents that the pre-school may have received and with which all staff should be familiar by displaying the necessary health and safety poster and maintaining the policy and the health and safety manual.

Our Health and Safety co-ordinator is:

Name…………Maureen Hillsdon………………………………………………...

Our designated Officer (the Committee Chair) who oversees this work is:

Name…………Sara Rowley……………………………………………………...

Physical Environment

Little Pippins is committed to providing children with a stimulating and safe environment. We will do all we can to make our premises welcoming and friendly to children, their parents/carers and any other visitors.

The Pre-School’s premises are safe, secure and adequately spacious for its purpose. The environment and atmosphere of the setting are welcoming to children and offer access to the necessary facilities for a broad and varied play experience.

The Pre-school is committed to taking every possible step to ensure that all children have equal access to facilities, activities and play opportunities (see the Equality and Diversity policy).

The Pre-school’s premises comply with all the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and all other relevant regulations and guidance.

During the opening hours, the premises are used by and solely available to the Pre-school, its staff and the children, as far as this is possible.

The Management Committee is responsible for ensuring that the Pre-school’s premises are clean, well lit, adequately ventilated and maintained at an appropriate temperature. Daily risk assessments are carried out to ensure that the facilities are maintained in a suitable state of repair and decoration.

The Pre-school will do all it can to maintain an open room layout, allowing children to choose from a variety of play opportunities. All children will have adequate space to play and interact freely (a minimum of 2.3 square metres’ space per child).

There is adequate space for storing the Pre-school’s equipment and cleaning materials safely and securely. Play equipment is checked for cleanliness and safety before use and any dangerous items are repaired or discarded

Under normal circumstances, staff will ensure that there is one toilet and one wash basin with hot and cold water available for every 10 children.

No child will be allowed in the kitchen area

Members of staff will have access to a telephone on the Pre-school’s premises at all times.

Adults are provided with guidance about safe storage, movement and lifting of large items and with safe equipment to aid reaching stored equipment.

All electrical /gas equipment conforms to safety requirements and is checked regularly. The temperature of hot water is controlled to prevent scalds.

Outdoor Play

Any outdoor play will take place in safe secure and well-supervised spaces. Before any outdoor activities commence, a thorough safety check will take place.

Outdoor play areas will be well maintained. Ponds, drains and pools of water will be made safe or inaccessible to children, unless used as part of the Pre-school’s activities. This will be risk assessed and supervised at all times..

Daily checks

A visual inspection of both the equipment and the entire premises – both indoor and outdoors – will be carried out daily. This will, ordinarily, be carried out by a designated member of staff on arrival at the Pre-School and will be completed before any children arrive.

During the session, staff will be vigilant and continuously aware of any potential risks to health and safety arising from:

  • The Pre-School’s environment, both indoors and outdoors
  • All surfaces, both indoors and outdoors
  • All equipment used by children or staff

On discovering a hazard, staff will take all steps necessary to making themselves and any other people potentially affected safe. They will then notify the Supervisor and ensure that a record is made in the Health and Safety RecordBook.

The Supervisor, in conjunction with the Management Committee, are then responsible for ensuring that any necessary action is taken.

This will be reported at the monthly Management Committee meeting.

Risk Assessments

In accordance with our duties under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, the Pre-school is required to undertake regular risk assessments and take any necessary action arising from these.

Risk assessments will be carried out each term with the exception of swimming and summer trip risk assessments which will only be assessed in the summer term.

The Health and Safety co-ordinator is responsible for making sure that risk assessments are completed, logged and effectively monitored. Reviews are conducted when there is any change to equipment or resources, any change to the Pre-school’s premises, or when the particular needs of a child or other visitor necessitates this.

The Management Committee/Supervisor is further responsible for conducting any necessary reviews or making changes to the Pre-school’s policies or procedures in the light of any potential risks that they or other members of staff discover.

Any health and safety issue relating to newly registered children will be reported to the Health and Safety co-ordinator and noted in the Health & Safety and Health & Hygiene record book. The Supervisor will be notified. This will be reported at the monthly Management Committee meeting.

Site Security

Our Pre-School is committed to providing care and play for children in a safe and secure environment. All staff have an individual and collective responsibility to ensure that they have continuous regard for the safety and security of all children at the Pre-School.

Parents/carers are encouraged to talk to their children about the importance of remaining safe and not leaving the Pre-school’s premises during the session.

These messages will be reinforced by both the Pre-School and its staff.

Safety and security procedures will be regularly reviewed by the Management Committee, in consultation with staff and parents/carers.

The main entrance door will be locked at all times and exit is by thumb turn . Children will not be allowed into the lobby area unaccompanied. The doors from the lobby to the cloakroom and main play area will be locked at all times. Entry is by number key pad and exit by high level thumb turn. The gates to the garden will be locked at all times with a number combination padlock.

Supervision

Children will not be left unsupervised at any time during sessions. In the event of staff shortages, available space will be restricted to ensure that children are adequately supervised, in accordance with the staff ratios set out in the Staffing policy.

The Supervisor will ensure that children and staff register at arrival and departure from the Pre-school.

Visitors

The Pre-school has a Visitors’ Book in which visitors must sign on arrival, as well as giving the following information:

  • their name.
  • signature.
  • the date and time of their arrival.
  • organisation (or reason for visit)
  • their departure time
  • their signature on leaving.

All visitors to the Pre-school must wear a visitor’s badge and will not be left unsupervised with children at any time.

Staff have a duty to approach any visitor on the premises who is not wearing a badge or who has not signed in. They must introduce themselves and establish immediately who the visitor is and the reason for their being on the Pre-school’s premises. If the visitor has no suitable reason to be on the Pre-school premises, then they will be asked to leave immediately and escorted from the premises. If the visitor repeatedly refuses to leave, the police will be telephoned immediately.

A record will be made of any such incidents in the Health and Safety RecordBook, and the Management Committee/Supervisor will be immediately notified.

Ofsted will be informed of any significant changes or events (Ofsted telephone number 0300 123 1231).

Recording Accidents, Incidents and Dangerous Occurrences

All accidents, incidents and dangerous occurrences will be recorded in either the Health and Safety RecordBook, Incident Record Book or the Accident Record Book on the same day as the event took place. Records will be used to inform or change practice to ensure accidents and incidents in the Pre-schoolare minimised.

Records must contain:

  • The time, date and nature of the incident, accident or dangerous occurrence.
  • Details of the people involved.
  • The type, nature and location of any injury sustained.
  • The action taken and by whom.
  • The signature of the member of staff who dealt with the event, any witnesses and a countersignature by the parents/carers of the child or children involved.

Staff should inform the parents/carers of the child or children concerned at the end of the session in which the incident, accident or dangerous occurrence took place. Where this is not possible, the information will be passed on at the earliest possible opportunity.

Ofsted will be informed of any serious accident/incident and dangerous occurrence involving a child or member of staff whilst at the setting (Ofsted telephone number 0300 123 1231).

The Pre-school will also report work-related accidents, diseases and dangerous occurrences under the RIDDOR ’95 regulations (see

Fire safety

The Pre-School understands the importance of vigilance to fire safety hazards. The Pre-School has an up to date fire certificate and notices explaining the fire procedures are positioned next to every fire exit.

All staff are aware of the location of all fire extinguishers, fire exits, break glass points, the fire assembly point and where fire safety equipment is stored. Particular attention is paid to distinguishing between the various types of fire extinguisher and their methods of operation (refer to website There are fire notices on all doors in the building.

Children will be made aware of the fire safety procedures during their settling in period and on regular occasions from then on. All children will be made aware of the location of fire exits and the fire assembly point.

Fire doors and fire exits are clearly marked, are not obstructed at any time, and are easily opened from the inside.

Fire exits are kept closed at all times and can be locked but are easily unlocked via a thumb turn. Fire extinguishers and fire alarm systems are regularly tested in accordance with manufacturer’s guidance.

The Supervisor is the designated Fire Safety Officer who will be responsible for arranging fire drills and tests. Fire drills will take place periodically and staff may or may not be informed when these will occur.

A minimum of twice a year, the Pre-school will hold a fire drill without prior warning.

All fire drills, fire incidents and equipment checks will be recorded in the Fire Safety folder.

Fire Prevention

The Pre-school will take all steps possible to prevent fires occurring. As such, the Management Committee/Supervisor and the staff team are responsible for:

  • Ensuring that there are sufficient power points are these are not overloaded with adaptors.
  • Ensuring that the Pre-School’s Smoking Alcohol and Drugs policy is always observed.
  • Checking for frayed or trailing wires.
  • Checking that fuses are replaced safely.
  • Unplugging all equipment before leaving the premises.
  • Storing any potentially flammable materials safely.
  • ensure all electrical items are PAT tested annually and hard wiring is tested every 5 years

The Supervisor will explain fire safety procedures to new staff, students and volunteers as part of the induction process.

A Fire Risk Assessment will be carried out annually and regular maintenance checks will be carried out as identified in the risk assessment and recorded in the Fire Safety folder

In the event of a fire

A member of staff will raise the alarm immediately and the emergency services will be called at the earliest possible opportunity.

All children will immediately be escorted out of the building and to the assembly point using the nearest marked exit. No attempt will be made to collect personal belongings, or to re-enter the building after evacuation.

The entire premises will be checked by the Fire Safety Officer and the register, visitors book and mobile phone (with contacts installed) will be collected, providing that this does not put anyone at risk. On exiting the building, the Fire Safety Officer will close all accessible doors and windows to prevent the spread of fire, providing this does not put themselves or others at risk.

The register will be taken and all children, visitors and staff accounted for. If any person is missing from the register, the emergency services will be informed immediately. If for any reason the register is not to hand, the Supervisor should access the emergency contacts list that is kept off the premises.

If for any reason the designated fire safety officer is absent at the time of an incident, the Deputy Supervisorwill assume responsibility or nominate a replacement member of staff.

Fire log books will be updated periodically.

Ofsted will be notified about any significant changes or events (Ofsted telephone number 0300 123 1231).

Evacuation Policy and Procedure

The pre-school will follow the procedures for evacuating the building in the event of a fire alarm being sounded, or other emergency situation arising in a way that ensures that all children are safely led away from the building and adults do not take any undue risks.

Aims

  • No child or adult will take unnecessary personal risks
  • Staff fully understand the required procedures and understand their role
  • Staff will follow day to day procedures to reduce the risk of fire
  • Advice will be sought by the fire brigade.

Methods

  • We will follow the advice of the fire brigade on any matters arising from their visit
  • We will have a fire procedure on the wall
  • We will have a fire drill on each session for one week in each half term, and a record will be made.
  • We will inform each member of staff of their role when carrying out our fire drill
  • We will ensure all staff receive training on fire procedures
  • We will perform a formal risk management assessment at least once a year, and will monitor risks each day. (Termly Premises Risk assessment and Daily safety checks)
  • We will keep registers of children, staff and visitors to the pre-school for each session.
  • We will keep a register of emergency contacts offsite at Harwell Primary School Office
  • We will keep a fully charged mobile phone on standby at all times programmed with emergency contacts

Evacuation Procedure

In the event of a fire or other emergency situation occurring, a member of staffwill activate the fire alarm to alert everyone and gain their attention.

If the fire alarm has been activated but everyone is outside it may not be heard. In this event, as soon as a member of staff hears the alarm, one of the fire whistles kept outside on the veranda will be blown to gain everyone’s attention.

The evacuation procedure to follow is:

  • A member of staff will telephone the emergency services on 999 and give appropriate details.
  • We will use the nearest available exit. There are 2 fire exit doors located in the main room of the pre-school clearly signed. Exit either into the garden then go via the side gate to the car park or directly into the car park from the front door. The assembly point is the grass verge of the car park, clearly signed to the right of the main entrance gate as you enter the orchard.
  • The evacuation will start immediately and people should not try to collect bags and other personal possessions.
  • For safe evacuation (assuming three staff available), one member of staff will be at fire exit door, , one staff member will usher the children out to car park assembly point and, the session supervisor will check the room, cupboards etc. to ensure the area has been cleared.
  • If it is safe to do so, the session supervisor will collect the mobile telephone (emergency contacts), children’s and staff register, visitors book and medicationand take them to the assembly point
  • At the assembly point, the registers will be called and checked for any unaccounted adults or children, and fire brigade will be told of any missing people. Nobody will be permitted to return to the building until the all clear is given by the fire brigade or other appropriate emergency service.
  • In the event we cannot return to Pre- school we will supervise children to the designatedrefuge point which is located at Harwell Primary School main assembly hall.

For fire drills, the above procedure will be followed except that the Supervisor or the session supervisor will give the all clear.