Health and Safety

The physical environment for children must be safe and secure and protect them from harm or the risk of harm.

The manager and responsible individual must ensure that the physical environment is maintained to a high standard, meets the needs of the children and feels and looks like a family home for children. Any damage or wear and tear should be quickly and regularly repaired.

Risk assessments must be regularly reviewed and updated and comply with statutory requirements. See Risk Assessment and Planning Procedure.

Risk assessments should:

• Identify what could cause injury or illness (hazard);
• Identify how likely it is that someone could be harmed and how seriously (the risk);
• Identify actions to eliminate the hazard, or if this is not possible, control the risk.

After consultation with the fire and rescue authority for the area in which the Home is located, the registered person must:

• Take adequate precautions against the risk of fire, including the provision of suitable fire equipment in the Home;
• Provide adequate means of escape from the Home in the event of fire;
• Make arrangements for persons working at the Home to receive suitable training in fire prevention; and
• Ensure, by means of fire drills and practices at suitable intervals, that persons working at the Home and, so far as reasonably practicable, children are aware of the procedure to be followed in case of fire.

A record must be kept of every fire drill or fire alarm test conducted, with details of any deficiency in either the procedure or the equipment concerned, together with details of the steps taken to remedy that deficiency.

Homes staff will undertake fire safety and Fire Marshall training. Fire Marshalls are responsible for, in addition to any duties set out in this policy or elsewhere, assisting in meeting the objectives of the health and safety policy, and in particular:

• Being familiar with emergency procedures;
• Taking appropriate and effective action is a fire occurs;
• Identifying hazards in the Home and recording and report their observations;
• Ensuring that escape routes and dorrs are kept clear and are available for use;
• Ensuring fire doors are kept closed;
• Checking suitable and sufficient notices are displayed;
• Ensuring PEEP’s are on record and up to date;
• Ensuring all staff and children are practiced in fore evacuation procedures.

If a fire is discovered, the Fire Marshall should:

• Ensure that the alarm has been raised;
• Check that the manufacturing processes have been made safe;
• Collect Homes central and visitors logs;
• Evacuate children and staff from the Home or area involved and check that any visitors or person’s with disabilities are assisted and accounted for;
• Ensure the fire service has been called;
• Go to the designated meeting point;
• Conduct a roll call;
• Ensure all persons have been accounted for and remain in the designated meeting area until instructed otherwise;
• Report to Homes Manager or on call manager if out of hours;
• Prevent any persons re-entering the Home until the fire service has given permission to do so.

Fie Marshalls should never put themselves at risk while undertaking their role.

The Homes Manager and staff hold overall responsibility for health and safety in the Home, ensuring each individual within the Home is kept safe.

Health and safety is the responsibility of the entire workforce, and each individual is responsible for actions, tasks or assessments to ensure the Home is compliant and working within the remit of the law.

If a health and safety issue has been raised to a Manager or senior member of staff, which poses a risk to the children, workforce or visitors and no action has been taken, the employee is to follow whistleblowing procedures.

Training & Development

All staff working in the Home undergo training and development during the induction and probation process in Health & Safety.

Training which is undertaken includes:

• Introduction to Health & Safety;
• Introduction to First Aid;
• Fire Safety;
• Fire Marshall;
• COSHH;
• Food Safety Level 1.

Training is reviewed annually in line with Continuous Professional Development.

The Organisation accepts its overall responsibility for providing instruction and training in order to ensure that the responsibilities shown are fully understood and complied with. Accidents are usually caused by unsafe acts or conditions and the responsibilities placed on employees within this policy are intended to comply with legal requirements, as well as reducing the likelihood of unsafe acts or conditions occurring.

All members of the workforce will:

• Comply with organisational and Homes health and safety policy;
• Fully observe the safety and rules;
• Report any hazard within the Home or surrounding environment and malfunction of any equipment to the Homes Manager or senior staff member;
• Conform to dress policy;
• Conduct themselves in a professional and orderly manner in the Home and outside of it;
• Use all safety equipment including PPE for the appropriate task;
• Avoid any improvisation that may create any unnecessary risk to personal safety or the safety of others;
• Maintain all implements and equipment in good condition and report any defects to the Homes Manager or senior staff member;
• Report all accidents to Management whether an injury was sustained or not;
• Attend any training courses designed to further the needs of health and safety;
• Observe all processes, materials and substances used in the Home;
• Observe and comply with the fire evacuation procedure and be aware of all firefighting equipment, alarms and exits.

In addition to the above responsibilities, the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 places legal duties on all employees. It requires all employees:

• To take all reasonable care for the health and safety of themselves and others who may be affected by their acts or omissions at work;
• To co-operate with management to enable the employer to carry out his legal duties or any requirements as may be imposed.

Section 8 of the Act requires that no person shall intentionally or recklessly interfere or misuse any item provided in the interests of Health, Safety and Welfare. Regulation 14 of the Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations 1999 further extends the duties of employees in the following manner:

• Every employee shall use any machinery, equipment, dangerous substance, transport equipment, means of production or safety device provided to him by his employer in accordance both with any training in the use of the equipment concerned which has been received by him and the instructions respecting that use which have been provided to him by the said employer in compliance with the requirements and prohibitions imposed upon that employer by or under the relevant statutory provisions;
• Every employee shall inform his employer or any other employee of that employer with specific responsibility for the health and safety of his fellow employees;
• Of any work situation which a person with the first mentioned employee’s training and instruction would reasonably consider represented a serious and immediate danger to health and safety;
• Of any matter which a person with the first–mentioned employees’ training and instruction would reasonably consider represented a shortcoming in the employer’s protection arrangements for health and safety.

In so far as the situation or matter either affects the health and safety of that first mentioned employee or arises out of or in connection with his own activities at work and has not previously been reported to his employer or to any other employee of that employer in accordance with this paragraph.

The following responsibilities are assigned to enable the Home and its workforce to meet the objectives of the health and safety policy.

Homes Managers are responsible for:

• Monitoring and reviewing the implementation of the health and safety policy;
• Ensuring that responsibilities for health and safety are clearly allocated and that the correct level of competence and training is identified for each member of the workforce;
• Overall responsibility, accountability and oversight for all health and safety related matters within the Home, the quality of reporting, outcomes and compliance;
• The workforce, ensuring they action all health and safety responsibility, actions or tasks within the remit of their role and this policy;
• Ensuring the workforce under their management complies with relevant health and safety;
• Ensuring that risk assessments are provided for all significant work activities and that the conditions set out are implemented and communicated to the workforce;
• Ensuring that arrangements for first-aid, fire, accidents and emergencies are implemented;
• Ensuring that protocol for reporting and recording health and safety issues is followed;
• Ensuring relevant policies and procedures and safe working practices are provided;
• Ensuring PPE is provided, worn and maintained;
• Implementing recommendations made by external auditors, enforcement officers and other relevant parties, within the timescales allocated;
• Investigating accidents and incidents to ensure any improvements identified in relation to working practices are implemented and informing of significant failures;
• Ensuring health and safety records are maintained and documentation is complete and stored on file;
• Ensuring all statutory health and safety testing/inspections are completed within agreed timescales.

Homes staff must:

• Comply with training, information and instruction they have been given;
• To carry out all health and safety responsibilities, tasks and direction within allocated timeframes;
• To complete daily and weekly health and safety assessments and monitoring and any actions within the remit of their role. Any findings are to be shared with the Homes Manager or senior member of staff;
• Not attempt to carry out hazardous work or use hazardous equipment or machinery unless they have been trained and authorised to do so;
• Carry out their work safely and without undue risk to themselves, colleagues and others who may be affected by their actions;
• Check tools and equipment before use, and do not use equipment which they know to be faulty;
• Ensure that any faulty machinery or equipment is reported immediately to the Homes Manager or senior member of staff, and removed until it is repaired;
• Not bring any equipment or tools that have not been subjected to assessment/testing into the Home without permission of the Homes Manager;
• Comply with arrangements for emergencies and fire as instructed;
• Use PPE or safeguards provided and ensure that PPE is stored correctly and kept in good condition;
• Co-operate with management, colleagues, safety representatives and advisors to promote safe working practices.

Useful Websites

Health and Safety Executive