Health and safety at work essay sample

Describe what factors you need to take into account when planning and arranging indoor or outdoor environments for the children or young people with whom you work.

The health and safety requirements of all young people and adults must be taken into consideration before starting any learning activity and it must be ensured that the learning environment is free from any hazard that could affect a person’s health and safety. The duty of care of a setting to children, young people, parents and carers is a legal obligation that should always have the child’s safety and welfare uppermost in mind when planning. The desired outcomes for the child and young people are the starting point. Most activities with children and young people should have clear aims and objectives that are based around the required outcomes linked to their age. It is not a mindless work that requires only staying with a child. It has to be well planned and thought thorough as what needs to be done for a child to be healthy, safe and stimulated to learn. When planning an activity it has to be made sure it’s the right environment for the activity. * There should be enough room for children and young people to move freely around the learning area. They should be able to access all the learning resources safely without causing risk to any other individual. * Light and noise:

There should always be sufficient light to enable the children to work in comfort. * Loud noises can be unsettling for some children, especially those with autism. A quiet calm classroom environment will be crucial for these children to ensure their comfort. Sometimes it may not be possible to have a silent class but instilling class rules will enable the children to be calm.

Describe the legislation, policies and procedures that are followed in your setting.

The setting in which you provide care are generally covered by the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (HASAWA). This Act has been updated and supplemented by many sets of regulations and guidelines, which extend it, support it and explain it. The regulations most likely to affect your workplace are as follows:-

Manual Handling Regulations 1992
Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH) Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR). Health and Safety First Aid Regulations 1981

Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.
There are many regulations, laws and guidelines dealing with health and safety. You do not need to know the detail but you do need to know where your responsibilities begin and end.

The laws place certain responsibilities on both the employers and employees. For example, it is up to the employer to provide a safe place to work, but the employee also has to show reasonable care for his/her own safety.

The Employer has to:
•provide a safe workplace
•ensure there is safe access to and from the workplace
•provide information on health and safety
•provide health and safety training

The Worker must:

•take reasonable care for their own safety and that of others •co-operate with the employer in respect of health and safety matters •not intentionally damage any health and safety equipment or materials provided by the employer

Both the employee and the employer are jointly responsible for safeguarding the health and safety of anyone using the premises.

Each workplace where there are five or more workers must have a written statement of health and safety policy. The policy must include:

•a statement of intention to provide a safe workplace
•the name of the person responsible for implementing the policy •the names of any other individuals responsible for particular health and safety hazards •a list of identified health and safety hazards and the procedures to be followed in relation to them •procedures for recording accidents at work

•details for evacuation of the premises.

Explain how health and safety is monitored and maintained within your work setting.

See above.

How are others made aware of any risks or hazards in the work setting.

See above.

Explain why it is important to take a balanced approach to risk management?

As practitioners, our main concern is to keep children and young people safe from harm. Doing this can be very hard, as at the same time we need to encourage them to experience risk and challenges. If we try to remove all risks from children and young people’s lives we could be risking to restrict their learning experiences. Some risks obviously need to be avoided and we wouldn’t be competent in our role of caring for children and young people if we didn’t protect them from these dangers. Faulty electrical equipment and poisonous chemicals are two examples of what can be clearly dangerous. On the other hand situations such as, climbing stairs, visiting the park, using a hammer or lightning a candle are experiences where is important to access the real level of risk. These experiences can extend the young persons learning and understanding on how to manage the real world in which they live.

It is very important that we teach children and young people skills that will help them managing dangers and risk for themselves. Giving children and young people the opportunity to participate in a certain level of risky experiences will help them to develop confidence and competence to make their own decisions in terms of risk taking. Risk assessment is an essential part of activity planning and a wide range of factors should be taken into consideration ( such as, age of the children, the nature of the activity, the physical environment, the level of supervision required,…). After doing a good risk assessment the activity can go ahead with the understanding that little accidents that might happen are a part of everyone’s learning experience.

Give an example from own practice of how you have supported children or young people to assess and manage risk, explain any dilemmas between any rights and choices and health and safety requirements?

For each of the following areas give an example that has or may happen in your work setting and explain what policies and procedures you have or would follow in the circumstance.

•Accident
when working in young people’s homes they often ask if I want a cup of coffee, this could result in the young person burning or scalding themselves with the kettle if this were to happen I would follow the guidelines set out in the First Aid at work policy which is:

symptoms:
•depending on the type and severity of the burn, skin may be red, swollen and tender, blistered and raw or charred •usually severe pain and possibly shock
Aims
•to obtain immediate medical assistance if the burn is over a large area. Or is deep. •To send for an ambulance if the burn is severe or extensive. If the burn or scald is over a smaller area, the casualty could be transported to hospital by car. •To stop the burning and stop pain

•to minimise the possibility of infection
Action for burns and scalds
•for major burns, summon immediate medical assistance
•cool down the burn. Keep it flooded with cold water for 10 minutes. If it is a chemical burn, this needs to be done for 20 minutes. Ensure that the contaminated water used to cool a chemical burn is disposed of safely •remove any jewelery, watches or clothing which are not sticking to the burn •cover the burn if possible, unless it ids a facial burn, with a sterile or least a clean non adhesive dressing. If this is not possible leave the burn uncovered. For a burn on a hand or foot, a clean plastic bag will protect it from infection until it can be treated by an expert. If the clothing is on fire, remember the basics, stop, drop, wrap, and roll the person on the ground.

DO NOT
•Remove anything which is stuck to a burn
•touch a burn, or use any ointment or cream.
•Cover facial burns – keep pouring water on until help arrives.

•Incident
if I was working with a young person and we were out having lunch and they started choking I would follow the these procedures.

Symptoms
•Red, congested face at first, later turning grey
•unable to speak or breathe, may grasp and indicate throat or neck. Aims
•to remove obstruction as quickly as possible. To summon medical assistance as a matter of urgency if the obstruction cannot be removed.

Action for choking
1. ensure any dentures are removed. Sweep the mouth with one gloved finger to clear any food, vomit or anything else from the mouth 2. try to get the person to cough, if that is not immediately effective, move on to step 3 3. bend the person forwards, slap sharply on the back between the shoulder blades up to 5 times. 4. If this fails, use the Heimlich manoeuvre, if you have been trained to do so. Stand behind the person with your arms around him/ her. Join your hands just below the breastbone. One hand should be in a fist the other holding it. 5. Sharply pull your joined hands upwards and into the persons body at the same time. The force should expel the obstruction. 6. You should alternate backslaps and abdominal thrusts until you clear the obstruction..

•Injury
if a young person was to fall and injure themselves and complain about the pain in their arms or hands I would check to see if they had broken anything by following the next procedures.

Symptoms.
•Acute pain around the area of the injury
•swelling and discoloration around the affected area.
•Limbs and joint may be in odd positions.
•Broken bones may protrude through the skin.

Action for fractures.
1. The important thing is to support the affected part. Help the casualty to find the most comfortable position
2. support the injured limb
3. support the injured limb in that position with as much padding as necessary – towels, cushions or clothing will do.
4. Take the person to hospital or call an ambulance.

Do not
•try to bandage or splint the injury
•allow the casualty to have anything to eat or drink

Signs of illness
people can be poisoned by many substances, drugs, plants, chemicals, fumes or alcohol. If I found a young person with any symptoms I would follow the next procedures:

Symptoms
symptoms will vary depending on the poison.
•The person could be unconscious
•there may be acute abdominal pain
•there may be blistering of the mouth and lips.
Aims
•to remove the casualty to a safe area if he/she is at risk, and it is safe for you to move them. •To summon medical assistance as a matter of urgency.
•To gather any information which will identify the poison. •To maintain a clear airway and breathing until help arrives. Action for poisoning.
1. If the casualty is unconscious, place them in the recovery position to ensure that the airway is clear, and that they cannot choke on any vomit. 2. Dial 999 for an ambulance.
3. Try to find out what the poison is and how much has been taken. This information could be vital in saving a life. 4. If a conscious casualty has burned mouth or lips, he or she can be given small frequent sips of water or cold milk.