Childrens Safety in Nursery School How Safe Is

Children’s Safety in Nursery School How Safe Is Your Classroom? Identifying Hazards Before Accidents Happen

Introduction �There are many types and locations of child care centres. �Keeping children safe involves education (teaching them how to look after themselves, to be careful), supervision (looking after them yourself) and environment. In this lesson we are going to focus on environment, as the most crucial.

It can be difficult to identify hazards in a fully furnished classroom or play area, so these are some instructions on how to inspect the facility from bottom to top: Parts of the facility that you should check: �Entrances and Exits - Steps (should have handrails) - Doors (unlocked or with panic bars) - Hallways (with enough light)

�Windows - best safety measure is to prevent access to them by barriers - they should not open more than 8 -9 cm

�Floors -A baby’s line of vision is not the same as an adult’s, so you should crawl in order to check if there any: choking hazards, dirt, chemicals - Rugs, floor tiles and baseboards must be clean and safe - Daily “floor check” is necessary

�Walls -Electrical outlets must have covers - Wall decorations and pictures must be lightweight - Bulletin boards should be securely fastened to walls - Heating units must not be too hot

�Ceilings - Check if there any roof leaks - Light and smoke detectors must be checked regulaly - Decorations must be ligtweight

�Furniture - Check screws, nails… - Furniture should be with rounded edges and corners - Stability of furniture is very important - Check if there any objects which could fall

�Cribs -Crib design and bedding must be appropriate and safe - Children should not sleep with soft toys - Positioning of the infant is also important

�Toys and Supplies -Small or loose parts can be dangerous for children

�Poison Prevention -Chemicals should be stored out of reach �Storage Closets -Must be locked

�Bathrooms -With child-sized fixtures (toilets, washbasins…) -Water temperature mustn’t reach over 48℃

�Kitchens -Children should not have access to it

�Falls -Constant supervision will prevent children from falling

�Safety devices -No room or area is completely “child proof”

CONCLUSION: �It is your responsibility to keep children safe and this involves making the environment as safe as possible, supervising children at all times, and teaching children about safety. Most injuries are preventable.

Homework Answer the following questions: �What sorts of hazards may threat small children in nursery school? �What is the situation in our nursery schools? Would you change anything? - - Homework should be sent to mirjanagalic@yahoo. com until Tuesday, 27 October Please, make sure you do your homework regularly because that’s how you collect points!