Risk Assessment For The Outdoors

[Rufus]

Hi

Does anyone have a risk assessment for outdoors that i can look at, need to get one done as soon as possible and a starting point would be great.

Thanks

[SazzJ]

Here's ours.

outdoors.docx

[suebear]

Hi , just wanted to say thank you for uploading your risk assessment, mine needs updating so have taken a sneaky peak. Thank you x

[Verona]

Also thank you. It covers a lot and I have tweeked it a bit to suit our setting.

 

Sue J

[Panders]

thanks for sharing

[Rufus]

Thanks for the risk assessment, I will definitely use it as a starting point. If anyone has one with things like crates and planks i'd love to see that.

 

Thanks

[DavidW]

I hope I'm not speaking out of turn but I can't help thinking we produce these documents just to cover ourselves. Do they actually create an environment where children are any safer outdoors? Children are going to fall over and scrape their knees - that's what they do. Is that a bad thing? or are we teaching them about balance, spatial awareness and risk taking? We don't have a risk assessment for outdoors. We have a daily safety check - is the area and equipment safe? we have staff deployment to ensure appropriate ratios and a proactive regime of monitoring and surveillance. Most of this is common sense - if we find broken glass, we sweep it up. I know this is controversial, especially in our litigious society but I can't see the point in writing down tedious details about every eventuality. If we have a demonstrable culture of corporate and individual responsibility for our own and others safety, do we really need to spell out every individual potential hazard and the risk of it causing harm? and what about the ones we missed?! discuss!

[suebear]

Hi, as a professional setting I think we have a responsibility to fill these in. Yes, most of it is common sense but if things do go wrong the fact you have identified and actioned problems and then followed procedure covers you to prove you haven't been negligent in your duty of care to other employees and the children.

 

From someone who's Committee has just had to fill in a RIDDOR form for an accident in the workplace

[Rufus]

I do understand where you are coming from David W, however a neighbouring school has been hauled over the coals by OFSTED for not having one and was even told that eventhough everything else was good/outstanding, if a risk assessment was not produced by 9am the next morning they would not even get satisfactory.

As you say, it's just a bit of paper, so i'd rather fill it out. Than fall down on things we do anyway just because it isn't documented.

[SazzJ]

I do understand where you are coming from David W, however a neighbouring school has been hauled over the coals by OFSTED for not having one and was even told that eventhough everything else was good/outstanding, if a risk assessment was not produced by 9am the next morning they would not even get satisfactory.

As you say, it's just a bit of paper, so i'd rather fill it out. Than fall down on things we do anyway just because it isn't documented.

 

The setting I am currentlu in had none in place when I took over as leader, Ofsted were through the door within a week and again she would have failed us if i hadn't of had an action plan in place to show i was working through them.

 

I do agree with you David and I do think we can promote risky play but we also need these risk assessments in place to protect the children too.

 

I guess with regards to crates etc state the limit to the height ie no more than x high etc, all broken crates removed etc

[suebear]

Just to add to your discuss comment David, an interesting quote on this from the EYFS review

I am also recommending practitioners should not have to undertake written risk assessments when they take children out, but instead be able to demonstrate, if asked, the ways that they are managing outings to minimise risk.

[DavidW]

I also saw that comment in the Tickell review which I think supports my view. I knew what I wrote would be controversial. I am able to demonstrate to Ofsted that we have an effective proactive risk assessment procedure in place (and have done so at successive inspections). We complete an annual risk assessment covering all areas and we have specific risk assessments for all our main activities. We also have a daily safety check, staff training and reviews of accident forms. I argue that all of these contribute to risk assessment and hazard avoidance. And yes, I know we do have to comply with regulations and make sure we are covered but I think we are writing some of these things down just to cover ourselves. What we are trying to do is keep children safe. This is a continual process. It doesn't stop with a piece of paper entitled outdoors risk assessment. I guess it comes down to the definition of risk assessment and possibly arguing semantics with Ofsted if it comes to a stand-off.