Risk assessment for children using saws and hammers

[mrsbat]

Does anyone have one please? I'm doing one ready for tomorrow and got the obvious risks of falling while carrying - they won't be walking around with them

cutting themselves etc - I'll be with them, they'll wear gloves etc

hurting others - we'll be in a space 1:1

What else do I need to add - I'm sure there is LOADS more lol!

[diesel10]

We find the gloves tricky for the little ones to use.

 

If you are sanding / sawing you might want to think about ventilation for dust.

 

Milk bottle tops to hammer nails into work well ( with wood underneath)

[lsp]

Have you checked your insurance policy to make sure you are covered for this type of activity? I remember a colleague on a course saying her setting wasn't. Don't know which insurance company though - and it was a couple of years ago.

[lashes2508]

Don't use gloves , children and adults need to feel the saw and wood , place the saw and get them to draw back first and then let the saw do the work , ( can you tell I have done a carpentry course ) , explaining and hand over hand to begin with shows children the right way first , of course there's room for trial and error. The same with hammers , it's all a learning curve and risk taking , just ensure you have this area supervised adequately .

We don't have a separate risk assessment , if they are new to hammering , start off with golf pegs and polysterene or pumpkins or similar and wooden hammers then move on to real hammers

 

We don't use gloves

[LKeyteach]

We have safety goggles for sawing. Actually they are swimming masks the kind you get for snorkelling. Children sized.

We use a comb around the nail and hold the comb. This is the way one of my practitioners was taught how to use a hammer by her father!

[lashes2508]

, child safety goggles we got ours from local county supplies , like the comb idea but prefer ' just getting on with it ' , guess I like a bit of risk in learning , hit your thumb once ........

[Foreveryoung]

hit your thumb once ........

And......you will never learn if your like me!!! ha ha ha ha ha ha still always manage to hit myself and I know each time it's going to bloody hurt ? all part of DIY though lol x

[BroadOaks]

Saws and hammers :blink: !!! I love it! Bring back the DIY experts that some of us lack! As for risk assessments - i think you have it covered.. i mean what's the worst that can happen?! A child saws her finger off, or yours maybe?! We each (usually) get 10 so what's the problem?! a quick minor accident form will cover that - ermm good luck.

[mrsbat]

We did it! And LOVED it, It was for a particular one of my key children who just loves all the hammers and saws etc, he was so excited but he was perfect - we now have a hedge with lots of lovely lines in where he was sawing it

[MarshaD]

Anna Ephgrave has one in her book: columns are hazard, possible scale of injury, precautions, risk rating. Has things on it like use and misuse, children with additional needs, sawdust in eyes, hits and cuts, splinters and nails. She says she's never had any serious injuries! Scary, but would love to try it. Sadly I'm pack away and in trouble as it is with the amount of stuff I have to store. Been told of for hanging print (or anything) from fences, had to remove grow bags and reused milk bottle with flowers

[finleysmaid]

hammering is a particularly effective way of increasing shoulder/elbow and wrist strength for pre-writing gross motor skills.....just do it! great fun!!!! we have benefit/risk assessments so that if the benefit outweighs the risk then that would be the reason for doing it (IYSWIM!)

[lsp]

Although we haven't got woodworking tools - yet!! We do offer hammering activities. We bought some rubber mallets from pound shop and cheap golf tees which the children hammer into pumpkins, polystyrene, cardboard boxes etc - anything you have got around.