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.

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.

See Wakefield Corporate Health and Safety Policy.

Health and Safety Executive