Is your early learning centre a safe environment?

All early learning centres would be well aware of the expectation and legal requirement for them to provide a safe environment.  But what does this actually mean?  How can anyone be sure their business really is safe?  And what would it mean if your business wasn’t and an incident occurred?

Guild Insurance has been insuring early learning businesses for many years and this experience has provided us with a great understanding about the risks faced when an environment isn’t safe.  Unfortunately, this experience also tells us that despite best efforts, many early learning centres aren’t as safe as they could or should be.

What is a safe environment?

When many of us think about an early learning centre being safe, the first thought is often around the physical environment for children.  There are many obvious physical risks for children and Guild Insurance unfortunately sees numerous claims where children have been physically harmed.  But this is just one piece of the safety puzzle.

All businesses need to be free from dangers and hazards for all people who attend or use the business.  This means that early learning centres have an obligation to children, staff and anyone else who attends, such as parents.  And safety extends beyond physical.

Children need a centre where the likelihood of them being physically injured is low.  They also need to feel happy and nurtured.  They need to be able to learn and develop as they move through their childhood and develop social skills.  They need to feel respected as an individual whilst learning to respect and appreciate others as individuals too.  They need an environment where they can thrive as young people.

Staff also need an environment which is physically safe.  With the physical work required in early learning, injuries to staff are unfortunately not uncommon.  Staff also need a workplace which is supportive and enables them to perform their best.  They need opportunities to develop and grow as a professional and to feel that their contribution to the workplace is valued and appreciated.

It may come as a surprise to learn that visitors, such as parents, have been injured whilst at a centre. Therefore, a safe physical environment is important to them as well.  Parents will also want to be sure that the centre is a safe and secure environment for their child.  They need to feel confident that their child is going to be well cared for and educated.

What can go wrong?

To be able to create a safe environment, you need to start by understanding what can make it unsafe.  This means you need to identify the possible risks and think about what could go wrong before it does.  Below are examples of what can go wrong as seen in claims managed by Guild Insurance.

  • The tip of a child’s finger was been amputated when it was caught in a closing door.
  • A child fell awkwardly when going down a slide.When landing at the bottom of the slide he suffered a fractured arm.
  • A child’s hand slipped whilst climbing a climbing frame.She fell forward and bumped her mouth on the frame, breaking a tooth.
  • A parent tripped in a pot hole in the car park and fractured his ankle.
  • A staff member injured her back whilst lifting a child and needed a month off work to recover.
  • A staff member believed he was unfairly dismissed and therefore lodged a complaint with the Fair Work Commission.

Why do things go wrong?

When trying to understand why an incident has occurred, at Guild Insurance we focus on ‘contributing factors’.  This is because there’s rarely one main cause for an incident but more likely many factors which have contributed to it occurring.  Addressing these factors can assist in reducing the likelihood of incidents occurring.  Below is a list of the common contributing factors identified by Guild Insurance.

  • Not knowing or following relevant laws and regulations.There are quite a few laws which relate to operating an early learning centre.It’s vital that all staff, not just owners and managers, know what’s required of them.Centres should have their own policies and procedures for staff to follow, however the law must be reflected in these.Staff should be very familiar with the Education and Care Services National Law and National Regulations.However, it doesn’t end there.Staff also need to be aware of their obligations regarding employment law, privacy and work health and safety, just to name a few.
  • Play equipment and furniture.Many injuries occur when children fall off or trip over play equipment and furniture.Furniture can also create a risk for staff and others at the centre.Therefore, it’s important that staff think about the type of play equipment and furniture in the centre, the condition it’s in and where it’s placed.
  • Not noticing a potential risk before an incident occurs.If play equipment or furniture looks unsafe, it probably is.By regularly inspecting your centre you’re likely to identify risks before there’s an incident.Don’t wait for a child to suffer an injury; make changes to reduce the risk before this happens.
  • Reliance on other people.When there are numerous people working in a centre at any one time, it may be easy for staff to think that someone else, especially someone more senior, will notice and address risks.However, all staff have a responsibility to contribute to reducing risks within their workplace.Therefore, all staff should be encouraged to speak up if they notice something which could potentially create a risk.
  • Other children, staff or parents. Other people can contribute to incidents occurring.Children have fallen off play equipment when numerous children are playing on it at the one time.Staff have accidentally lifted a child awkwardly and injured the child.Children have left a centre when a parent has accidentally left the door open.Always be mindful of those around you and the potential risks in each situation.

Unfortunately, all risks can never be eliminated from early learning centres.  And we can’t guarantee that the most effective risk efforts will mean an incident won’t occur.  However, there is a great deal which you and your staff can and must do to create a safe environment and reduce the likelihood of an incident in your centre.

Download the PDF here.

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    Property maintenance - could your property cause an injury?

    Guild Insurance sees many insurance claims which have come about due to poor maintenance of a property.  In too many of these cases, the poor state of the building or its grounds is obvious and it’s quite surprising, as well as disappointing, that repairs haven’t been carried out before an incident has occurred.

    What can go wrong?

    There are a range of incidents which can occur due to poor maintenance of a property.  Staff can be injured leading to a worker’s compensation claim as well as staff being absent from work for an extended period.  Visitors to the premises, such as customers, clients or contractors, can also suffer injuries leading to public liability claims.  As well as the insurance claims which need to be managed, there’s the added stress of knowing that someone has been injured while at your premises.  Some of these injuries can be very serious and life changing.  Unfortunately, the hazards which lead to these injuries are often not viewed as seriously as they should be.  Yet with appropriate property maintenance many of these injuries could be avoided.

    Case 1

    A client entered a building and tripped over an edge of carpet which was ripped and curled up.  The client sustained a fractured wrist when they landed.

    Case 2

    An awning out the front of a building was old and worn out.  During heavy winds it broke off from the building and hit a person walking past at the time.

    Case 3

    While walking through the carpark of a premises, a staff member has tripped on a large crack in the asphalt which had caused the surface to be uneven.  They fractured their ankle as they fell.

    Case 4

    Poor maintenance doesn’t just lead to people suffering injuries, it can also lead to further damage to the property.  An old deteriorating roof collapsed when hit by heavy rain as it no longer had the strength to support the weight of this rainfall.  This led to excessive water damage within the building.

    Property maintenance tips

    • Have a documented maintenance program in place. This requires a schedule for regularly checking the property to identify hazards as well as details on what needs to be serviced, repaired or replaced and when.
    • Be aware of the out-of-sight, out-of-mind hazards. Many properties have roofs, guttering and downpipes in poor condition due to a lack of maintenance as no one has thought to get up on the roof and inspect it. Include the less obvious hazards in the maintenance program.
    • Have a maintenance budget. Some maintenance work can be planned, other work will come up unexpectedly when something breaks down. You need to be able to find money to fix hazards when identified.
    • Be sure to use qualified tradespeople to undertaken maintenance work. While it can be tempting to undertake some DIY and save money, the risk of things not being maintained or repaired correctly will not be worth the savings in the long term.
    • If you’re a tenant, be aware of what you’re responsible for maintaining and what’s the responsibility of the landlord. Not all tenancy agreements are the same, so you need to be across the details of your agreement.
    • Don’t wait to undertake maintenance till a more convenient time. There are many cases of injuries occurring due to hazards which had been identified but not yet acted upon, usually due to costs, time or not acknowledging the risk of the hazard.
    • All staff have a responsibility to create and maintain a safe workspace. Some hazards will be identified through regular property inspections, however, you can’t rely solely on these inspections. Therefore, encourage all staff to continually be on the lookout for hazards and to speak up when they see something.
    • Don’t think it won’t happen to you and your property. These incidents are a lot more common that many people realise.

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    Understanding social media risks

    Social media is an ever increasing form of communication for many people in both their personal and professional lives. It presents people with many benefits in allowing them to communicate a variety of messages to many people with great speed and efficiency. However, those benefits need to be balanced with the many risks social media presents.

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    1. Have a business plan for how and why social media is to be used
    When deciding whether or not to create a business social media presence, it’s very easy to think ‘if everyone else is doing it, so should I’.  However there needs to be greater thought put into this decision.  The decision to use social media should be well thought out and based on a company’s needs and business plans; the benefits and risks need to be considered.

    2. Business social media should be based on business requirements, not personal views
    Business owners and managers need to be sure that when they make a decision on whether to use social media for their business, this decision is based on the needs of the organisation, not the owner’s/manager’s personal views of social media.  For example, a person who chooses to not use Twitter for personal use may still decide it’s a great tool for them professionally.  Business decisions and personal decisions regarding social media use should be separated.

    3. Create clear business guidelines and processes regarding who is able to post on social media and how this is to be done
    Due to the risks associated with social media interactions, it’s very important that businesses have a clear process for who is responsible for posting on social media.  The person undertaking this role needs to understand when social media is an appropriate form of communication and what sort of messages are to be shared using social media.  This process should also provide guidance on how often social media is monitored and responded to and how to respond to negative comments.

    4. Consider training for those staff responsible for social media
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    Guild Insurance Limited ABN 55 004 538 863, AFS Licence No. 233 791.  This article contains information of a general nature only, and is not intended to constitute the provision of legal advice. Guild Insurance supports your Association through the payment of referral fees for certain products or services you take out with them    .

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    Common workplace errors and injuries in early learning centres

    No employee wants to be injured at work. And no employer wants their staff to be injured at work. Guild Insurance knows that employees and employers have the best of intentions when it comes to workplace safety. Unfortunately, despite these good intentions, we see many cases where early learning workers are injured while at work,
    and sometimes quite seriously. And it’s disappointing that many of these injuries could have been easily avoided.

    Guild Insurance sees too many cases where an injury in an early learning centre has occurred while the educator was performing a task in an unsafe manner which was most likely preventable. See below five posters you can display in your service with common examples of injuries and tips on how to avoid them.

    Examples of tasks performed incorrectly

    The following are some of the common actions which lead to injuries in early learning services:

    > Standing on swivel chairs instead of ladders to reach an item

    > Picking up children rather than lowering to their height

    > Lifting children onto a change table rather than having the child climb up steps

    > Lifting something alone which is too heavy rather than asking a colleague for assistance

    Training

    It’s possible that one of the main reasons people perform tasks in a dangerous way is that they don’t fully appreciate the risk. They may have been taught that it’s wrong, however they may not understand why it’s incorrect and what could go wrong. Therefore, when teaching staff about the correct way to perform tasks, it’s important to not just tell them what to do and what not to do, but also stress the reasons why. They need to appreciate what could happen and what sort of injury they could sustain. They need to understand, for example, that when standing on a swivel chair, it can easily move, causing the person to fall off. This often leads to serious arm injuries, such as fractures, as the person has landed on the ground. 

    Reminders

    Being told something only a couple of times, maybe during formal education or at induction, isn’t always enough to enforce learning and change behaviour. People often need to be continually reminded. Early learning services should be regularly talking about and promoting safety and correct techniques in the workplace. This could be a regular agenda item at team meetings. There could be signs around the service to remind staff of the correct way to do things. Staff could be commended when seen doing the right thing. Don’t make education a once‑off.

    Rushing

    One of the most common reasons people don’t do things as they should, is that they’re rushing and feeling they’re too busy. Too often when staff are busy at a service, they’ll try to do things quickly and will often look for workarounds to speed up tasks. Unfortunately, this can lead to unsafe practices and injuries. Taking an extra couple of minutes to look for an appropriate ladder or ask a colleague for assistance is surely better than suffering a serious long-term injury which may prevent someone from working for weeks or even months. Similarly, scanning the room for hazards prior to entering may aid in the prevention of a trip or fall.

    Lead by example

    Managers and senior staff need to be sure they’re leading by example. There’s no point telling your staff how to do things correctly and then doing it a different way yourself. And if you think you can do it quickly and get away with it, think again, as someone will see you. Not only are managers risking injury by doing things the wrong way, they’re also sending the wrong message to their staff. To create a workplace culture that values safety, all staff need to do the things the right way, which is the safe way.

    It won’t happen to me 

    We’re all guilty at times of knowing what can go wrong but not really thinking it’ll happen to us. However, Guild’s claims experience tells us these incidents and injuries happen to anyone, including people just like you. Just because you may have cut corners with tasks in the past and nothing went wrong, doesn’t mean you’ll get away with it next time. Taking these risks just isn’t worth it, because it only takes one time where something goes wrong for a serious injury to occur.

    Common workplace injury scenarios and prevention posters

    practices
See more

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