🤕Accident & Incident Policy
This policy was adopted on 30 August 2022 and is reviewed annually
Policy statement
At Natural Nurture the safety of all child is paramount and we have measures in place to help to protect children. However sometimes accidents do unavoidably happen.
We follow this policy and procedure to ensure all parties are supported and cared for when accidents or incidents happen; and that the circumstances of the accident or incident are reviewed with a view to minimising any future risks.
Who is Responsible?
It is the responsibility of every member of staff to ensure that accidents and injuries are dealt with in a timely manner. It is the responsibility of the Manager to ensure that all members of staff have knowledge of first aid, and that there is at least one member of staff on duty at all times who has a valid first aid certificate.
It is the responsibility of the member of staff who has administered the first aid to write the accident report and ensure that it is signed/acknowledged by the parent/carer of the child or children involved.
Procedures
When creating the staff rota, the Manager or Office Manager must ensure that at least one member of staff on duty has a valid first aid certificate. A sign must be displayed which states who the first aider on duty is.
The staff check their allocated first aid boxes on a monthly basis to ensure that they are fully stocked. Staff let the operations manager know when items have been taken from first aid boxes and if there are any items that need to be ordered, this is done as soon as possible.
The operations manager is responsible for making sure that all medical information and emergency contact details on the children's registration documents and on the FAMLY App are up to date and accurate. Parents/carers receive regular reminders about the importance of informing the nursery about any changes to contact details/medical information etc.
When an accident occurs it is the responsibility of the first aider to determine whether the injury can be dealt with in the setting or if medical assistance is required.
Serious Accidents and Injuries
Staff must wear protective clothing (disposable aprons and gloves).
The Manager and first aider will assess the situation and decide whether the child needs to go immediately to hospital.
If the first aider is unsure of what action to take, NHS 111 will be contacted for advice.
If the child needs to go straight to hospital, an ambulance will be called and the first aider or Key Person should accompany the child to hospital.
First Aid will be administered on the advice of the emergency services until the ambulance arrives.
The child’s records will be taken with them to the hospital i.e. contact details and medical information, together with a care plan and current medication and forms, if applicable.
The parent/carer will be contacted and arrangements will be made to meet them at the hospital. The staff member accompanying the child to hospital will not sign for any treatment to be carried out.
At the nursery, areas where an accident or injury took place are immediately isolated and other children relocated until the area is fully cleaned and made safe. (See also Illness and Infection Control Policy)
If the child can wait for the parent/carer to come to the setting, the parent is called. The child will be made as comfortable as possible and a member of staff will stay with them until the parent/carer arrives. If the injury to the child is an open wet wound, this must be covered to allow for any infection to be contained. It will then be for the parent/carer to decide whether to go to hospital or not.
A report of the accident will be recorded on an Accident Record Form in the FAMLY app.. The parent/carer will be asked to read and acknowledge/sign document.
The Management Team will investigate the nature of the accident and if appropriate, will make any necessary changes to prevent a similar accident occurring in the future.
The Management Team will inform Ofsted in the event of a serious accident or injury affecting either a child or adult on the premises.
Any accidents, which required hospital treatment, will be reported to the settings Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) within 3 working days.
Minor Accidents and Injuries
Staff must wear protective gloves.
The injury is assessed by the Key Person and a qualified first aider. If necessary, the Manager will be called.
The injury is then treated by a qualified first aider, according to recent first aid training.
The Nursery Manager decides whether the parent/carer should be called and notified.
The child is resettled and observed.
The accident is then recorded on an Accident Record Form in the Famly app and the parent/carer is asked to acknowledge/sign the form.
If the injury is minor but requires professional medical assessment (other than first aid) the first aider will notify the Manager and contact the child’s parents/carers to inform them of the accident. It will then be for the parent/carer to decide whether to go to a medical centre or not.
The first aider should complete an Accident Record Form within the Famly App where the parent must acknowledge and sign the form.
Recording Accidents
Minor injuries such as a knee graze or scratch must be communicated to parents. All other injuries must be recorded on an Accident Record Form within the Famly App. Parents have access to their child's records and those alone. The Accident Record Form includes the following:
Name of the child
Date and time of accident
How the accident occurred
The extent of the injury
Whether a hospital or medical centre trip was necessary
What treatment, if any, was given.
The child's parent/carer must always Acknowledge the Accident Record Form within the Famly app.
Accidents that happen at home prior to arrival at the setting, which may or may not have resulted in marks or injuries, must be recorded on an Accident Record Form within the Famly app, and be signed/acknowledged by the parent to confirm it did not happen on the Nursery premises.
The Manager or Office Manager checks the Accident Book log on a monthly basis to check for any patterns.
The Accident File is kept for at least 21 years and three months
Recording Incidents
For recording purposes, incidents are defined as an event or occurrence that requires particular report or action. They are a broader category than ‘accidents’ and may include:
Events following intentional or planned behaviours
Spontaneous occurrences or emergencies where no accidental cause is obvious.
We keep an Incident Book for recording incidents including those that are reportable to the Health and Safety Executive. These include:
Break in, burglary, theft of personal or the setting's property
An intruder gaining unauthorised access to the premises
Fire, flood, gas leak or electrical failure
Attack on a member of staff or parent on the premises or nearby
Any racist incident involving staff or family on the setting's premises
Death of a child
A terrorist attack, or threat of one.
On Incident Forms we record:
Date and time of the incident
Nature of the event
Who was affected
What was done about it
If it was reported to the police, and if so, a crime number
Any follow up, or insurance claim made
Any medical aid sought or required.
In the unlikely event of a terrorist attack we follow the advice of the emergency services with regard to evacuation, medical aid and contacting children's families. Our Fire Safety Policy will be followed and staff will take charge of their key children. The incident is recorded when the threat is averted.
In the unlikely event of a child dying on the premises, the emergency services are called, and the advice of these services are followed. Reporting arrangements are listed below.
Recording Incidents relating to individual children
All incidents relating to a child are recorded in detail in the child’s own file. All incidents relating to a child are communicated to parents. Incidents may include:
Bullying
Biting
Fighting and any intervention that was used
An extreme reaction to a situation e.g. hysterical response to thunder
Incidents of extraordinary or out of character behaviour, which are a cause for concern and need to be recorded and/or reported to parents/carers. (Procedures for Safeguarding may need to be consulted).
Reporting Accidents & Incidents
Our accident and incident files:
Are kept safely
Are accessible to all staff, who know how to complete them
Are reviewed regularly to identify any potential or actual hazards.
When there is any injury requiring general practitioner or hospital treatment to a child, parent, volunteer or visitor or where there is a death of a child or adult on the premises, Ofsted is notified and a report made to the Health and Safety Executive using the format for the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences.
Head injuries
If a child has a head injury in the setting then we will follow the following procedure:
Comfort, calm and reassure the child
Assess the child’s condition to ascertain if a hospital or ambulance is required. We will follow our procedure for this if this is required (see below)
If the skin is not broken we will administer a cold compress for short periods of time, repeated until the parent arrives to collect their child
If the skin is broken then we will follow our first aid training and stem the bleeding
Call the parent and make them aware of the injury and if they need to collect their child
Complete the accident form
Keep the child in a calm and quiet area whilst awaiting collection, where applicable
We will continue to monitor the child and follow the advice on the NHS website as per all head injuries https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/minor-head-injury/
For major head injuries we will follow our paediatric first aid training.
Transporting children to hospital procedure
The nursery manager/staff member must:
Call for an ambulance immediately if the injury is severe. We will not attempt to transport the injured child in our own vehicles
Whilst waiting for the ambulance, we will contact the parent(s) and arrange to meet them at the hospital
Arrange for the most appropriate member of staff to accompany the child taking with them any relevant information such as registration forms, relevant medication sheets, medication and the child’s comforter
Redeploy staff if necessary to ensure there is adequate staff deployment to care for the remaining children. This may mean temporarily grouping the children together
Inform a member of the management team immediately
Remain calm at all times. Children who witness an incident may well be affected by it and may need lots of cuddles and reassurance. Staff may also require additional support following the accident.
First aid
The first aid boxes are located in: The Hub, The Bus, The Donkey Shed Area, The Fire Pit Area and the Cottages.
These are accessible at all times with appropriate content for use with children.
The appointed person responsible for first aid checks the contents of the boxes regularly termly and replaces items that have been used or are out of date.
The staff first aid box is kept in the Hovel. This is kept out of reach of the children.
First aid boxes should only contain items permitted by the Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations Act 1981, such as sterile dressings, bandages and eye pads. No other medical items, such as paracetamol should be kept in them.
Most of the staff are trained in paediatric first aid and this training is updated every three years.
All first aid trained staff are listed in the Hub, Hovel and outside of the Bus.
Personal protective equipment (PPE)
The nursery provides staff with PPE according to the need of the task or activity. Staff must wear PPE to protect themselves and the children during tasks that involve contact with bodily fluids. PPE is also provided for domestic tasks. Staff are consulted when choosing PPE to ensure all allergies and individual needs are supported and this is evaluated on an ongoing basis.
Dealing with blood
We may not be aware that any child attending the nursery has a condition that may be transmitted via blood. Any staff member dealing with blood must:
Always take precautions when cleaning wounds as some conditions such as hepatitis or the HIV virus can be transmitted via blood.
Wear disposable gloves and wipe up any blood spillage with disposable cloths, neat sterilising fluid or freshly diluted bleach (one part diluted with 10 parts water). Such solutions must be carefully disposed of immediately after use.
Needle punctures and sharps injury
We recognise that injuries from needles, broken glass and so on may result in blood-borne infections and that staff must take great care in the collection and disposal of this type of material. For the safety and well-being of the employees, any staff member dealing with needles, broken glass etc. must treat them as contaminated waste. If a needle is found the local authority must be contacted to deal with its disposal.
Our Responsibility as an Employer
We meet our legal requirements for the safety of our employees by complying with RIDDOR (the Reporting of Injury, Disease and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations). We report to the Health and Safety Executive:
Any accident to a member of staff requiring treatment by a general practitioner or hospital.
Any dangerous occurrences. This may be an event that causes injury or fatalities or an event that does not cause an accident but could have done, such as a gas leak.
Any dangerous occurrence is recorded in our Incident Book.
We have ready access to telephone numbers for emergency services, including local police. Where we are responsible for the premises, we have contact numbers for gas and electricity emergency services, carpenter and plumber.
We treat our responsibilities and obligations in respect of health and safety as a priority and provide ongoing training to all members of staff which reflects best practice and is in line with current health and safety legislation.
This policy is updated at least annually in consultation with staff and parents and/or after a serious accident or incident.
Further guidance
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