Organising a safe environment for young children

Planning a safe environment is a challenging process for early year’s practitioners. Child safety and protection is a key element in their development in early year setting. Planning of early year play setting every day is challenging and difficult process. Play environment should be a minimal risk and no danger for children. Arranging safe and friendly environment have to consider all the time for children to achieve maximum learning from each activity setup in the setting.
A child safe environment is including range of health and safety policies. Under OFSTED regulation early year setting need to know arrange challenging stimulate environment for all children. Practicing and applying health and safety regulations is an vital procedure for all the staff in the setting.
Basic information about creating a child safe environment:

Check the fire exits before children enter the setting
Leave a space around table for children to move free
Staff interact with child easily
Having comfortable and safe corner in the setting for children can sit or lie down
Messy activity table are arrange for near washbasins and on suitable flooring
Radiators and light should be kept clear to avoid fore hazard
Free standing furniture must completely close
Enough space for around physical activities
The setting layout should help child interest
Equipment and toys need to accessible for children.

A risk assessment procedure is help to identify risks in the setting. The deputy leader in the setting has to check and take the responsibility in regarding the risk assessment procedure in the setting. Checking hazard is important in the premises every day. Outdoor environment will help for children in the early years by:
• To get Fresh air, contact with nature and learn about weather seasons.
• Opportunities for learning about growing plants and gardening.
• Opportunities for wider range of physical activities in outdoor.
The outdoor environment is an essential part of high quality provision for babies and toddlers in the early age. Effective outdoor activity supports of delivery all development in the Early Years. These all challenging environment effect children personal, social, emotional and physical development in safe setting. In the earl year setting, the staff ratio is very important when considering the child safety. Correct staff ratios can minimize accidents and injuries in the setting and outdoor activities. Precise staff ratios for the settings are:
1:3 children under 2 years
1:4 children aged 2 years
1:8 children aged 3-5 years
Explain the role of the practitioner within a wider, multi-agency environment.
The point of wider and multi-agency environment is:
Multi-agency working provides benefits for children, young people and families because they receive tailor-made support in the most efficient way. It helps in early identification of any issues and intervention and easier or quicker access to services or expertise. Children and parents are addressed more appropriately and better quality services provided for longer-term or more specialist services. Also, this includes working parents, parents who speak English as an additional language, and parents who do not live in the family at home with their children.

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Practitioners in early year setting need to respect which families working with them and how to support their child early year learning journey and development. Working with multi-agency environment the practitioners needed to understand that the home learning environment for each children in the setting. It is a way of working with the small children and those supportive experiences for parent and the children. Early year children settings are diversity and combination of many different cultures. Practitioners in early year setting responsible for creating environments that are culturally rich and respectful of the diversity include all the children. From foundation stage children need to develop an understanding about the world.
Multi-agency working can take place at many levels and its effectiveness will depend on how well it is integrated. Children’s centres and pre-schools provide multi-disciplinary teams on one site as well as working closely with external agencies. Every setting is unique and the nature of the multi-agency working will vary accordingly.
The achievement of effective multi-agency working has proved more difficult to achieve than was anticipated. In order to create a climate of change where professionals and agencies can work effectively together it need to understand what the barriers to change are.
Some of the barriers to achieving more effective multi-agency working that have been identified are:

professionalism;
conflicting priorities of different agencies;
dealing with risk;
the need to change the culture of organisations.

Working in multi-agency environment and key workers are together to provide supporting childrens individual needs. The wider community plays are include vital role play. Practitioners need to work together across services for example working in partnership with health visitors, general practitioners, social workers, nursery nurses, speech and language therapist can get information and ideas about early year child development step by step in childcare setting. Children and their families need to communicate well and need to listen carefully to all concerned about child each and every day. Setting practitioners need to reach children ideas first, to reach children individual needs.
The regulatory requirements that underpin the organisation of the environment.
Enabling environment and regulatory requirements; Risk; Hazard; Risk Assessment;
Risk assessment is important for any setting because it:
• makes sure the setting is safe for children, staff and parents
• is an Early Years Foundation Stage Welfare requirement
• is good practice.
What is a risk assessment?
A risk assessment is:
• identifying a hazard which might cause harm
• making sure that the risk attached to it is acceptable
• putting appropriate control measures in place if the risk is not acceptable.
Making the risk assessments on a regular basis for equipment, activities, policies and procedures should take into account the numbers, ages and abilities of children and resources, planning, staff and space. They need to be evaluated and reviewed regularly.
Following the risk assessment procedure, practitioners should check that is nothing damaged on equipment, toilets and all areas used by children are clean on a daily basis. Setting leader should arrange enough staff to meet the needs of the children and the activities planned and that there are no changes which could cause a danger – this is particularly important in shared premises. This can be done by using a chart on the wall which can be initialled when an area is checked.
The table below is an example method of risk assessment which can be used. When it use designated person or manager should date the each time they review it.

Hazard

Risk

Control measures

Who will do this?

When will it be done?

Front door safeguarding and promoting children’s welfare – premises and security

To children who might escape and run into the road or go missing.
Risk to everyone if a stranger enters the premises.

1. Key pad system on door and high handle.

1. Designated Person

1. Already in place.

2. Policies informing staff and parents of the registration and collection procedures.

2. Designated Person /manager

2. Ongoing and reviewed regularly

3. A visitors book

3. Designated Person /manager

3. Already in place

4. Adults challenge any unidentified person

4. Everyone

4. Part of induction

The premises and outside play areas should be secure and children should not be able to leave them unsupervised. The designated person or manager should have an effective system for managing access to and exit from the premises, ensure that this system is used and keep a record of visitors. Floor and staircase finishes should be close fitting, resilient, non-slip and readily cleanable. Rugs or mats should not be used where they may present trip hazards. Holes and tears in the floor covering should be repaired promptly and effectively. All floors should be kept free from obstructions.
All equipment and machinery used in a pre-school service should be safe for use and subject to regular service and maintenance by a competent person. All chemicals should be kept in their correct labelled containers and securely stored and used in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.
Outdoor play areas should be checked each time they are used. The outdoor play area should be secured and safely fenced off to ensure that children cannot leave this area without adult supervision and that unauthorised access is prevented.
Evaluate how effective the environment is in meeting children’s individual needs
How early years practitioners Can Create Effective Learning Environments;
An early childhood environment is many things. It is a safe place where children are protected from the elements and are easily supervised. Also, important activities of the day like playing, eating, sleeping, washing hands, and going to the bathroom take place. Beyond the basics, however, an environment for young children implements and supports a programme’s philosophy and curriculum.
The modules of an early learning environment are many and can be overwhelming for the children. Early year practitioners need to know how to create an environment and that how to supports learning and meets children s individual needs?
Environments for young children should provide multiple sources of stimulation to encourage the development of physical, cognitive, emotional, and social skills. Early childhood importance of play should be including, hands-on-learning and whole child development. A good early childhood environment supports these activities for child development, well-organize play area, large block area, sand and water activities, art and craft areas, reading corner and outdoor play area. These space need to arrange in a way that children can make noise while playing without disturbing for children in other activities.
Environments should be carefully designed and equipped for children to meet their individual needs. Activities must be physical challenges, learning disabilities, or emotional issues in the setting. Other reflects the importance of early year children by including examples of their work in progress and displaying images of children. Every child in the setting has an image of themselves and their family. Important part of development is feeling in all children, so it is important to displays of pictures of all parents and families, and every race and ethnicity, including interracial, multi-ethnic, and adoptive families. The entire setting should also reflect diversity throughout the world. Throughout the setting artwork, photos, posters, and signs on the wall; books; dolls; parent boards, newsletters, announcements, and magazines; materials such as puzzles, people sets, activity books, music, art materials, and play area include all children individual needs.
In order to meet children’s diverse needs, and help all children make the best possible progress, practitioners should:
â-  Plan opportunities that build on and extend children’s knowledge, experiences, interests and skills and develop their self-esteem and confidence in their ability to learn;
â-  Use a wide range of teaching strategies, based on children’s learning needs;
â-  provide a wide range of opportunities to motivate, support and develop children and help them to be involved, concentrate and learn effectively;
â-  provide a safe and supportive learning environment, free from harassment, in which the contribution of all children is valued and where racial, religious, disability and gender stereotypes are challenged;
â-  Plan challenging opportunities for children whose ability and understanding are in advance of their language and communication skills;
â-  monitor children’s progress, identifying any areas of concern, and taking action to provide support, for example by using different approaches, additional adult help.
An early childhood environment is many things to do. It’s a safe place where children are protected from the elements and are easily supervised, and it’s where the important activities of the day take place, such as playing, eating, sleeping, washing hands, and going to the bathroom. Beyond the basics, however, an environment for young children implements and supports programs of early childhood development.
Environments for young children should provide multiple sources of stimulation to encourage the development of physical, cognitive, emotional, and social skills. When planning the environment, following steps is impotent to be considered:

Places for developmentally appropriate physical activities.
Opportunities for concrete, hands-on activities.
Change and variety.
Colour and decorations.
Soft, responsive environments.
Flexible materials and equipment.

Obstacles to consider when planning the learning environment:

Storage.
Activity area access.
Noise.
Dividers.

Reference:
Devon Early Years and Childcare Service, Available from www.devon.gov.uk/risk_assssment_guidance.pdf. Accessed : 28th February 2015,