The following is an excerpt from Safety First: Preventing & Managing Childhood Injuries.
Program Safety Check: [A Learning Activity]
Purpose
For This Activity You Will Need
Trainer Preparation Note
Purpose: This activity helps staff gain skills in inspecting their program for safety and making improvements. It is particularly helpful for health coordinators, education coordinators, and lead teachers. A parent from the Policy Council and a member of the Health Services Advisory Committee also ought to be involved in this activity.
For this activity you will need:
Coach's Note:
This activity involves an initial two-hour session on-site at the Head Start program, and a follow-up session of 30-60 minutes.
Step 1: Explain that many details are involved in preventing injuries at a Head Start program. This activity will help staff to assess the facilities and program practices so they can identify needed safety improvements.
Step 2: Give participants Handout: Program Safety Check. Discuss the importance of getting everyone in Head Start involved in making sure all areas of the facility and all activities are safe and checked frequently. Ask participants:
- In your program who is responsible for safety checks?
- How often are safety checks done?
- What is checked? Is a checklist used?
Step 3: Distribute [Handout]: Health and Safety Checklist. Explain that the checklist is organized by location in the facility. ( Note: This checklist was developed by the American Academy of Pediatrics. It represents current “best practices” and includes some safety recommendations that go beyond the requirements of the Head Start Program Performance Standards.)
Step 4: Take 10-15 minutes to briefly review the entire checklist together. Ask participants:
- Are there any safety features that you do not understand in terms of...
- how the safety feature is checked or measured?
- why it is important, and what type of injury it prevents?
Answer the participants' questions. If you do not know the answer to a question, the coach or participants should consult the written references or organizational resources (see Resources).
Step 5: Give participants the tape measures and thermometers. Tell them to take 60 minutes or more, if needed, to check the facilities, practices, and complete the checklist. If there are several participants, they may want to work together or divide up the checklist and have each participant do selected sections.
Step 6: When the participants complete the checklist, bring them back together to discuss the results. First, focus on all of the “Yes” items. Congratulate them-these show that there are many ways that their Head Start program is protecting the children's safety. On a piece of flip chart paper, write the heading, “Program Safety Needs.” List every “No” item from the checklist under this heading.
Step 7: After all of the Program Safety Needs are listed, examine each item on the list. Ask participants:
- Why is this item important to prevent injuries?
- Has an injury resulted from this item?
- How urgent is this safety item: Is it an immediate risk to safety? Is it an item required by Head Start Program Performance Standards, state child care licensing regulations, or local safety codes?
Based on this discussion, have participants try to prioritize the three to five items to address first. (Save the entire list for follow-up.)
Step 8: On another piece of flip chart paper, list the following headings (from left to right): “Safety Need,” “Improvement Plan,” “Who Is Responsible,” and “Timeline.”
- Under the first heading, “Safety Need,” list each of the priority safety items. Then have participants fill in the rest of the chart.
- Under “Improvement Plan,” list what must be done to make the improvement (e.g., revise safety policies, train staff, post instructions, replace equipment, modify the facilities).
- Under “Who Is Responsible,” identify who will take responsibility for making the improvements.
- Under “Timeline,” list the expected date by which improvements should be made. Set a date to bring the group back together to follow-up on the improvements.
Step 9: Reconvene the group at the designated time. Ask the group to discuss the progress made on the Improvement Plan. For every safety improvement made, congratulate the group.
Select more Program Safety Needs from the list that are in the next highest priority level. Develop the Improvement Plan and follow-up as in Steps 8 and 9.
- Head Start programs should periodically monitor safety features, practices, and injuries in order to develop strategies to prevent future injuries. Using safety checklists and injury logs can be helpful (also see… Preparing For and Managing Emergencies: [A Learning Activity].)
- If the safety check identifies a hazard that is an immediate threat (e.g., scalding tap water, broken window, frayed electrical cord, broken handrail, unstable climbing equipment) it should be made off-limits to children and fixed as soon as possible.
- Understanding the challenges to prevention can help to develop prevention strategies such as:
- supporting the strengths in the situation
- identifying the most important safety measures needed, clarify why they're important, and suggest simple, low-cost steps to take
- offering help in making the changes
- identifying community resources that can help (e.g., lead abatement programs, etc.)
- following up with reminders and support for maintaining injury-prevention measures
- Injury prevention in Head Start involves continual attention to setting up and maintaining a safe environment and safe behavior.
