National Standards for Health and Safety Guidance
Learn more about the Caring for Our Children standards. Find out how these standards can help answer questions that come up every day in early care and education programs.
Early childhood programs keep children safe when their facilities, materials, and equipment are hazard-free and all staff use safety practices such as active supervision. Find resources to help staff and families reduce the number and severity of childhood injuries everywhere that children learn and grow. Discover tips for use at home, in cars and buses, on the playground, and in all early childhood settings.
Learn more about the Caring for Our Children standards. Find out how these standards can help answer questions that come up every day in early care and education programs.
Programs can use this manual as a guide for their emergency planning process. Find the latest tools and resources to support children, families, and communities before, during, and after an emergency. An emergency may be a catastrophic natural event, like a hurricane, flood, or wildfire, or a man-made disaster, such as a shooting. No matter the crisis, early childhood programs need to be ready with impact, relief, and recovery plans.
Learn about the most common risks for children’s injuries. Explore strategies to help programs create safer playgrounds.
Share this brochure with parents and staff to provide tips and tools to reduce injuries at home for their children.
Learn how to create a culture of shared responsibility for children's well-being. Explore ways programs can ensure health and safety practices are routine instead of something that seems burdensome.
Programs in areas that experience extreme cold should have a plan for handling winter emergencies. Explore tips your program can use to prepare for emergencies such as frostbite, hypothermia, and loss of power.
In this webinar, learn how to use the Emergency Preparedness Manual for Early Childhood Programs. Explore how to develop emergency plans to keep children, families, and staff safe if disaster strikes.
Explore ways to use active supervision with a systematic approach. Learn how to put this approach to work to create a safe, positive learning environment for all children.
Learn how to build a program-wide culture of safety in this virtual Town Hall meeting with Head Start safety experts.
Learn about the Safe Foundations, Healthy Futures campaign. Explore ways to create safe and nurturing settings for children to grow up healthy and be ready to succeed in school.