Accident and First Aid Policy

Accident and First Aid Policy

At Pitter Patter Play the safety of all children 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.

All of our staff and students complete either the 2-day Paediatric First Aid Qualification or the 1-day Paediatric First Aid qualification and renew this as required.  There is always at least one member of staff on site that holds the 2-day qualification.

The Director is the Responsible Person and is the Health and Safety officer and holds the First Aid At Work qualification and Designated Fire Marshall certificate in line with our Health and Safety responsibilities

Accidents

When an accident or incident occurs, we ensure:

• The child is comforted and reassured first
• The extent of the injury is assessed and if necessary, a call is made for medical support and/or an ambulance
• First aid procedures are carried out where necessary, by a trained paediatric first aider
• The person responsible for reporting accidents, incidents or near misses is the member of staff who saw the incident or was first to find the child where there are no witnesses.
• The accident or incident is recorded on in the accident/incident section on the Famly app and it is reported to the nursery manager. Other staff who have witnessed the accident may also countersign for the incident, and in more serious cases provide a statement. This should be done as soon as the accident is dealt with, whilst the details are still clearly remembered.
• Parents receive information via the app regarding an accident/incident report and informed of any first aid treatment. They can call/message to discuss or discuss at pick up should they wish
• Parents are asked to digitally sign the record of any accidents/incidents in the Famly app. Any further discussions will be recorded accordingly.
• The nursery manager reviews the accident/incident log at least monthly for patterns, e.g., one child having a repeated number of accidents, a particular area in the nursery or a particular time of the day when most accidents happen. Any patterns are investigated by the nursery manager and all necessary steps to reduce risks are put in place.
• The nursery manager reports any serious accidents/incidents to the registered person for investigation for further action to be taken (i.e., a full risk assessment or report to HSE under Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR))
• The accident file is kept for at least 21 years and three months
• Where medical attention is required, a member of staff will notify the parent(s) as

soon as possible whilst caring for the child appropriately.

• Where medical treatment is required the nursery manager will follow the insurance

company (Mudiad Meithrin) procedures, which may involve informing them in writing of the accident.

• The nursery Manager and/or Director will report any accidents of a serious nature to CIW, the Flying Start Manager and the local authority child protection team where necessary, following the guidance set out in serious accidents, injuries and deaths that registered providers must notify to CIW and local child protection agencies.

Notification must be made as soon as is reasonably practical, but in any event within 14 days of the incident occurring. Where relevant such accidents will also be reported to the local authority environmental health department, or the Health and Safety Executive and their advice followed.

Location of accident files: Office/Famly App

Recording an incident that happened at home.

• Accidents can take place when children are not in the care of the nursery.
• If we are informed of an injury at drop-off we will make a record of this in the same way as an accident at our setting. Parents will need to acknowledge where this happened via the Famly app.
• If we notice a mark on a child that we have not been informed of we will create a record of this in Famly in the same way and parents/carers can feedback via the form

Contact details:

Flying Start Manager

Emma Levy

07879621221

CIW 0300 7900126

Newport Children and Family Services 01633 656656

info@newport.gov.uk

South East Wales Safeguarding Children Board

0800 328 4432

sewscbadmin@caerphilly.gov.uk

Health and Safety Executive

0300 003 1747

Newport Council Environmental Health Department

01633 656656

RIDDOR report form http://www.hse.gov.uk/riddor/report.htm

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 and/or contact the parent/carer. 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 on Famly in-line with our accident policy
• 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 NHS 111 Wales – Health A-Z : Head injury and concussion
• For major head injuries/head injuries with loss of consciousness we will contact the emergency services and 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, 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 and medication.
• If this results in a breach of ratio inform the Responsible Individual immediately so that they can travel to the setting and/or arrange additional staffing
• Remain calm at all times. Children who witness an incident may well be affected by it and may need reassurance. Staff may also require additional support following an accident.

First aid

• The first aid boxes are located in the Kitchen (adult first aid box) and on the shelf nearest the back door (child first aid box)
• 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 [at least once a month] and replaces items that have been used or are out of date.
• The staff first aid box is kept in the kitchen. The contents of this kit are suitable for use for adults. 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 (including medication) should be kept within these boxes.
• A first aid box is taken on all outings, along with any medication that needs to be administered in an emergency including inhalers etc.

Food Safety and play

Children are supervised during meal times and snacks are adequately cut up to reduce the risk of choking. We issue guidance on the contents of packed lunches to parents and potential choking hazards (see food policy)

Learning experiences are provided through exploring different malleable materials and this may include food.  The following may be used. These are risk assessed and presented differently to the way it would be presented for eating e.g. in trays,

Playdough

Cornflour

Pasta, rice, pulses and chai seeds

Food colourings

All items that are used are ‘taste safe’ and all allergies are accounted for during our planning.

Food items may also be incorporated into the role play area to enrich the learning experiences for children, e.g. Fruits and Vegetables. Children will be fully supervised during these activities. Food that could cause a choking hazard including raw jelly is not used.

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, disposable aprons and wipe up any blood spillage using the spill kits kept in the COSH cupboard. They must notify the Manager of the use so that replacement items may be ordered.

Needle puncture 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.

Only staff trained in specific medical issues (diabetes for example) are permitted to engage in any treatment of a child needing assistance to manage their health and the related sharps must be disposed of in a sharps box that will be kept in the office.

At Pitter Patter Play Ltd we treat our responsibilities and obligations in respect of health and safety as a priority and we 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, sooner if there is a relevant change in legislation and immediately in the case of a serious accident or incident.

This Policy was adopted on	Signed on Behalf of Pitter Patter Play Ltd	Date for review
23/9/24		September 2025