Helen Edwards

Over the last few years, risk assessment in early years settings has been a great concern to practitioners working in a multitude of settings. Trying to get the balance right between carrying out suitable risk assessment procedures to protect children from harm or injury, yet allowing them to be active, to learn and to take calculated risks, is not an easy task. Occasionally, in practice, some fairly low-risk activities have been stopped as a result of the pressure providers feel in that they should preventing ANY possibility of harm, not REDUCING the likelihood. The Health and Safety Executive have recently released a set of principles to help us in our judgements.

Bill Callaghan, Chair of the Health and Safety Commission, in his statement on 22.08.06 stated:

"The principles set out what we believe risk management should – and should not – be about. They are simple; they are common sense. To some they will no doubt be a statement of the blindingly obvious. Unfortunately they are clearly not obvious to everyone; if they were we wouldn’t keep hearing stories about people concentrating effort on trivial risks and unnecessary bureaucracy. "

So what are the principles of sensible risk management?

1. Sensible risk management is about:

• Ensuring that workers and the public are properly protected
• Providing overall benefit to society by balancing benefits and risks, with a focus on reducing real risks – both those which arise more often and those with serious consequences
• Enabling innovation and learning not stifling them
• Ensuring that those who create risks manage them responsibly and understand that failure to manage real risks responsibly is likely to lead to robust action
• Enabling individuals to understand that as well as the right to protection, they also have to exercise responsibility

2. Sensible risk management is not about:

• Creating a totally risk free society
• Generating useless paperwork mountains
• Scaring people by exaggerating or publicising trivial risks
• Stopping important recreational and learning activities for individuals where the risks are managed
• Reducing protection of people from risks that cause real harm and suffering

Bill Callaghan continues,

" Our message to all organizations is: don’t overcomplicate things, keep your risk assessment fit for purpose, make it a living document and act on it. Risk management should be about practical steps to protect people, not paperwork for its own sake.

We will work with a wide range of partners to put practical actions behind every one of these principles. Over the coming months we want to hear from our partners what action they are taking. We also welcome comments on the principles themselves. You can contribute by going to our risk web pages at: www.hse.gov.uk/risk At the beginning of 2007 we shall publish the finalized principles, together with specific commitments to turn them into reality.

We must, and will, promote the sensible management of risks that protects people from real harm and suffering, but avoids bureaucratic back covering. My clear message is that if you are using health and safety to stop everyday activities – get a life and let others get on with theirs. "

What a breath of fresh air! Those practitioners who have been tearing their hair out worrying about whether children should be playing with daisy chains, or running as fast as they can down a grassy slope, or balancing on a climbing frame, or using scissors, can gradually become accustomed to a more sensible, manageable approach to risk assessment in their settings.

For further guidance, see http://www.foundation-stage.info/newfsf/articles/members/FSFArticle_121.php.