• Risk Management
• Nursery Rhyme Risks
• Our Risk Partner

Managing risk is never child’s play but fully understanding the potential risks associated with running a children’s day nursery is extremely important.

Here are a series of specific examples why risk management is so important:

 

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.

All the King's horses, And all the King's men

All the King's horses, And all the King's men

Couldn’t put Humpty together again!

We’re all no doubt familiar with the story of Humpty Dumpty and the unfortunate accident which left poor Humpty broken and in urgent need of medical attention. And whether you believe Humpty to be a Cannon or indeed a giant egg, the fact that all of the King’s horses and all the King’s men couldn’t put Humpty back together again would suggest the fall was pretty serious.

And whilst accidents involving giant eggs aren’t likely to occur everyday; slips, trips and incidents in workplaces and nurseries are.  And the statistics from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) make some frightening reading. Statistics including:

* As at 2006/2007

And when it comes to primary, nursery and secondary education, the HSE report that slips and trips involving employees alone account for numerous major injuries and these numbers vary greatly depending on the process* being taken.

*As at 2005/2006

In 2007/8 slips and trips caused 60% of serious accidents to people working in Education and all slips, trips and falls in Education cost £48.6 million.

And these figures don’t even take into account accidents involving nursery children! In fact according to the Child Accident Prevention Trust 139,200 children were injured in school and nursery playgrounds in 2002 alone. 
So what is the moral of the tale of Humpty Dumpty?

That Mr and Mrs Dumpty shouldn’t have let their youngest near the wall and certainly nowhere near the top of it?

That horses shouldn’t be anywhere near the scene of an egg related accident (regardless of whether they are owned by the King or not)?

Well neither of these are probably the moral of this tale but the truth is, Humpty’s accident and slips, trips and accidents in workplaces and nurseries throughout the UK could possibly be avoided by following some simple risk management procedures.

Risk Management is simply a process of putting sensible health and safety practices in place in order to control, reduce and hopefully eliminate risks from occurring.

The law dictates that all employers have to assess and manage health and safety risks and whilst at first this may seem like a daunting task, it really isn’t that difficult once you know the basics.

Risk management is about providing practical support to protect people from real harm and suffering – and not bureaucracy and red tape.  Managing risk is not about preventing any activity that might possibly lead to harm.  The risk management services available from NCi Nursery and our Risk Management Partners are about saving lives, not stopping them.

Whether your nursery has walls, horses or giant eggs isn’t important. What is important is that you and your nursery can get expert advice from a team of Nursery Insurance and Nursery Risk Management Experts. Get in touch today and make sure you don’t end up with egg on your face!

Little Bo Peep has lost her sheep

And doesn’t know where to find them.

Leave them alone and they’ll come home,

Bringing their tails behind them.

BREAKING NEWS…………..Following on from Humpty Dumpty’s fall, NCi Nursery can report more disturbing news from the World of Nursery Rhymes. On Monday, we reported that Little Bo Peep, the UK’s Leading Shepherdess who was last seen on British TV in Ewe’ve Been Framed, had lost her sheep but that she was confident that they would return home with their tails behind them.

It seems Bo Peeps initial optimism was not warranted as after much searching; the sheep are nowhere to be seen. As you can imagine, Little Bo (Ms Peep’s stage name when she recently re-recorded the Bill Haley classic, Rock around the Flock) is distraught at the news but NCi Nursery managed to get a few words from the curly haired flockster:

“I cannot believe my wooly friends have really gone. What makes matters even worse is that I now fear for the future of the business as I didn’t have a Business Continuity Plan in place. If only I’d have taken the advice NCi Nursery gave me when I renewed my insurance policy!”

As the owner or manager of a Nursery, you will know more than most that the unexpected can sometimes happen. Having a Business Continuity Plan in place means that in the event of disaster occurring, you will be in a position to deal with it effectively and stay in business.

Here are just some examples of how having a Business Continuity Plan can help your Nursery:
 

Outbreak of disease or infection

If the swine flu pandemic of 2009 taught us anything it's that we should always expect the unexpected. Whilst most nurseries were able to cope with the pandemic, an outbreak of an infectious disease amongst your staff could present serious health and safety issues.
 

Natural disasters

Depending where in the UK your nursery is based, you may already have been heavily affected by flooding and you will know more than anyone how devastating this can be to your nursery. Climate change certainly appears to be a reality and storms, heavy rain and winds can result in your nursery simply being unable to trade and therefore steps need to be in place to deal with such eventualities.
 

Terrorist Attacks

9/11 and the July 7th bombings in London changed the world and businesses of all types now have to consider the risks to their employees and their business should there be another terrorist strike. And this doesn't just have to be where your business is based as it could involve where your employees and even suppliers are located.

These are just a few examples of how an event could potentially put your nursery at risk and whilst some of these scenarios may seem unlikely, they should be taken into account.

The truth is; unplanned events can have a truly devastating effect on your Nursery.

The Business Continuity Management services for nurseries available from our risk management partner give UK Nurseries the ability to create a customised plan which ensures all key issues are covered.

A business continuity plan done right will help you cope in a crisis and enable you to keep disruption to your nursery to a minimum. It will also show your customers and stakeholders that your nursery is strong and robust enough to cope with any eventually. Not only will this enhance your reputation but it could also be used as a way to differentiate your nursery from your competitors in a time when standing out from the crowd is essential.

As one of the UK’s Leading Nursery Insurance Brokers, NCi Nursery is committed to helping you protect your nursery at all times.

From getting you great value nursery insurance to making sure that if the unexpected happens, you and your Nursery will have the tools, cover and protection to cope.

You don’t have to be sheepish when it comes to protecting your nursery so for further information on the full range of risk management packages available from our risk management partner, Ecclesiastical Risk Services, call ERS on 0845 602 4065 or email ers@ecclesiastical.com

Rock a bye baby

on the tree top,

When the wind blows the cradle will rock,

When the bough breaks the cradle will fall,

And down will come

baby, cradle and all.

In fact, any rocking or work at height is fraught with danger with falls from height accounting for around 70 deaths and 4000 major injuries in the UK every year. And nurseries and the education sector as a whole has seen more than 3000 injuries and 5 deaths in the last six years alone.

What this means is that your nursery and your staff could be at risk!

According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), 92% of people working in education work at height at some point and with most major injuries in nurseries and schools happening from falls below 2 metres in height, the consequences can be horrific.

As you can see, these incidents might at first hand seem innocuous. However, accidents reported to the HSE indicate that within each Local Education Authority there is likely to be at least one nursery or school where a fall from height accident has been reported each year with some areas having many more than this.

When you consider that an accident involving a broken limb is likely to result in at least a month off work, your nursery could be looking at costs as much as £3,700 every year just for replacement teachers. With less serious accidents from height incurring additional costs including periods of absence, investigation costs and claims for injuries, the total cost to your nursery could be much higher.

There are numerous other actions you can take to ensure the safety and well being of your staff and children. Yet as nursery owners or managers, these could easily be forgotten or delayed due to you actually having a nursery to run which as we all know, is a full time job and then some.

For UK Nurseries who want to take advantage of expert advice when it comes to Health & Safety and working at height, help is now at hand from our risk management partner.

For further information on the full range of risk management packages available from our risk management partner, Ecclesiastical Risk Services, call ERS on 0845 602 4065 or email ers@ecclesiastical.com

You’d be off your rocker to risk anything else.

Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water,

Jack fell down and broke his crown,

And Jill came tumbling after.

If you and your staff have ever ventured into a public house on a Friday evening after a long week at the nursery, you might well be familiar with people falling over themselves for a drink. This shouldn’t be confused with the story of Jack and Jill who had to resort to climbing hills to fetch their water.

Luckily for us, water is now readily available by simply turning on a tap or popping into the local store for a bottle of Evian or Highland Spring. Jack and Jill weren’t however as lucky but what could the young couple had actually done to avoid nursing an injury with vinegar and brown paper after their tumble and fall?

The truth is; certain jobs have a health and safety risk. If the hill which Jack and Jill climbed and then subsequently fell down was particularly uneven or slippy, their employers should possibly have provided them with suitable equipment to wear when carrying out their water carrying duties. 

So if Jack and Jill’s Hill did present a health and safety issue then safety footwear might well have prevented the fall in the first place and a safety helmet could definitely have prevented any crown cracking.

Whilst the regulations do not apply to people who are not employees, for example children whilst at nursery or school, the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, requires that you do not expose non employees to risks to their health and safety by virtue of what you do. If there is a need to provide PPE to comply with this duty, then by following the requirements of the PPE Regulations this duty will be satisfied

Reviewing your PPE needs should really form part of any risk assessment or risk management process you carry out and for UK Nurseries who want to take advantage of expert advice when it comes to Health & Safety, help is now at hand from our risk management partner.

UK Nurseries just like yours are falling over themselves (not literally) to find out about the facilities available so for further information on the full range of Nursery Risk Management facilities available from our risk management partner, Ecclesiastical Risk Services, call ERS on 0845 602 4065 or email ers@ecclesiastical.com