Hi all has anyone any ideas how i can ensure staff clearly understand health & safety info on children in?

Question

pre-school setting?

Answer 1

train them.  give them the harsh realities of what can happen if they don't follow safety and health requirements.  most people will do better if they know the reason behind things.  training must be on-going.  

do trainings  on:

cpr/first aid/aed (make sure each staff member is certified)

allergy alerts, special needs (each teacher must read their classes sheet to know of food or special needs).

head to face counts, ratios, transitions, (the need to constantly know how many and who you have)

field trip safety protocol (attendance when getting on bus, getting off bus at site, during trip, getting back on bus, and getting off bus at daycare).  counselors do not sleep on bus and do not sit together.  one counselor in front and one in back and one in the middle (if that many), taking med bags on trip (and what needs to go in the med bag), permission to treat forms for each child and counselor, emergency information on each child and counselor, water, snacks, cell phones (for business use only), and directons

emergency evacuation plan (tornado, fire, severe disaster) shelter in place (where to take the kids in case of evacuation, what to take in an evacuation (emergency/permission to treat on kids and counselors, blankets, water, snacks, emergency first aid supplies, flashlights)  make sure the evac bags are always packed and ready and that each counselor has one in her room and one on each center bus.

bathroom precautions (preschoolers never allowed in bathroom with school aged children, teachers not to assist one on one without a witness of an adult), handwashing for staff and children.

playground safety:  counselors NEVER sit together.  they are all stationed at assigned areas of the playground to assure coverage and sight supervision.  teacher must assess the condition of the playground before taking her class out (make sure there are no broken pieces, swings, etc in the area). sunscreen is applied prior to going out (follow your state guidelines here), watch for signs of overheating in children and teachers, limit use in hot weather.

general health: teach the signs of assessing a child's health when the parents bring them in the morning (lethargic, listless, fever, darken eyes due to lack of sleep). if the parents say he's been sick the teacher needs to ask if he threw up at home or is on meds.  if the answer is yes, the child may need to be restricted from care for the day.

physical plant: the condition of their classrrom.  they need to assess their room every morning and throughout the day to make sure it's clean and safe (no hanging cords, electrical outlets covered, etc.)

bus drivers:  head to face counts, proceedure to make sure no child is left on the bus, what to have on board (emergency forms on each child and teacher, flashlight, first aid kit, road flares, trash can, case of water, cell phone),  need to be cpr, first aid trained also

licensing regulations:  all of the above and any that your state has in addition.  you can never be too careful.  set up a room with many infractions and tell the teachers to go in, write down all the infractions they see.  at the end, give a prize to whomever got them all.  those that didn't, need to be retrained.  

these are just a few of the trainings i've conducted.  good luck.  take your time and be thorough.  the above won't happen in a day.  i did the above in two 8 hour saturdays.  the cpr/first aid/aed will take 6-8 alone usually.

Answer 2

Get them certified.  There are a number of programs (from government and non-profit organizations) including some that are national.  Anyone who gets certified in any of those programs should have a pretty good idea of children's health and safety standards.

Answer 3

-Policy documents: Ensure staff have a copy to take home with them.

-Include staff in the review and updating of policies

-Regular staff meetings or in house training meetings to discuss and review them.

-Do a mini-test during a staff meeting.

-Have information dotted around the room (eg: wehave details at the hand washing area, doors and windows, etc saying various info to remember).

-Ask them-have what's called 'supervision time' which is basically a one to one between manager and staff to talk through issues.

-Send them on training-such as Health and Safety and Food hygiene.

Answer 4

Give them the training needed .  Once you are happy that they have received the right training, get them to sign a document like a training card, to say that they are competent and understand the training given.

Answer 5

Go through it with them point by point, stopping at the end of each to ask if there are any questions. At the end, get them all to sign a declaration that it has been fully explained to them and they have no queries which have not been answered. Then tell them that if there are any breaches, they will be liable to a misconduct charge. That should do it for a while, then repeat the process every four to six months.

Answer 6

I believe in "management by wandering around". My staff knew that I would be in their classroom whenever I wanted and I would call them on any infraction as I saw it. Start by having a workshop led by a nurse or other experienced person  and clearly explain that you will be helping them to learn the new procedures.  Explained that the procedures would keep the children, and themselves, healthier. If I went into a classroom and noticed someone neglected to wash their hands after wiping a child's nose, I would talk to the person right away. If I noticed someone doing something  appropriate, i would praise her right away. Any new information needs praise and repetition to become a habit. checklists are too impersonal

Answer 7

I agree with train them, but I would also have them teach a lesson to you. As a teacher, you know that you have to know the info inside and out and really grasp it to do a lesson. Give them the same assignment. Depending on your staff size, you can have each individual teach, or divide them into group. Ask them to do a lesson that would be fun and teach the main points.

Also, almost every education class I have ever had said that if you are involved in the learning process, you are more likely to retain it. If they laugh, they imprint better. If they are active and moving around, they are also more likely to remember.

Hope this helped.

Answer 8

Make a healthy and safety checklist and make sure each teacher checks it off daily: example-check floor for small objects- have staff to turn in weekly and sign off.

Answer 9

Of course, you need to do some very focused training. Beyond that post important procedures on the wall where they can refer to them-things like diapering and handwashing procedures and schedules for cleaning and sanitizing. Your job then is to make sure these are being followed, which is an important part of staff supervision. If you make it plain that these are requirements, not suggestions, they are more likely to comply.

Answer 10

As most are saying...train them.  :-)  Unfortunately some trainings people really aren't interested in or think they know it already so letting them know there will be a quiz/questionairre at the end of the training is a sure way to get them to pay attention.  Also, you'll find out if you needed to approach something again and/or differently if multiple staff answered incorrectly.  If there is just one or two staff that have incorrect answers you can go over it individually.  

I've had one place that would give us an article to read a month and sometime toward the end of them month they would provide a questionairre to see if we had comprehended and retained.  

Maybe you can have them tell about a situation that has taken place that would fall under the health & safety topic and what they did in response.  Making it "real" to them will help them to retain the info.

Good luck!