Child Safety Week 2024: Safety Made Simple

Child Safety Week runs from Monday 3rd to Sunday 9th June in 2024, and this year we are bringing you our essential child safety tips to protect children at nursery, at home and out and about.

Organized by the Child Accident Prevention Trust, Child Safety Week is an annual campaign designed to promote child safety and educate families on how to keep children safe across the whole of the UK.

The goal of Child Safety Week is to encourage open communication amongst families to spread awareness of practical child safety measures, ensuring every child has the freedom to grow and learn in a safe environment, free from serious injury.

This year’s theme is ‘Safety Made Simple’ and highlights the importance of straightforward, effective accident prevention.

With the hustle and bustle of daily life, keeping safety simple can go a long way for protecting children.

Here’s how you can implement some simple accident prevention measures at home, at nursery and out and about:

Simple Child Safety at Home

Did you know that 80% of accidents involving children in the early years foundation stage happen at home? That’s why we have aligned with child safety experts to put together a list of safety guidelines which you can easily implement in your home and lifestyle.

Practical safety around the home

In 2024, there are a lot of technologies and items you can buy online or at your local store which can make your home that much safer for your little one.

An example of this is to install carbon monoxide detectors within your home. These detect the carbon monoxide in the air which you can’t see, smell or taste.

Carbon monoxide is generated from fires and burnable gases used in boilers and gas ovens and hobs, so it can be found in most households and continuous exposure can cause serious harm. Installing a carbon monoxide detector can bring you peace of mind when protecting you and your family.

If your child is under the age of five and you have stairs in your home, it’s a good idea to install safety gates at the top and bottom of your stairs. Stairs are main accident risks for your little one at home and safety measures should be put in place for child protection.

Removing potential hazards in your day to day life can go a long way to prevent accidents. Items left in walkways can cause anyone to trip and fall over, and small, mouth sized items and toys can be choking hazards for little ones. Ensure your space is kept tidy and small items are stored away out of reach of children.

Practising online safety

It’s more important than ever to ensure all children are kept safe online.

Today, most sites and platforms enable parental controls so you can oversee what your child sees and can access and how long for.

You can put in place age appropriate content filters which can go a long way to keeping your little one safe online but still using it as an effective educational tool.

Information & Resources

The Child Accident Prevention Trust offers a wealth of resources and information on child safety for you to keep up to date on this subject. These include free accident prevention tips and bite-sized facts.

You can access these valuable local resources on the Child Accident Prevention Trust website.

Staying Safe Out and About!

Practicing child safety outside is crucial for their development. Here’s our top tips to keep your little one safe on your next adventure:

Practising road safety

Practising road safety doesn’t need to be complicated. Playing educational games that reinforce road safety rules, like identifying traffic lights and pedestrian crossings, can go a long way to help children understand the potential hazards when crossing the road.

Good safety practises to implement when you are near a road are…

• Teach them to always hold an adult’s hand while crossing the street.
• Encourage safe behaviours such as walking on pavement and designated crossings.
• Make learning fun with songs and stories about road safety.

By instilling these habits early, children can develop a strong foundation for safe practices, helping them navigate roads confidently and securely as they grow.

Child passenger safety

This might not be the first thing that jumps to mind when you think of child safety, but it can go a long to protecting a child’s life.

When traveling around in a car, making sure you have age appropriate car seats installed can help prevent a serious accident for your little one.

All car seats should be bought new to ensure that haven’t been damaged in any incidents and it is wise to conduct your own car seat inspections before installing to make sure there are no faults with the product.

Safeguarding Children at Nursery

All childcare providers should conduct regular risk assessments on their setting and activities, and have initial safety conversations with you before your little one starts nursery to start positive relationships with you.

At Grandir UK, our teams not only support your child’s physical wellbeing, but their mental wellbeing too! We follow comprehensive safeguarding policies to ensure your child’s safety, health, and happiness is fully looked after while in our care.

Our top priorities include:

• Providing first aid and basic health and safety training to all our teams,
• Ensuring qualified first aiders are always onsite,
• Conducting risk assessments and reporting all injuries,
• Supplying our teams with appropriate clothing and equipment,
• Making health and safety, including fire safety, information is accessible to all team members, families, and visitors, and
• Adhering to a comprehensive set of policies.

If you have any questions about child safety and best practices, please speak to your nursery manager or a senior staff member who will be happy to advise you.

You can find out more information on how we implement our Health & Safety procedures within our nurseries and can find a nursery near you on our Grandir UK website.