Child Safety Week: Safety Made Simple

Child Safety Week runs from Monday 2nd to Sunday 8th June this year, and this year we are bringing you our essential child safety tips to protect children at nursery, at home and out and about. Organised 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 is for sharing’, which highlights the importance of sharing expert advice with families, carers, and communities to help prevent serious childhood accidents and keep children safe from harm.

With the hustle and bustle of daily life, keeping safety simple can go a long way toward 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

Installing carbon monoxide detectors: These detect the invisible, odourless gas that can leak from boilers, fires or gas ovens. Exposure to carbon monoxide is dangerous, so this simple device can offer great peace of mind. Using safety gates on stairs: For children under five, stairs pose a significant risk. Installing stair gates at both the top and bottom of staircases helps prevent dangerous falls.

Declutter walkways and remove choking hazards: Clear spaces of toys or items that could cause trips or present a risk to toddlers who love to explore with their mouths.

“We often share home safety tips with families during handovers or parent events. Making small adjustments can really reduce the risk of injury – it’s about prevention over reaction.”- Mia Johnson, Nursery Manager at Little Explorers Day Nursery and Preschool in Knighton

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 child safe online, but still use 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

Practising child safety outside is crucial for their development. Here are our top tips to keep your child 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 in helping children understand potential hazards when near roads.

At nursery, these lessons are often woven into play to make them more engaging and memorable.

“We use role play and storytelling at nursery to help children understand dangers like road crossings. They absorb so much through play,” says Erika Maindrou, Nursery Manager at Kiddi Caru Day Nursery and Preschool in Whiteley.

• Good safety practices to implement when you are near a road include:
• Teaching children to always hold an adult’s hand while crossing the street.
• Encouraging safe behaviours such as walking on pavements and using designated crossings.

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

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 way to protecting a child’s life.

When travelling around in a car, making sure you have age-appropriate car seats installed can help prevent a serious accident for your child.

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

Safeguarding children at nursery

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 are 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.