Childrens Safety in the Education & Childcare Industries

Whether you are a parent or not most people would I’m sure agree that a child’s safety is paramount. This article looks at what our childcare providers can do to help make sure the risk or chance of an accident occurring in Schools, Nurseries, Kindergartens and Day Care Centres is reduced.

Before we look at what steps childcare providers can actually take to reduce exposure to risk we should first perhaps look at what risk actually is. Risk can be defined as a hazard, a source of danger, the possibility of incurring a loss or misfortune or put another way an accident waiting to happen.

So what can Nurseries, Schools and other childcare providers actually do then to manage risk and make sure our children’s safety is always at the forefront of their minds?

Well to begin with they can carry out a risk assessment at their premises and this is perhaps best organized, arranged and co-coordinated by the person who is ultimately responsible for the health and safety at the nursery or school.

And whilst the actually risk assessment doesn’t necessarily have to be complicated it can be time consuming as it involves looking at each area of the premises and noting any potential hazards or risks. It also should involve looking at the existing safety measures in place and make recommendations on how implementing additional safety measures could reduce these risks even further.

The fact is accidents do happen in nurseries, schools and in all types of business but by following some simple checks the chances of an accident happening can be reduced. And as the owner, manger or person responsible for health and safety has a duty of care to employees, children, visitors or indeed anyone visiting the premises risk assessment and ultimately risk reduction is vital.

Here are just a few areas that nurseries, schools and other childcare providers should be looking at to firstly see if a risk exists and then to put preventative measures in place to reduce it.

Trips, slips and falls – do you have leads trailing across the floor or any other obstructions? Are there any spillages of water or any other liquids? And if so what steps are there to address these once they occur and to warn others? Are there any loose rugs, mats, carpets or other flooring including floorboards or tiles? Is the lighting within the school or nursery adequate (especially on stairs and in cellars or basements)?

First Aid and Accidents – do you have suitable first aid equipment on the premises? Do you have employees with first aid training? Do you have systems in place to deal with accidents including transport arrangement to the hospital if deemed necessary?

Safety of Personnel – are staff likely to work alone or handle cash? Do they have a facility to summon assistance and raise an alarm?

Outside Areas – will your outside play areas be adequately supervised? Has the play equipment you provide been suitably tested and is suitable for the children using it? Will the children be playing near plants that could be poisonous? Do you have systems in place to prevent or deal with sunburn and insect bites and stings?

These are just a few examples of potential risks that may exist within a nursery, school, kindergarten or other child day care facility. If you make sure you carry out a risk assessment with the intention of reducing your exposure to risk not only can you make sure your employees and children are protected but you could also see a reduction in your nursery insurance, school insurance or other business insurance premiums. This is because many insurance providers reward providers of child care facilities with discounts and premium savings who have good risk management procedures.

There really is no excuse for modern nurseries, schools and kindergartens to fail to make sure their premises is as safe as possible so make sure you do your best to protect the children in your care – failing to do so really isn’t worth the risk.

Why Parents and Nurseries Want The Same Things

What’s the most important thing in your life? Depending on your age, sex and general outlook this could range from your house and car to your job or friends. For many people though the most important thing in their lives is their children.

This article looks at what parents look for when in comes to care and education for their kids and why the Nurseries who look after them look for similar qualities from their service providers.

So you’ve had children and they’re now at a stage where you need to look into Nurseries, Day Cares or Kindergartens to help look after them. Here are just a few questions that parents looking for child care facilities for their children may want answering:


- Are they a quality establishment?

- Do they have a good reputation?

- Are they well established?

- Are they local?

- Are their staff friendly and approachable?

- Do you trust them?

- Will they provide you with peace of mind?


And if you’re the owner or manager of a Nursery having a USP (or unique selling proposition) for your Nursery could be the difference between getting parents to trust you with their children’s care needs or not.

Your USP could be that you’ve achieved a good OFSTED rating or it could be that you’re local. And as with other industries, knowing, understanding and acting on the needs of your customers will give you an advantage over other Nurseries.

Here then are just a few things parents may look for when choosing a Nursery:

1. OFSTED registered. If you are make sure your registration certificate and current certificate of insurance are displayed together in a prominent position. This will give parents added peace of mind.

2. Are you a member of a professional organisation? Not only does being a member of organisations like the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) give you and your staff useful information but it also shows parents you are serious about their children’s needs.

3. Nurseries that have received recognition. Has your Nursery gained any kite-marks of excellence? Perhaps Investors in People, Investors in Children or the NDNA’s quality counts. If so make sure the parents of your children and the parents of children looking to use your Nursery know about it.

4. As well as providers of Nursery Insurance rewarding good health and safety parents will also be asking themselves a series of questions about your Nursery. Questions like:

Do you have a clean and safe outside play area?

Is your Nursery welcoming? Is it bright, clean and well decorated?

Is the equipment in the Nursery safe and clean?

What food do you provide? How often are your menu’s updated? Can you cater for special diets?

Do your current children look happy?

Likewise do your staff look happy, calm, confident and relaxed and are they dressed well?

What are your staff to children ratios?

How much will it cost me and what will I get for my money? Will I have to pay extra for meals, nappies etc?

By having answers to these questions readily available to parents there’s every chance they will place their children with you and recommend you to other parents.

Parents look for quality and a Nursery they can trust when it comes to their child’s day care. If their children’s welfare is the most important thing in their life it makes perfect sense that they will undertake research and take on board recommendations to find the very best childcare solutions for their children.

Likewise Nursery owners looking for quality, value for money and a company they can trust when it comes to all types of service provider including their Nursery Insurance should also make sure they do the same.

Nursery owners can find quality service providers like Nursery Insurance Brokers by searching the internet or by talking to other Nurseries to find out which service providers work best for them.

If you’re a parent or nursery owner don’t settle for anything less.

Is the BBC bucking the trend with its Nursery closures?

In light of the recent news that the BBC will be saving more than £4 million by the closure of its workplace nurseries this article looks at if this fate is likely to hit more nurseries or if the BBC is bucking the trend.

Regardless of whether you agree or disagree with the BBC’s decision to spend the £4.1 million saved from nursery closures on programming or not, the closure of 7 subsidised nurseries would at first glance appear to be against the norm.

In fact closing of nurseries would appear to be the complete opposite of what is actually required if figures available from the likes of the Department of Education (DfES) are to be believed. Figures such as:

1. The proportion of 3 and 4 year olds in nurseries and pre school education in the UK has risen by nearly 45% since 1970 (in 1970-71 it was 21% compared to 65% in 2003/04)

2. The number of nurseries in the UK continues to rise with now close to 15,000 nurseries

3. There are nearly 1.5 million child care places in the UK with an average of 46 places available per nursery

So with figures such as these combined with people working longer hours, more women working longer than ever (45% of women work over 40 hours a week) and a seemingly lack of childcare providers the trend would in fact be towards more nursery staff, more nursery places and more nurseries.

And of course with an increase in nurseries come with it the need for more service providers to the education and nursery sectors. Included in these will be insurance brokers who specialise in nursery insurance like Northern Counties Insurance Brokers.

So then if you own, manage or run a nursery and you agree that the future for UK nurseries looks good then look no further than Northern Counties for all your Nursery Insurance needs or simply visit http://www.northerncounties.com/nursery-insurance.php for request a quick nursery insurance quote from their website.

Northern Counties – The UK’s Nursery Insurance Broker

Setting up a new Nursery - Avoid the common mistakes when starting out in the Nursery World - Part 3

Setting up a new Nursery, Pre School, Kindergarten or Day Care Centre can be a risky business with success not always guaranteed. If you're interested in setting up in business in the Nursery World here is some advice to help you avoid the common mistakes.

In Parts 1 and 2 of Avoiding the common mistakes when starting up in the Nursery World we looked the importance of market research and sorting out your finances by using experts like accountants, financial advisors and nursery insurance brokers. We also looked at nursery business plans and importance of knowing your customers.

In this final article we will provide you with some top tips to make sure the opening and long term prospects for your new nursery go to plan:

Rules and regulations – with nurseries being regulated by OFSTED and with any breach of rules likely to be frowned upon by them and your potential customers make sure you know your stuff in relation to child ratios, staffing qualifications and the new fire risk assessments that came into force recently.

Buy an established nursery – although your dream maybe to set up a brand new nursery you may want to consider the easier option of buying an existing and well established nursery and putting your own stamp on that. Not only will this mean that you will most likely have existing children to attend but staff issues and all the regulations may already be in place. Whilst it may cost more up front the long term benefits could be huge and it may certainly help with your first year stress levels.

Marketing – the final tip is one that people businesses (not just nurseries) sometimes take for granted and don't dedicate enough time or money to. Marketing and getting bums on seats is really going to make or break your new nursery. Simple things you can do include telling everyone about your new nursery (word of mouth and recommendations are likely to bring in more new children than anything else).

There are numerous other ways in which you can use marketing to gain exposure and fill places. Some of these include:

- Have an open day and invite local children, parents and the media. The press love stories relating to children so get them on board and become their expert in the nursery industry. This may give you exposure in the press without having to spend money on advertising and long term they may come back to you again for other news stories. Put a twist on such days and make the media's job easier by making it a newsworthy story. Public relations can be a great way to get exposure for your new nursery – and it can be free!

- Consider attending local networking events and speak to people. The local chamber of commerce or just a group of people who meet on a regular basis can help you spread the word. Get some brightly coloured business insurance cards printed up and hand these out to people you speak to. Even if they don't have children of their own they may know people who do and are looking for a nursery.

I hope these few tips will help you in setting up your new nursery and that you avoid the mistakes many new nurseries make when setting up in the nursery world.

Visit http://www.northerncounties.com/nursery-insurance.php for more information on Nursery Insurance

Setting up a new Nursery – Avoid the common mistakes when starting up in the Nursery World – Part 1

Setting up a new Nursery, Pre School, Kindergarten or Day Care Centre can be a risky business with success not always guaranteed. If you're interested in setting up in business in the Nursery World here is some advice to help you avoid the common mistakes.

So you've finally decided to go it alone and set up your own Nursery. Well congratulations on making this big decision and good luck in your new venture. Here are some tips to help you along the way:

1. Do your research

Market research for any new start business is vital and this certainly applies to people considering setting up in the Nursery World. It may have been your life long ambition to set up and run your own Nursery but is it really a viable option?

In fact is there even a demand for a Nursery, Pre School, Kindergarten or Day Care Centre in the location you're planning on opening one? You can check the census to find out local birth rates and the number of children of nursery age in the area.

The internet, local councils, libraries and speaking to people in the area you're planning on opening your new nursery can all give you valuable information into what is required.

Finally on the matter of research it's important to remember that many new start businesses and new nurseries fail because there is simply no demand for them. Check out your competition and never forget that without enough children actually attending your nursery may well be doomed before you even begin.


2. Get your finances right

So if your dream is to open and run a nursery, pre school, kindergarten or day care centre and you've done your market research to establish a need in the area then getting your finances right from the start is also vital.

Make sure your business plan (we'll look more at business plans for Nurseries in Part 2) is realistic and takes into account that it takes time to establish a good reputation for a new nursery.

And on the subject of finances getting professional advice for your new venture will also come in handy. Accountants and financial advisors can help you with your borrowings and making sure you manage your money effectively.

You might also want to consider using an Insurance Broker for your Nursery Business Insurance. An Insurance Broker who specialises in Nursery Insurance will be able to help you with risk management advice and make sure you only pay for the Nursery Insurance cover your need. Save Money on your Nursery Insurance premiums and get the protection and peace you and your new nursery needs.

In Part 2 of Setting up a new Nursery – Avoid the common mistakes when starting up in the Nursery World we'll look at Nursery Business Plans, Competitors and other common mistakes from new start Nurseries.

Visit http://www.northerncounties.com/nursery-insurance.php for more information on Nursery Insurance