This help centre article was written for childminders preparing for registration with the Koru Kids' Home Nursery service
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What to risk assess
You should be risk assessing your home environment and activities you do with your children.
At your pre-assessment visit we will expect you to demonstrate the risk assessment you have done to ensure your home is safe for children. You will need to do this again if you move house.
We advise your initial risk assessment to be written so it is clear in your mind at the Pre-assessment visit.
Written risk assessments
Risk assessments don’t necessarily need to be written, but keeping a written record is sensible for higher risk situations.
A written risk assessment gives an evidence trail to demonstrate you considered the risks involved with a higher risk situation.
- An example of a higher risk situation might be taking the children out of the house along a main road to the park, where you should consider the risk of traffic and children running out into the road.In lower risk situations, a non-written risk assessment is acceptable.
- An example of a lower risk situation might be the children playing with a water table in your garden.
You should risk assess the main outdoor learning spaces you regularly use and anywhere new you plan to begin using.
It is worth spending the time doing this as a written assessment once, especially if it is somewhere you plan to visit often.
Ad hoc or occasional visits don’t require a written assessment.
All activities you do with the children in and out of the home should be risk assessed. As discussed above, these assessments do not need to be written.
Basic risk assessment template
A risk assessment should consider:
What hazards might be present,
How they might harm a child,
What you are already doing to control this risk,
What additional measures might need to be taken to reduce this risk further.
Our simple standard risk assessment template is available here.
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Things to consider when planning your home set-up **