Risk Assessment for Activities

There are two main kinds of Risk Assessment needed for a child or young person placed in foster care. A Risk Assessment must be completed by the Supervising Social Worker for each child/young person at the point of entry to any foster placement and recorded on the appropriate Risk Assessment form.

This should be undertaken whenever children leave their usual placement under the direct supervision of Social Care (Safe) staff and if the child/young person participates in organised activities, including foster carers undertaking organised activities, i.e. groups of foster carers with groups of fostered children.

Hazards may occur at all levels of activity. You should consider the following steps in assessing risks.

Assess the general situation, not just the activity being undertaken.

• The activity itself - Walking, sailing, climbing etc.;
• The technical difficulty - Are the difficulties too demanding for the child's competence and subsequent safety;
• The venue - May have its own objective dangers regardless of the activity, e.g. loose rock, strong current;
• The weather - Temperature, wind speed etc.;
• Time available - Daylight hours, travel time;
• Risks from Other People.

N.B: Always include transport arrangements to and from the activity in the Risk Assessment.

• Low Risk - Where an accident may be likely but the consequences of this are insignificant, e.g. the normal bumps and scrapes of growing up. There is little cause for concern but watch should be kept to ensure the risk does not become unacceptable;
• Moderate Risk - Where the consequences of an accident are high, specialist skills will normally be required to maintain the likelihood at a low level;
• High Risk - Where both the likelihood of an accident occurring and the consequences of the accident are unacceptably high, the situation should be avoided or abandoned. Consideration should be given as to whether the goals of the activity could be met by a different activity at a different time.

If there is any doubt as to how an activity should be classified in terms of risk, then the Health and Safety Department should be consulted, prior to completing the Risk Assessment (Dean Fenton, Ex.2536).

In order to contain risks within acceptable limits, three courses of action are available which approximate to the three definitions of risk detailed above:

• Advise - Where skill and watchfulness can reduce the risk to acceptable levels;
• Protect - Where specific equipment or specialised expertise is needed;
• Avoid - Where the risk cannot be contained.

The law requires only two points:

• State the significant hazards;
• State how they will be safely managed.

These should be recorded on the standard Risk Assessment form and signed by the Team Manager. The signed Risk Assessment should be placed on the child's file.

The Risk Assessment is not finished when a form has been completed; risk is assessed continually and actions modified as necessary.

Risk Assessments should be specific to the activity but to ignore major influences introduced by different children would be unwise. The best possible Risk Assessment for an activity can be negated by unreasonable expectations of the child or children.

Such expectations may concern behaviour, understanding, application or mobility, any of which may be beyond the child's level of ability or co-operation.

Hazards relating to a specific child, and the ways these can be managed should also be recorded on the standard Risk Assessment form.

Possession of Risk Assessments for both the activity and the child does not guarantee safety. A high risk child can nullify an otherwise safe activity assessment. If an excursion cannot be managed safely, it is inappropriate.

Some children can be a danger to themselves or to others.

Where a child is considered to be an identifiable risk, jeopardising the safety of an excursion, staff should either change the excursion to be safely manageable, exclude the child from taking part or terminate the activity.

Staff must not tolerate dangerous behaviour merely hoping for the best.

With organised activities, there are few fixed boundaries between levels of risk. Not only do venues and activities contain varying degrees of risk but circumstances can change rapidly. Be prepared to change your mind. An activity originally assessed as safe may easily become unsafe in inclement conditions or with changes in the child/young person.

The Council carries adequate Public Liability Insurance to cover any claims alleging negligence against the Authority for any injury, accident, loss or damage to children whilst participating in organised trips and activities with R.M.B.C. staff. Any parent or person with parental responsibility requiring insurance against personal injury or loss of belongings should consider making private arrangements for this.

Trips where R.M.B.C. staff are not present are not covered by the Public Liability Insurance. Staff should ensure that organised trips involving Looked After Children are covered adequately with regard to insurance.