Safeguards if staff are taking children to a city park

The numbers of people visiting city parks and open spaces has soared by 25% from 2010 to 2016. According to Natural England, latest figures show an estimated 879 million visits to parks in towns and cities in 2015/16.

Urban Green spaces are increasingly utilised with an estimated 1.46 billion visits in 2015/16 compared with 1.16 billion visits in 2009/10

93 per cent of the urban population claimed to have taken visits to the natural environment for recreation in the last 12 months says Natural England.

It’s enjoyable and healthy, but have you briefed your staff on protocols to ensuring children’s safety?

So how should you brief your employee?

Firstly, if it is a nanny who is taking your child out, they will probably have been trained in safety procedures, but it doesn’t hurt to check. If the answer is no, then you may choose to sit down and discuss common sense protocols with them.

The same applies to other staff, ask if they have done this before, how many times ? Ask what they see as important and discuss how you wish them to undertake the park trip.

Will they walk? Discuss road safety, or if they intend to drive, has the staff member the appropriate documentation and experience? Driving in London is very different from a rural environment.

Below are a few basic park playground safety tips:

Wear proper shoes, open-toed sandals are not ideal..

• Avoid the sand. …
• Watch out for hot surfaces. …
• Wear sunscreen and apply it at home. …
• Know the child’s limits. …
• Dress properly. … …
• Bring water and snacks
• And just in case the child should become separated,there are two really useful buys:Firstly. something originally from America called Safety Tat and are available from, among others, Amazon UK.These are waterproof stickers which can last up to two weeks. A contact mobile number is written on the sticker and then applied in a visible place.The second is ICE ID bands. These can be particulary helpful if a child has specific medical requirements and/or allergies. a waterproof band has an engraved tag with appropriate contact and other relevant details.Enjoy the open spaces. available from: http://www.iceid.co.ukThe Graham Agency, keeping you informed.