The wellbeing and safety of children attending nurseries and their professional carers is such an emotive and important issue that chains know failure to operate to high standards not only risks prosecution but could also inflict untold damage on their organisation's reputation.
Health and safety regulations impose duties and penalties not just on the organisation concerned but also on its management and directors personally.
But how does the management of a nursery chain ensure its policies and procedures not only comply with the latest Government initiative in this highly regulated area, but are implemented consistently across all its settings?
When Puffins of Exeter Childcare Centres was launched in 1990 it employed its own health and safety officer at head office, says co-proprietor Rosalind Taylor. 'But as the legislation became increasingly complicated and you had to have regard to the products you were using in terms of chemicals, or the paints you were using for decorating and so on, we decided we needed someone with specialist knowledge.'
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