Why risk assess?
It's sometimes argued that risk assessment is 'common sense', and therefore unnecessary. But people's idea of what constitutes 'sense' differs, and assessments help playworkers to approach risk management consistently.
Handled correctly, assessment puts levels of risk into perspective, giving playworkers confidence to allow children to take acceptable levels of risk, while prompting them to minimise inappropriate risks, preventing serious injury.
Risk assessment is required under legislation applicable to all workplaces (see below) that protects the health, safety and welfare of workers and the public. Since the safety of children is important, childcare also has parallel legislation (principally the Children Act 1989 and the recent Care Standards Act 2000), requiring that additional risk assessments are carried out with regard to children's particular needs, which we will focus on further.
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