Health and Social Care Level 3 -Unit 3- P1

P1 - Explain potential hazards and the harm that may arise from each in a health or
social care setting.

Users of health and social care services: Young children

Young children are especially vulnerable to danger as they do not have the ability to assess how dangerous a
situation is. Children are naturally curious, which can lead to dangerous situations. For example, they may put small
objects in their mouth which can cause choking, putting poisonous objects in their mouth, opening gates and
wandering off, opening cupboards and drawers which may contain poisonous substances or sharp objects, climbing
which can lead to falling and lastly, becoming stuck which can lead to the child being distressed.

Setting: Infant school

An infant school is for the primary education of young children, between the ages of four and seven. This setting
should always be safe, to ensure that the children do not put themselves in dangerous situations. Staff working in an
infant school need to constantly be aware of the surroundings to ensure that the children are as safe as possible. The
staff are completely responsible for the children's safety, as young children are not able to care for themselves and
rely on the staff to provide a safe environment for them.

Hazards for young children at an infant school include...

 Hazards in the physical environment;
The physical environment includes anything that is around you. In the setting of an infant school with young children,
a physical hazard would be any small objects laying around without the supervision of a staff member. A young child
may put this object in their mouth which can lead to choking and possibly death.
 Hazards from equipment;
This hazard occurs from any faulty or dangerous equipment. In the setting of an infant school with young children, a
hazard from equipment would be untidiness. An infant school will have many toys, and children may create a mess
when playing with them. This can be a hazard as the toys can be in the way of corridors, stairways or fire exits, which
can lead to an accident.
 Hazardous waste;
An example of a hazardous waste in an infant school setting would be batteries, which can be found in many
children's toys. Batteries contain acid, lead, nickel, lithium, cadmium, alkaline, mercury and nickel metal hydride.
Young children are curious meaning that they may bite or swallow the battery, which can cause devastating effects on
a child's insides as the chemicals eat away at the intestines.
 Hazardous substances;
An example of hazardous substances in an infant school setting would be cleaning products, which may accidently be
misplaced by a member of staff. Young children may try to drink cleaning products out of curiosity, especially as they
often have bright colours which would get the child's attention. Drinking a cleaning product can lead to the
oesophagus and throat being burnt due to the chemicals, and possibly death.
 Hazardous working conditions;
An example of a hazardous working condition in the setting of an infant school would be the lack of safety training for
staff. Teachers have a legal duty to protect their students, therefore, safety training is essential to ensure that young
children are not injured or put at risk when they are at school.
 Hazardous security systems;
An example of a hazardous security system in an infant school setting would be faulty gates. Schools always have
gates to ensure that children are safe, and that no outsiders can come in. However, if these gates do not work how
they are supposed to, young children can wander out or strangers can come into the school which can lead to many
dangerous situations.