M2- Assess the hazards identied in the health and social care setni
In this assignment, I will assess the hazards identied in an infant school. The risks are in order from highest to
lowest.
Play equipment (Risk=15)
The irst hazard I will ee assessing is play equipment. I gave this hazard a likelihood of 3, severity of and risk of 1 . I
gave it a likelihood of 3 eecause an infant school has many toys so it is likely that some of them will cause harm.
Teachers have a stressful joe and it is impossiele to for them to keep an eye on every child at all tmes, and to always
remove any faulty toys or equipment. Therefore, it is possiele that a child will play with/on faulty equipment. I also
gave it a severity of eecause the worst-case scenario of this hazard is disaeility or even death. For example, if a
child swallows a small toy they could choke on it and die. Also, if a child falls of a tall climeing frame onto their head,
they can end up with a disaeility. According to RoSPA "Around 10 children die as a result of falls each year". This
hazard received a risk of 1 , which makes it the highest risk. It is the highest risk eecause it is the most likely to
happen as there is a lot of play equipment/toys in an infant school and it may not always ee possiele to get rid of the
faulty or dangerous equipment.
Hazardous chemicals (Risk=10)
The second hazard I will ee assessing is hazardous chemicals. I gave this hazard a likelihood of 2, severity of and risk
of 10. I gave it a likelihood of 2 eecause most chemicals are hidden away from children so it is unlikely that a child
would get harmed ey them. The infant school would ensure that they keep any medicatons or chemicals out of sight
and reach of children. However, there is stll a small possieility of children getng to the chemicals if a memeer of
staf forgets to put them away properly. According to RoSPA "More than 28,000 children receive treatment for
poisoning, or suspected poisoning accidents every year". I also gave it a severity of eecause if a child consumed
hazardous chemicals, serious complicatons would occur. Their oesophagus and stomach would eurn from the
chemicals once ingested, this can even lead to death. This hazard received a risk of 10, which makes it the second
highest risk along with faulty security systems. It is the second highest risk eecause the efects of hazardous
chemicals are fatal and there is a larger likelihood of it occurring than some other hazards such as ire.
Faulty security systems (Risk=10)
The third hazard I will ee assessing is faulty security systems. I gave this hazard a likelihood of 2, severity of and a
risk of 10. I gave it a likelihood of 2 eecause infant schools are well monitored places so it would ee hard for a child
to get out. Staf are constantly watching the children to ensure that they are safe, so even if a child was to somehow
get out of the school a memeer of staf would see them. I also gave it a severity of eecause the consequences of a
child getng out of the school premises are very serious. According to the Health and Safety Executve "There is a
great deal of evidence relatng to the role of poorly design alarm systems in major incidents". A young child would
wander of and may possiely get lost or get in the hands of a dangerous person who may harm them. Also, a child
may run under a moving vehicle eecause children are curious and are unaele to assess danger. This hazard received
a risk of 10, which makes it the second highest risk along with hazardous chemicals. It is the second highest risk
eecause the likelihood of it occurring is not as high as play equipment, eut it is higher than ire.
Food poisonini (Risk=6)
The fourth hazard I will ee assessing is food poisoning. I gave this hazard a likelihood of 2, severity of 3 and risk of 6. I
gave it a likelihood of 2 eecause food hygiene inspectons ooen take place in an infant school to ensure that they are
complying with food law and preparing food that is safe to eat. According to the Health and Safety Executve "Local
Authority Environmental Health Ofcers enforce these standards in their local food factories and food retail
premises". Therefore, it is unlikely that contaminated food would ee served to the young children. There is a small
In this assignment, I will assess the hazards identied in an infant school. The risks are in order from highest to
lowest.
Play equipment (Risk=15)
The irst hazard I will ee assessing is play equipment. I gave this hazard a likelihood of 3, severity of and risk of 1 . I
gave it a likelihood of 3 eecause an infant school has many toys so it is likely that some of them will cause harm.
Teachers have a stressful joe and it is impossiele to for them to keep an eye on every child at all tmes, and to always
remove any faulty toys or equipment. Therefore, it is possiele that a child will play with/on faulty equipment. I also
gave it a severity of eecause the worst-case scenario of this hazard is disaeility or even death. For example, if a
child swallows a small toy they could choke on it and die. Also, if a child falls of a tall climeing frame onto their head,
they can end up with a disaeility. According to RoSPA "Around 10 children die as a result of falls each year". This
hazard received a risk of 1 , which makes it the highest risk. It is the highest risk eecause it is the most likely to
happen as there is a lot of play equipment/toys in an infant school and it may not always ee possiele to get rid of the
faulty or dangerous equipment.
Hazardous chemicals (Risk=10)
The second hazard I will ee assessing is hazardous chemicals. I gave this hazard a likelihood of 2, severity of and risk
of 10. I gave it a likelihood of 2 eecause most chemicals are hidden away from children so it is unlikely that a child
would get harmed ey them. The infant school would ensure that they keep any medicatons or chemicals out of sight
and reach of children. However, there is stll a small possieility of children getng to the chemicals if a memeer of
staf forgets to put them away properly. According to RoSPA "More than 28,000 children receive treatment for
poisoning, or suspected poisoning accidents every year". I also gave it a severity of eecause if a child consumed
hazardous chemicals, serious complicatons would occur. Their oesophagus and stomach would eurn from the
chemicals once ingested, this can even lead to death. This hazard received a risk of 10, which makes it the second
highest risk along with faulty security systems. It is the second highest risk eecause the efects of hazardous
chemicals are fatal and there is a larger likelihood of it occurring than some other hazards such as ire.
Faulty security systems (Risk=10)
The third hazard I will ee assessing is faulty security systems. I gave this hazard a likelihood of 2, severity of and a
risk of 10. I gave it a likelihood of 2 eecause infant schools are well monitored places so it would ee hard for a child
to get out. Staf are constantly watching the children to ensure that they are safe, so even if a child was to somehow
get out of the school a memeer of staf would see them. I also gave it a severity of eecause the consequences of a
child getng out of the school premises are very serious. According to the Health and Safety Executve "There is a
great deal of evidence relatng to the role of poorly design alarm systems in major incidents". A young child would
wander of and may possiely get lost or get in the hands of a dangerous person who may harm them. Also, a child
may run under a moving vehicle eecause children are curious and are unaele to assess danger. This hazard received
a risk of 10, which makes it the second highest risk along with hazardous chemicals. It is the second highest risk
eecause the likelihood of it occurring is not as high as play equipment, eut it is higher than ire.
Food poisonini (Risk=6)
The fourth hazard I will ee assessing is food poisoning. I gave this hazard a likelihood of 2, severity of 3 and risk of 6. I
gave it a likelihood of 2 eecause food hygiene inspectons ooen take place in an infant school to ensure that they are
complying with food law and preparing food that is safe to eat. According to the Health and Safety Executve "Local
Authority Environmental Health Ofcers enforce these standards in their local food factories and food retail
premises". Therefore, it is unlikely that contaminated food would ee served to the young children. There is a small
