Tag Archives: HSE

A broken limb, the Health and Safety Executive, and a good outcome

Posted on March 11, 2013 | 13 Comments

broken arm in plasterThe Health and Safety Executive – the nation’s safety regulator – is so often the fall guy for everything that is wrong about the way risk is managed. But last week I heard an anecdote that brought home to me – in an unexpected way – the positive role HSE is playing in building support for a balanced, thoughtful approach to risk in children’s play. I was running a workshop on risk-benefit assessment at a playwork conference, and one of the participants – a manager of an after-school club – shared a revealing story. It begins last September, with a boy breaking a limb.

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Posted in Outdoor play, Parenting, play, Public policy, Risk

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It’s health and safety gone sane!

Posted on September 3, 2012 | 48 Comments

Glamis Adventure Playground double swingI see what you did there. So I take it you are not about to share another crazy story about kids being wrapped in cotton wool.
Indeed not. Today is a good day for getting rid of the white fluffy stuff. You see, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has launched a statement that promotes a balanced, thoughtful approach to safety in children’s play.

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Posted in Education, Learning, Outdoor play, play, Play spaces, playground, Public policy, Risk

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Childhood and risk: what messages would you give to the Palace?

Posted on September 23, 2011 | 23 Comments

I have been invited to Buckingham Palace in November, to discuss with the Duke of Edinburgh how to promote a more balanced approach to risk and adventure in children’s lives. And I’m asking for your help in deciding what to say to him. Continue reading →

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Posted in Public policy, Risk

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My letter of the month…

Posted on September 16, 2011 | Leave a comment

…in the September 2011 issue of Safety & Health Practitioner magazine, that is. Continue reading →

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Posted in Public policy, Risk

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3 things HSE must do to end the zero risk childhood

Posted on July 15, 2011 | 11 Comments

HSE web page Myth of the month - Egg boxes are banned in craft lessonsJudith Hackitt, head of the Health and Safety Executive, was right recently when she said that the muddle about health and safety cannot be laid solely at her door. To take one example: no credible organisation has ever advised that egg boxes and toilet roll holders should be banned from the classroom. The HSE itself has labelled the ban one of its ‘myths of the month’. Yet despite this, many early years teachers and childcarers are convinced that egg boxes are a biological risk too far.

However, the HSE remains at the very centre of the mess. Continue reading →

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Posted in Public policy, Risk

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