Health & Safety Policy

Wee Adventurers Play Hub takes the safety and welfare of our staff and customers, very seriously. Our Health and Safety Policy plays an important role in setting and making clear the standards of health and safety that we apply in our business. We may amend this policy from time to time. in line with the needs and practices of our business. All staff, contractors and workers and other persons affected by the work we undertake are covered by Wee Adventurers Play Hub health and safety policy.

Wee Adventurers Playb Hub will ensure that:

1. All toys and equipment are checked and cleaned regularly; any damaged equipment will be repaired or disposed of immediately. 

2. All equipment offered to children is age/stage appropriate.

3. Risk assessments are carried out daily to ensure the safety of all staff and customers. This is recorded and reviewed regularly.

4. As a legal requirement I carry out regular fire risk assessments within my setting and I have regular fire drills. Fire safety equipment is checked regularly, and all fire exits always remain unobstructed. All information is recorded in a Risk assessment and Fire log Booklet.

5. All hazardous substances and medicines are kept out of reach or in a locked cupboard.

6. First aid box is correctly stocked, and contents are checked frequently and replaced as necessary.

7. Have a fire blanket/working smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors, all of which are checked regularly.

8. It is my legal obligation to keep a record of all accidents and incidents. These records provide a clear audit trail with names, signatures, dates and times etc. 

9. Accidents/incidents may also need to be reported to the Health & Safety Executive, Environmental Health or the Public Health Agency.

10. I have procedures in place in the event of an emergency (see Managing Emergencies policy).

11. As a legal requirement I am registered as a food business with the Environmental Service in my local Council. I keep strict hygiene procedures when preparing and storing food and follow health and safety guidelines.

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Design, layout and maintenance of play area;

Clear separation of cafe from the main play space and provision of a slow exit from the play area into cafe by using a barrier. There are no blind spots. Children can be seen from all areas of the cafe. Furniture provided has rounded edges, stable and are located not to obstruct access and emergency exits. All areas are easily accessible for cleaning and maintenance.

 

Description of play frame

Made from eco-friendly natural wood and finished with non-toxic materials. It has two levels, a solid slide, well-secured steps and a climbing ramp. It has been load tested to 95kg. The frame is been built to comply with EN 1176, the safety standard for commercial playground equipment. It has been rigorously tested to match these safety requirements to ensure children’s safety.

 

Accessibility;

Adults are able to gain access to help children

 

Stairs;

have at least three risers

be evenly spaced

have a minimum tread depth of 110mm

A 30mm maximum gap between tread front and next tread back

 

Handrails;

Are placed between 600mm and 850mm above the foot positon

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Ramps;

(inclined surfaces up to 38º from the horizontal with a constant angle)

have slip-resistant measures

Barriers as required above 600mm

Guardrails provided from platform

 

Slide;

the opening to the slide is the same width as the starting or guarding section

a guardrail across the entrance to the slide.

Height of slide is 1400mm

Slide length is 2000mm

Maximum angle is 35° at any point 

The width of the slide is 750mm

Slide has side risers greater than greater than required to stop falling over sides 

Slide has crash mat at bottom for extra protection 

 

Finishing;

Timber species and synthetics should be splinter resistant

No protrusions or sharp edge components

Where equipment comes to a stop, it is cushioned

 

Toys;

are all bought and checked that they comply with BS EN 71 standards. All toys Worthing The Play Hub are suitable for all ages of children. For example We have no small toys that can be choking hazards. 

 

Maintenance;

a routine visual inspection daily before use for cracks, breaks, loose and/or missing parts. Every 1 to 3 months manually check that all connectors are tight and all components are functioning. Every year perform a thorough safety inspection of all components. If equipment is subject to heavy use increase inspection and maintenance as appropriate.

Remove any product from service when any condition develops which might make operation unsafe.

 

Cleaning

Wipe with a damp cloth and mild detergent. Dry immediately. Leaving water or cleaning agent on the surface may damage the finish.

When cleaning plastic surfaces, do not use harsh detergents or cleans-ers. These may scratch or mar the surface. Nontoxic household plastic cleaners should work well.

 

Health and safety Legislation 

Under the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 and equivalent legislation in Northern Ireland, employers must ensure that electrical appliances used in the workplace (such as electronic cash tills, catering equipment, and microwaves and kettles for employees' use) are regularly assessed for safety, for example by carrying out regular visual checks and arranging formal PAT (portable appliance testing). 

 

The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the Health and Safety at Work (Northern Ireland) Order 1978 place a general duty of care on children’s activity centre operators and managers to protect the health and safety of their employees and anyone else who may be affected by their business activities, including children attending the play centre, their parents, guardians, childminders and other customers, volunteers, suppliers and members of the public.

 

Under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and equivalent legislation in Northern Ireland, all employers, and those who are self employed, are required to carry out a risk assessment of their employees' work activities and the environment in which they work, including a specific Covid-19 risk assessment, and provide employees with adequate health and safety training.

 

Under the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 and equivalent legislation in Northern Ireland, children’s activity centre operators must assess the risk of injury to themselves and their employees (for example from lifting toys) and ensure that any unnecessary lifting is avoided.

 

Under the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER) and the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999, children’s activity centre operators must ensure that all equipment used at work is suitable for its purpose, maintained in good working order and inspected regularly. They also require employees to be trained in its safe use.

 

Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, it is a legal requirement for children’s activity cent operators to install appropriate fire detection and prevention equipment on their premises. Similar requirements apply under the Fire Safety (Scotland) Regulations 2006 and the Fire Safety Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010.

 

The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013  (RIDDOR) require certain incidents to be reported to the Health and Safety Executive  (HSE). In Northern Ireland, the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997 apply and incidents should be reported to the Health and Safety Executive Northern Ireland (HSENI).

 

The Work at Height Regulations 2005 and equivalent legislation in Northern Ireland require children’s activity centre operators to ensure that work at height is avoided so far as is reasonably possible. Where working at height (such as carrying out visual checks of climbing frames) cannot be avoided, centre operators must carry out a risk assessment of the work and put measures in place to prevent falls and reduce their impact.

 

The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 requires business owners to obtain consent before playing copyright-protected music in public, which is defined to include members of staff and/or customers. In practice, this means obtaining The Music Licence from collecting society PPL PRS Ltd.

 

EC Regulation 852/2004 requires children’s activity centres where food is prepared, stored, or supplied to be registered as a food business establishment with the environmental health department of the local authority in the area where the centre is based. Registration is not required if food and refreshments are provided via vending machines only.

 

The Food Information Regulations 2014 require children’s activity centres serving food to provide information about any allergens that are present in ingredients used in the food they serve.

 

Consumer and business protection

Under the Alternative Dispute Resolution for Consumer Disputes (Competent Authorities and Information) Regulations 2015, children’s activity centre operators who fail to resolve a dispute through their own customer service efforts must inform consumers about an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) scheme relevant to their sector. ADR schemes provide consumers with a way of resolving complaints without going to court.

 

The Business Protection from Misleading Marketing Regulations 2008 make it a criminal offence for children’s activity centre operators to make unfair comparisons between their own centre and facilities and those of other children’s activity centre, leisure centres or similar children's play providers.

 

Under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 (CCRs), children’s activity centres must provide consumers (meaning anyone acting for purposes unconnected to their business or profession, such as a parent booking a party for their child) with specific pre-contract information, including the centre's pricing, payment, and cancellation terms.

 

Under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 and the Consumer Protection (Amendment) Regulations 2014, it is an offence for children’s activity centres to mislead or otherwise act unfairly towards a consumer, for example by falsely claiming that the centre belongs to an accreditation scheme or by providing misleading information about pricing.

 

Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, play centre facilities and equipment must be fit for purpose, of satisfactory quality and as described.

 

To comply with the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), any personally identifiable information or data that a children’s activity centre holds about employees, customers and children attending the centre should be stored securely, either manually or electronically, and used only for the lawful purpose for which it was collected.

 

The Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002 set out requirements that must be met by online booking services.

 

The Equality Act 2010 and the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (as amended by the Equality Act) in Northern Ireland make it an offence for service providers to refuse to provide a service to a disabled person, offer a lower standard of service or provide a service on worse terms, unless they can objectively justify doing so. It also requires service providers to make reasonable adjustments to allow disabled customers to access their services unless failure to do so can be objectively justified.