Safety Considerations Table and Checklist

Safety Considerations

My initial thoughts and feelings related to maintaining a safe environment for young children were that Davis Early Learning Center takes safety issues in the school very seriously. The school provides safe toys and materials that are unlikely to cause any harm to the students. The school also maintains a safe adult-to-child ratio to ensure that the students are monitored at all times. Supervision and accountability both indoors and outdoors is key to maintaining a safe environment for young children. The school also carries out regular inspections of their facilities to ensure there are no safety hazards such as protrusion of bolts and nuts, broken parts, sharp edges, visible cracks, worn-out electrical fixtures among others.

The issues that I found to be unsafe and problematic at Davis Early Learning Center include the arrangement of the spaces. The furniture was a bit squeezed which leaves very little room for children to move around freely. This can result in frequent injuries to the students as they move from one point of the classroom to another. The spaces should be arranged keeping in mind the developmental needs of young children.

What I learned about the legal and best practice safety features in the early child care facility is that spaces were demarcated and equipment clearly labeled. Safety rules were well communicated to the students and they were also encouraged to be extra careful when dealing with certain objects. The school also had policies for dealing with emergencies and a structure of responding to injuries. Even though it is difficult to prevent all accidents, the risks can be minimized.

REFERENCES

Lai, B. S., Esnard, A. M., Lowe, S. R., & Peek, L. (2016). Schools and disasters: Safety and mental health assessment and interventions for children. Current psychiatry reports, 18(12), 109.